Actor Nick Robinson has revealed that while he was shooting new movie Love, Simon, his brother came out to him as gay.
Robinson (pictured) plays 17-year old Simon Spier in the film, a high school student struggling with his sexuality until he meets someone online from his school who’s going through the same thing.
The actor told Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show that his brother came out around the same time as filming began on the gay teen drama.
“I think that he had been dealing with this for a long time and the timing was coincidental, but one of the best things that came out of this movie was being able to talk to him,” Robinson said.
“I think that’s the strength of a film like this is that it starts conversations, and I hope it can do that for more people and start a conversation that might not have been there.”
Robinson also paid tribute to Ellen herself for paving the way for LGBTIQ representation in the media.
“I really think that with a project like this, especially today, there’s been so much progress in the last 20 years, a lot of which is thanks to you and everything that you’ve done,” he said.
“If you hadn’t come out when you did we might not have this movie now.”
Love, Simon is based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertali, and director Greg Berlanti, who is gay, wants to see much more LGBTIQ representation in mainstream cinema.
“I can’t believe it’s 2018 and there hasn’t been a Love, Simon type of film — I hate being first,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
“There’s the great Harvey Milk quote which is, ‘Every gay person must come out.’ It also happens to be the journey of the movie and why, even today, it’s still tricky and can feel like a lonely process.
“But part of doing that is saying, ‘This is who I am,’ and I think it leads to a better life.”
Love, Simon opens in Australian cinemas on March 29.
