Council Of Dads actor J August Richards, 46, reveals he is gay like his TV character then adds the support he has received is like an ‘avalanche of LOVE’
- Actor J August Richards came out as gay on Instagram Live this week
- The star, 46, was talking to his Council Of Dads co-star Sarah Wayne Callies
- ‘I knew that I could not portray this gay man honestly,’ the 6ft3in actor said
- ‘… without letting you all know that I am a gay man myself’
- He added, ‘I’ve never done that with the people that I’ve worked with’
Actor J August Richards came out as gay on Instagram Live this week when talking to his Council Of Dads co-star Sarah Wayne Callies.
The 46-year-old star – who was on Agents Of Shield from 2013 until 2018 – plays a gay man Council Of Dads and told followers that he wanted the world to know he is gay as well.
‘I knew that I could not portray this gay man honestly without letting you all know that I am a gay man myself. I’ve never done that with the people that I’ve worked with,’ the 6ft3in star added.
His reveal: Actor J August Richards came out as gay on Instagram Live this week when talking to his Council Of Dads co-star Sarah Wayne Callies
His series: On Council Of Dads with (l-r) Back Row: Richards as Dr. Oliver Post, Kevin Daniels as Peter Richards, Michael O’Neill as Larry Mills, Steven Silver as Evan Norris, Michele Weaver as Luly Perry, Thalia Tran as Charlotte Perry, Emjay Anthony as Theo Perry, Lindsey Blackwell as Tess Post-Richards. Front row: Clive Standen as Anthony Lavelle, Callies as Robin Perry, Blue Chapman as JJ Perry
On the show he plays Dr. Oliver Post, a married gay dad.
During his chat with Callies, the star said that he put his all into Council Of Dads.
‘Honestly, it required me to show up fully in a way that I don’t always when I’m working,’ said the Washington DC native.
‘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.’
Relieved: Soon after he shared another post where he was in a rainbow shirt. ‘Everyone said it would be but nothing could have prepared me,’ stated August
And August also explained that he came to Hollywood with the intention of representing gay men in a more positive light.
‘If I think about why I even got involved in this industry, it was really to combat oppression,’ J said.
‘I knew how I was affected by the people of color I saw on television, or that I didn’t see on television, so this being a married, gay man, with a family … on television, I don’t take anything I do lightly, and you have an opportunity to put an image into millions of homes.’
Another hit series: Here the actor is seen, right, with Clark Gregg on Agents Of Shield
The star – who played the recurring character Charles Gunn in the Buffy spinoff Angel – then added, ‘I wanted that image to be honest and I wanted it to be correct.’
On AOS he played Mike Peterson/Deathlok. Agents Of Shield also stars Clark Gregg and Ming-Na Wen.
The long-running TV series is about ‘The missions of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.’
Happy on the carpet: Richards at the SCAD aTVfest 2020 for Council Of Dads in Atlanta in February
Soon after he came out, J August shared another post where he was in a rainbow shirt.
‘Everyone said it would be but nothing could have prepared me,’ stated August.
‘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.
‘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.’