J August Richards: Marvel’s ‘Agents of Shield’ and ‘Angel’ actor comes out as gay
‘I knew that I could not portray this gay man honestly without letting you all know that I am gay myself’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Marvel Agents of Shield star J August Richards has come out as gay in what he’s called a “beautiful” experience thanks to the support from his fans.
The actor, who played Michael Peterson/Deathlok on the Marvel show, said: “Everyone said it would be, but nothing could have prepared me. Yesterday was one of the best days of my life.”
“’Thank you’ feel like cheap words to describe the depths of the gratitude I feel for your support and the crushing avalanche of LOVE I felt aimed at me yesterday,” he continued.
”Who knew that something I once thought of as terrifying had within it something so beautiful... For every comment, like, emoji, repost, phone call, text message, everything. I felt it ALL... Thank you!!! #PRIDE #LGBTQ #BlackLGBTQ #ComingOut #SelfLove #SelfAcceptance“.
The actor first spoke about his sexuality during an Instagram Live conversation with his Council of Dads co-star Sarah Wayne Callies.
The new NBC drama sees Richards play Dr Oliver Post, a married gay man with a daughter who has a ‘council of dads’ with his friendship group, and Richards said it was taking on the role that made him want to be open about his experiences.
Saying that he felt a “pressure and responsibility” in playing Oliver, he explained: ”You have an opportunity to put an image into millions of homes and I wanted that image to be honest and correct. It required me to show up in a way that I haven’t always when I was working.”
“I knew that I could not portray this gay man honestly without letting you all know that I am a gay man myself,” he continued.
“I’ve never done that with the people that I’ve worked with. That responsibility carried me to do that, because I knew how important it is to other people out there like me, who would need to see that role model.”
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Richards played Gunn in Angel, the popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off, opposite David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter and Alexis Denisof.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments