Agents of SHIELD Star J. August Richards Comes Out as Gay
J. August Richards is best known for playing Charles Gunn on Angel, but he's also a big name among [...]
J. August Richards is best known for playing Charles Gunn on Angel, but he's also a big name among fans of Agents of SHIELD. The actor has been appearing on the Marvel series since the show's pilot aired as Mike Peterson, later transforming into Deathlok. The actor last appeared on the series back in 2018 for the show's 100th episode, and it's unclear if he'll be making a final appearance in the upcoming final season. This is especially true now that the actor has his own series, Council of Dads, which premiered on NBC last month. In the new show, Richards plays Dr. Oliver Post, a happily married gay man with a daughter. According to People, Richards recently chatted with his co-star, Sarah Wayne Callies, on Instagram Live, and took the opportunity to come out as gay.
"If I think about why I even got involved in this industry, it was really to combat oppression," Richards explained. "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." He added, "Honestly, it required me to show up fully in a way that I don't always when I'm working. 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." Richards concluded, "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."
Since coming out, Richards has taken to Instagram to thank people for their support. "Everyone said it would be but nothing could have prepared me. Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. 'Thank you' feel like cheap words to describe the depths of the gratitude I feel for your support and the crushing avalanche of LOVE I felt aimed at me yesterday. Who knew that something I once thought of as terrifying had within it something so beautiful... For every comment, like, emoji, repost, phone call, text message, everything. I felt it ALL... Thank you!!!" You can check out the post below:
We're so happy for you, J. August!
Agents of SHIELD returns on May 27th. Council of Dads airs next on Thursday, April 30th at 8 PM.