15 Actors Who Came Out After Playing A Queer Character

Life really does imitate art.

1. First off, Sara Ramirez, after playing Callie on Grey's Anatomy.

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Sara Ramirez's character on Grey's Anatomy, Callie, came out as bisexual in a storyline back in 2009. At the time, Sara knew they were also bisexual, but wasn't ready to come out. "I was really afraid it would hurt my career if I came out as bisexual," they told People in 2021.

The star came out publicly as bisexual in 2016, then in 2020 announced they are non-binary. Sara went on to play the non-binary character, Che Diaz, in the Sex And The City reboot — And Just Like That... 

"Che is someone who came out as non-binary later in life and who speaks their truth unapologetically," they told People. "I thought, 'This character will teach me a lot about how to embrace the power that you have even against systems that would have you shut down.'"

2. Reneé Rapp after playing Leighton on Sex Lives of College Girls.

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The Sex Lives of College Girls star has known she was bisexual since she was a teen, but says that through playing the lesbian character of Leighton, "I feel like I'm being much more openly queer, because it is a public part of who I am, and I'm very proud of that."

The actor has said that filming the first season of the HBO show was terrible, thanks to her internalized homophobia: "I was just in a panic constantly," she revealed on the Call Her Daddy podcast in 2023.

Reneé grew up in what she calls a “super a**-backwards and very conservative” area where everyone was "homophobic", baggage which she carried into her role as Leighton. 

Now, she's in a much better place. "Truly, though, so much of Leighton is me, and so much of Leighton has helped me understand myself," she told Vogue. 

3. Demi Lovato after playing Dani on Glee.

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Demi Lovato guest-starred as Santana's short-lived girlfriend in an episode of Glee in 2013, and has since come out as queer, pansexual, and nonbinary.

Following the tragic death of Naya Rivera – who played Santana – in 2020, Demi reflected on how the show and the character helped her personal journey. 

"The character you played was groundbreaking for tons of closeted (at the time) queer girls like me. And your ambition and accomplishments were inspiring to Latina women all over the world," she wrote on Instagram. 

4. Chyler Leigh after playing Alex on Supergirl.

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When Chyler Leigh came out in 2020, she credited the coming-out journey of her Supergirl character Alex Danvers for helping her come to terms with her own sexuality.

“What I didn’t realize was how the scene where she finally confessed her truth would leap off the pages of the script and genuinely become a variation of my own," she wrote in an essay for Creating Change, an LGBTQ+ organization she co-founded.

“My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest each take we filmed," she added. "I'm still told that it was the most realistic coming out scene they'd ever witnessed. And to steal from Alex's words, that's because there's some truth to what she said about me."

5. Jake Borelli, after playing Schmidt on Grey's Anatomy.

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Another Grey's Anatomy alum, Jake Borelli came out as gay shortly after his character, Schmidt, did on screen. In 2018, after 15 seasons of Grey's, Jake was part of the show's first-ever gay male romance between two doctors.

“As a gay guy myself, tonight’s episode was so special to me," he wrote on Instagram. "This is exactly the kind of story I craved as a young gay kid growing up in Ohio, and it blows my mind that I’m able to bring life to Dr. Levi Schmitt as he begins to grapple with his own sexuality this season on Grey’s Anatomy.”

6. Samira Wiley after playing Poussey on Orange Is The New Black.

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It was through playing Poussey on Orange Is The New Black that Samira was able to become more comfortable with her identity. “I wasn’t out in the beginning and I think falling in love with Poussey helped me fall in love with myself as well,” she told the WNYC’S Nancy Podcast in 2018.

Samira never had the chance to come out publicly – she was outed by a fellow cast member in an article that was subsequently deleted. “That’s something somebody took from me. You should be able to come out on your own terms," she said on the podcast.

7. Dominique Provost-Chalkley after playing Waverly on Wynonna Earp.

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Though Wynonna Earp star Dominique Provost-Chalkley came out in 2020, they've known they've been queer since a young age. It wasn't until playing a beloved gay character that they were able to feel comfortable with their sexuality. 

“Through this incredible, enlightening journey of playing a queer character and meeting the fans that are drawn to her, I guess I’ve reevaluated how I am to face this part of me,” they wrote in an essay for Start the Wave.

“It has made me more certain than ever that I also have to at least try being brave and hopefully contribute to the positive ripple effect that is caused when we step up and live authentically.”

