‘Walking Dead’ Star Daniel Newman Comes Out as Gay
The Walking Dead’s news star Daniel Newman, who first appeared on the show last season, has come out as gay in an exclusive interview with People magazine.
“I don’t want to be hidden and have to dodge the question,” he said. “I’m proud of who I am. I grew up in a very conservative southern Georgia home, and it didn’t really matter what your sexuality was — it just wasn’t open conversation,” Newman says. “It was always, ‘Don’t talk about your private life,’ so I was so used to that. I didn’t really think about it really as hiding. I never thought of myself as being in a closet or hidden. It just was that I didn’t really feel like talking about my private life.”
He continued: “I’ve seen such a revolution in the last five years of the LGBT community — it’s been such a transformation. It’s gone from something that was a negative thing before to something that is so celebrated and a part of our culture now. Even though I felt before that I couldn’t talk about my private life, I was like, ‘You know what, this is something that everyone should be comfortable with, being 100 percent themselves and authentic.’”
Newman said one of the reasons that prompted him to come out was working at LGBT youth shelters and discovering that many of them thought he was an ally, rather than part of the community: ““I said, ‘I’m not straight,’” he recalled. “Then they said, ‘Well, why haven’t you ever said that in public? I’ve never read that anywhere.’ That was just a big wake up call for me that these kids need every role model that they can get.”
And with a show like The Walking Dead under your belt, he is sure to get a whole legion of fans — gay, straight, bi, trans, queer, or otherwise!
“It’s been insane,” he said of the show. “The fan base is just massive. They’ve only shown my character a little bit so far, and people are already recognizing me. I now have a million fans on social media. It’s been a huge blessing. I couldn’t be on a greater show. It’s the most eclectic group that celebrates all walks of life: white, black, Asian, gay, straight … every single diversity they just celebrate it all and highlight people. It’s the greatest experience I’ve had in my career.”
Daniel continues his philanthropic work, no matter how famous he gets:
“The Walking Dead has given me a huge platform with social media. Now when I put a tweet out we get huge donations for these programs,” he said. “It’s important to be in touch with what’s going on in your neighborhood and communities and to give back to people who are destitute and who need somebody to be there…
“It’s fine to keep your private life private if it doesn’t affect anybody,” he said of other LGBT performers, “but when there’s all these kids out there that are still needing remodels and needing people to look to to know that they’re not alone. Being open and public about it will help so many people. It’s just so essential. You really are making a huge difference in other people’s lives by doing that. I know looking at other actors and performers, them being open and honest about LGBT has been life-changing for me.”
And yes fellas… he has a boyfriend!
Congrats, Daniel! We’ll be watching The Walking Dead even more affably now!