Quotes

[as someone who identifies as queer] I played straight throughout my teenage years, so this wasn't a big challenge. Also, love is love, whether you love a man or a woman. It's all love.

I think I'm a pretty good judge of character. I can see when somebody's trying to sell me B.S., and I distance myself the minute I see it.

[Queer actors in show business often navigate the tension between their passions and fears, and for Futia, a pivotal moment was relocating from his small Italian hometown to West Hollywood at age 19] [I came from a] very homophobic, close-minded place to rainbow crosswalks and men holding hands, which helped a lot. It reminded me that being myself wasn't [an issue]. In the industry, being myself was a step-by-step process.

[1/2 on the importance of queer representation] For so long, institutions told people that being queer was wrong. Artists can change that narrative. We need to unlearn what we've been taught for centuries, which is that being gay is wrong.

I've always known what people wanted to see. A fit body; someone who's unproblematic, just cool and chill. I dumbed myself down a bit. Only in the last few years have I fully embraced who I am. I do like to read, meditate, and speak different languages. I'm not just trying to play the part of a cultured actor... I am that

As a male model, I wasn't alone... but I did hesitate, at first, when people asked about my personal life. I'd keep it vague: 'I'm single, I watch movies, I read books.' Over time, I got comfortable saying, 'I have a boyfriend,' or 'I'm going to a gay club.' It took time. But now, I own who I am.

Straight people and queer people all express themselves differently. It's a spectrum. Growing up, I didn't lower my voice because I was afraid people would find out I was queer. Now, I just have a lower voice because I'm an adult and have had a lot of voice training.

[2/2 on the importance of queer representation] It's just a cultural shift. And if people look at the history... it's just a couple of institutions that decided that they wanted to tell people that it's not okay to be that. So we need another institution. And artists can be that. They can be a sort of institution letting people know that it's okay to be queer. So that's the only main reason why I think it's important to be vocal about it.