8. Keiynan Lonsdale after playing Bram in Love, Simon.

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Released in 2018, Love, Simon was the first mainstream gay teen romance film to hit cinemas in the US. Aussie star Keiynan Lonsdale says that he brought a lot of his own experiences as a closeted teen into his role as Bram, Simon's love interest.

"I knew exactly in that moment what it felt like to play straight and to try to be that young, cool straight guy and to really work on that," he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Shortly after production wrapped on the film, Keiynan came out as bisexual Instagram: “I like girls, & I like guys (yes),” he wrote.

9. Sean Hayes after playing Jack on Will & Grace.

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Though Sean Hayes played the out gay character of Jack on Will & Grace for 11 seasons, he didn't come out publicly until 2010, four years after the show ended. 

"It was a scary time," he told Attitude in 2018, adding that he was "too scared" to advocate for his community. "I didn't have the courage and the strength at such a young age to speak on behalf of the gay community."

"We got death threats, [people] could find out where I lived, and I was playing a gay character in a big hit show," he added.

10. Mae Whitman after playing Amity on The Owl House.

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Good Girls actress Mae Whitman came out as pansexual in 2019, after voicing the character Amity Blight on the LGBTQ+ Disney Channel series The Owl House.

“Being pansexual myself, I wish I had such incredible characters like Amity and Luz in my life when I was growing up," she wrote on Twitter. She added a clarification for any of her followers who weren't familiar with the label: "For me it means I know I can fall in love with people of all genders. This is the word that fits me best 🌈 and I’m proud+happy to be part of the Bi+ community," Mae wrote.

11. Clea DuVall after playing Graham on But I'm A Cheerleader.

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Though she played an out lesbian character in the absolutely iconic 1999 film But I'm A Cheerleader, Clea DuVall was closeted at the time, and terrified of being outed. "We started the press cycle for it, I remember feeling like, 'Oh shit, I need to hide, I need to stop'," she told The Independent.

“I was very closeted and very afraid of people finding out I was gay,” Clea said. “It was the '90s, there was no conversation about sexuality – you were just not going to talk about it.”

Though she starred in plenty of queer-coded roles over her career, Clea didn't publicly come out until 2016, after writing, directing, and acting in The Intervention. "I've played a lot of gay characters, but I haven't really played a gay character that is gay in a way that is the gay that I feel like I am, if that makes sense," she said of the role. 

12. Adamo Ruggiero after playing Marco on Degrassi.

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Degrassi's Adamo Ruggiero says that playing the show's iconic gay character, Marco, helped him come to terms with his own sexuality and eventually come out in 2008.

"I was a closeted gay boy," he told AV Club. "I hadn't really acted that much before. Suddenly, I was a character that was playing to all my deepest, darkest secrets, so there was a lot of negotiation."

"It was a coming-out experience that should not have been that public for me," he continued. "However, there's always a wonderful side, What Marco gave me is a community. In the promotion of the show, I connected with a queer world. He just busted open this door of a world that probably would have taken a lot longer to find."

13. Kaylee Bryant after playing Josie on Legacies.

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After playing the pansexual Josie Saltzman on Legacies, Kaylee felt the strength to come out herself. "I felt a lot of pressure when I initially booked Josie because I was still figuring out who I was and what my label was. And playing a character who was so comfortable in who she was, it was inspiring [to me] in a way that I think a lot of other people watching the show have been inspired," she explained in an interview with BuzzFeed. 

"I have so many people constantly telling me that watching Josie on the show has made them feel more comfortable in themselves. It's kind of amazing that we all have the same experience in that having queer representation makes you more comfortable."

14. Victor Garber after playing Liberace in Liberace.

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The star famously played the titular gay musician in the TV film Liberace: Behind the Music, back in 1988, but says that the queer associations made it difficult to find work for years afterward. 

Victor eventually came out years later, in 2013, after playing a handful of gay roles in films and TV. 

15. And finally, Tyler Blackburn after playing Alex on Roswell, New Mexico.

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Pretty Little Liars star Tyler Blackburn came out in his late-20s, after taking on the role of gay military veteran Alex Manes on Roswell, New Mexico. He told Advocate that he's identified as bisexual since he was a teen, but it wasn't until taking on the role of Alex that he was able to explore everything that meant. 

“I’m so tired of caring so much. I just want to live my truth and feel OK with experiencing love and experiencing self-love," he told Advocate. 

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