Following an eight-month stint in the New York City revival of "Angels in America" (where the 34-year old played a man who abandoned his AIDS-stricken boyfriend), Zachary told New York Magazine he was left in deep contemplation regarding the play's dark themes.
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"[The role was] the most challenging thing I've ever done as an actor and the most rewarding," he said of the award-winning Tony Kushner play, in an interview posted on the mag's website on Sunday. "And at the same time, as a gay man, it made me feel like there's still so much work to be done, and there's still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed."
Zachary -- who will next be seen on the big screen in the upcoming thriller, "Margin Call" -- again referenced his sexuality while discussing the tragic death of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer, a gay teenager who took his own life last month after being bullied.
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"And again, as a gay man I look at that and say there's a hopelessness that surrounds it, but as a human being I look at it and say 'Why? Where's this disparity coming from, and why can't we, as a culture and society, dig deeper to examine that?'" he told the mag. "We're terrified of facing ourselves."
In a personal post on ZacharyQuinto.com, the actor said Jamey's suicide prompted him to live his own life publicly.
"in light of jamey's death - it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it - is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality," he wrote. "our society needs to recognize the unstoppable momentum toward unequivocal civil equality for every gay lesbian bisexual and transgendered citizen of this country.
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"i believe in the power of intention to change the landscape of our society - and it is my intention to live an authentic life of compassion and integrity and action," he continued. "jamey rodemeyer's life changed mine. and while his death only makes me wish that i had done this sooner - i am eternally grateful to him for being the catalyst for change within me."
