Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D's J. August Richards Comes Out as Gay

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Council of Dads star J. August Richards has come out as gay.

The 46-year-old actor revealed his sexual identity during an Instagram Live with his Council of Dads co-star Sarah Wayne Callies. In the show, he plays Dr. Oliver Post, a gay black man who is married with a daughter.

“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. I wanted that image to be honest and I wanted it to be correct.”

“Honestly, it required me to show up fully in a way that I don’t always when I’m working,” he said, before adding, “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,” he added. “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.”