Wilson Cruz tells Claire Danes about deciding to come out -- and his parents kicking him out -- with My So-Called Life role

Variety

Cruz and Danes looked back at their ABC teen series, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, for Variety's Pride issue. "My agent sent me the script, and she didn’t necessarily know that I was gay," said Cruz. "I read it, and I had to decide whether or not I wanted to disclose to her. I waited. I had made a deal with myself that I would come out if the series went. I wanted people to know that I, as a gay man — a gay boy at the time — really put my stamp of approval to what we were doing. So that’s when I told my parents, and that’s when I was kicked out." To which Danes responded: "Whoa." Referring to creator Winnie Holzman, Cruz added: "I lived on friends’ couches and in my car until we started filming the series. I remember we were with Winnie on our way to something, and I told her what had happened with my dad. Months later, I get this script where Rickie goes through a very similar thing. When I look back on that whole experience, I think of my fictional world and my reality converging. It was cathartic."