Ellen Page, Zachary Quinto, & More Honored as 'Out' Magazine's OUT100 Cover Stars

Ellen Page, Zachary Quinto, Sam Smith, and Samira Wiley are this year’s OUT100 cover stars!

The four entertainers spoke with the magazine about their experiences:

Ellen, on actors being closeted in Hollywood: “No one’s ever been so direct as to say, ‘You’re gay, so we’re gonna hide it. But there’s an unspoken thing going on. [People] believe it’s the right thing to do for your career. They don’t realize it’s eroding your soul. It was eventually about me being like, Wait, why am I listening to that? At what point did I let those things become important?”

Zachary, on not forgetting the past: “I think there’s a tremendous sense of complacency in the LGBT community. AIDS has lost the edge of horror it possessed when it swept through the world in the ’80s. Today’s generation sees it more as something to live with and something to be much less fearful of. And that comes with a sense of, dare I say, laziness.”

Sam, on influencing others: “My main aim is to tell people how good it’s been for me so that, hopefully, gay men or parents with gay children can look at my story and think, Wow, that’s how it should be. That’s what we can work towards.”

Samira, on wanting to inspire: “I grew up in the church. I have seen my parents inspire people and give them hope and faith most of my life. I feel like I’ve always wanted to have my work be some sort of ministry, because that’s what my parents do and that’s the only word I have for it.”

For more from the foursome, visit Out.com.