Isaiah Washington Quotes

I now realize that I am a gay man before anything else. Other gays may think they're a Jew first, or black, or a banker, but I'm gay.

I'm on the younger end of Gen X, and for me, growing up gay was not cool.

Experiences with friends or family members coming out have helped millions of Americans to see past stereotypes and better understand what being gay is - and is not.

If you ask anyone who is gay, they know, there is no confusion.

As a child, recognizing my difference from other kids, I went to the local public library to try to better understand my reality. Back then, many library card catalogues didn't even list 'homosexuality' as a topic.

I'm not sure when I first knew that I was gay.

I had a lot of friends for a long time who were gay, and I didn't even realize it for awhile. Even in my mid- to late 20s, I was still pretty naive about it.

I certainly have gay friends, but I don't remember thinking, 'Oh my God, I have this friend, and they're gay, and that's so cool.' I mean, I was very naive until I got to a certain age.

It's important for me to talk about my life as a gay man, not gay themes per se, in my work.

Drag was like 'Alice in Wonderland,' where she fell into the hole and her world changed. I fell into a gay bar, and my entire world changed.

I knew I was gay since, like, fifth grade.

The idea of the gay experience, it feels like a relic. I felt like in the '90s when we were watching the gay characters on 'The Real World,' there was definitely a gay experience that was distinct from a straight experience. If you talk to high schoolers in 2017, I don't know that is as much a part of how they experience a social dynamic.

My being gay was something of not great interest to me.

Growing up in Kentucky, I used to hang out with four running buddies as a kid - 6, 10, and 11 years old. Two of them would later come out, and so 50 percent of my friends as a kid were gay.

I had a hell of a time convincing people I was gay - which was so annoying!

I graduated from high school in '62 and I didn't know any people who were gay. I'm sure there were people, but I didn't know any. For years and years, I guess, I was very uptight about being a gay actor. I thought it would make me less hirable.

It wasn't that much of a stretch to play a gay demon. I am, you know, both gay and a demon. Don't tell my wife.

My mom knew early on that I was gay, and she knew that I had to get out of the ghetto.

The first gay person I ever met was surely not the first gay person I ever met.

I wouldn't want to lose out on my macho action movie just because I told people I was queer.

I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and I'd like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there. While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me.

The truth is that I am a gay American.

I didn't know any gay people in my childhood.

I've had so many parents ask me, 'So when should you talk about what it means to be gay or LGBTQ with a child?' I don't think there's any age that's too young.

I knew that I was different when I was six years old, but it wasn't until I got to about 10 or 11 that I realised I was a gay man.