![]() We did it by being vulnerable in that way. “And that we did it by revealing ourselves, by showing our lives and the way that we love and who we are. “I wanted to show viewers that this didn't just happen, that the ubiquity of LGBTQ people on television was something that took concerted effort on the part of some really brave people - actors and writers, activists, journalists, who really made it a mission to help educate the American public,” he said. Last year, Cruz executive-produced the Apple TV+ docuseries “Visible: Out on Television,” which chronicled the history of LGBTQ representation on TV. LGBTQ students have been in existence forever and we will be here forever, and Rickie Vasquez was just the first person to say, ‘I deserve to be loved too,’ and I hope that they walk away from the show feeling that.” Courtesy Wilson Cruz And I hope that they gain strength from knowing that we have always been here. “You know what I love about Rickie is that he even resonates to trans kids today, to kids who are nonbinary, who find themselves feeling fluid, about not only their sexuality but their gender identity. “I hope what I hoped back then, which is that they see themselves as whole and complete and perfect, just as they are made,” Cruz said. Parents 'Trust your kid:' Transgender valedictorian on how to support LGBTQ+ kids And it wasn't until (‘My So-Called Life’ creator) Winnie Holzman plucked me out of nowhere and said ‘Yes, you can do this and here it is.’ It was in that moment that it all became real, that my life was in Technicolor in that moment, from black and white.” Up until I played Rickie Vasquez, my idea of being an actor, of being a professional actor and being paid and being allowed to do this was just that, was just an idea. “I actually know what he would have meant to me because playing him gave me all of those things. “He would have made me feel less alone,” he said. ![]() Mark Seliger / Walt Disney Television via Getty ImagesĬruz, who was 20 when the show premiered on ABC, reflected on what a character like Rickie would have meant to him when he was in high school. Langer (Rayanne Graff), Wilson Cruz (Rickie Vasquez), Lisa Wilhoit (Danielle Chase), Devon Odessa (Sharon Cherski) and Devon Gummersall (Brian Krakow). And so to me, that was fuel for an entire career - not just finishing that show, but I understood the power and responsibility of what I did.” Claire Danes (second from right) starred in "My So-Called Life," along with Jared Leto (Jordan Catalano), A.J. “But I did receive a couple of letters and one of them, I remember quite vividly, was written in pen and you could see where the teardrops had fallen onto the page and smeared the ink, where he described to me how miserable his life was, and how seeing this character helped him understand that he just had to hold on a little longer, so that he could be around people who would someday understand. “I didn't get a lot of fan mail, because I think a lot of the young people who were affected by Rickie Vasquez in the moment didn't have the capacity to really put it into words,” he said. So, this was somebody who was truly figuring themselves out, and his arc in those 19 episodes, we get to see him from beginning this journey to actually realizing and being able to communicate the fact that he was gay.”Ĭruz said it wasn’t until about four or five years after “My So-Called Life” ended that he fully understood the character’s impact on young viewers. “He didn't hang out in the boys’ room he hung out in the girls’ room, because that's where he was comfortable, but he didn't consider himself trans. “I understood that this was somebody who lived in the in-between worlds, like he wasn't fully Black, he wasn't fully Puerto Rican, he considered himself bisexual,” Cruz said. Rickie, who sported eyeliner and a colorful wardrobe, brought a powerful authenticity to the critically acclaimed teen drama, which aired for just one season.Ĭruz recalled Rickie’s description during the audition as “15, half Black, half Puerto Rican, androgynous, like Jodie Foster in ‘Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.’” And he was doing that for everybody who saw themselves in him.” Wilson Cruz opened up about playing Rickie Vasquez on "My So-Called Life." Mark Seliger / Walt Disney Television via Getty Images He was somebody who was demanding to be seen. “I mean, up until that point, we were the sidekicks, and the people that were always thought of after the fact, but Rickie Vasquez forced you to notice him,” he continued.
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