J. August Richards had a powerful message for viewers tuning into his Instagram live interview with his Council Of Dads castmate Sarah Wayne Callies on April 20. The Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. alum, 46, revealed that “one of the best days” of his life was the day he came out as gay. After Sarah asked whether he felt ‘pressure’ or ‘responsibility’ to play his character, Dr. Oliver Post, a black gay man married with a daughter, J. August responded with a powerful statement and testament to his work. “If I think about why I even got involved in this industry, it was really to combat oppression,” J. August revealed to his co-star.
The former Angel cast member elaborated, explaining that he “knew how I was affected by the people of color I saw on television, or that I didn’t see on television…and so this being a married gay man with a family…on television, I don’t take anything I do lightly, and you know, 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.”
The actor then shared that taking on the role and show required him to be vulnerable, and share with his fellow cast members who he was. “Honestly, it required me to show up fully in a way that I don’t always when I’m working,” he continued. “I knew that I could not portray this gay man honestly without letting you all know that I was a gay man myself…I’ve never done that with the people that I’ve worked with,” he confessed.
For J. August, he felt that he had a duty to the many viewers who would see the character, citing that feeling was what “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, so I took that responsibility very seriously.” J. August received overwhelming support in the comments section of the post.
On Tuesday, April 21, he posted a photo to his Instagram, featuring himself in a rainbow T-shirt with the following uplifting caption: “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!!!”