‘Justice League’ Star Ezra Miller Was Told Coming Out Was ‘A Mistake’
“We’re ready. Humans are ready.” Image by Getty Images
Queer-identifying Jewish actor Ezra Miller says he was told that he’d “made a mistake” by coming out. In an interview with ShortList he said that after he described himself as “queer” in 2012, “I was told I had done a ‘silly’ thing in…thwarting my own potential to be a leading man.”
Since 2012, when Miller was already receiving exceptional notices for his lead role in “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower”, the actor has gone on to star in no less than JK Rowling’s “Harry Potter” follow up “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them”, and “Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice”, playing superhero The Flash. He reprises his role, with more screen time, in the upcoming “Justice League”.
It’s not that homophobic typecasting isn’t a very real threat to out queer actors. It’s just that Ezra Miller has somehow managed to be a blockbuster star and a queer icon and a unique voice of irreverent truth-telling.
“‘You’ve made a mistake’ is such a hard thing to hear. Maybe if I’d actually made a serious mistake? But not for this. I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong, though there have been moments of doubt as a result of those conversations,” he told Shortlist.
“What they said was, in fact, ‘rubbish’, as you might say,” he added. “We are the ones. It’s up to us to manifest the world we want to exist in. But we’re ready. Humans are ready.”
Jenny Singer is a writer for the Forward. You can reach her at Singer@forward.com or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny
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