‘Love, Simon’ star Nick Robinson reveals his brother came out as gay during filming
The 22-year-old actor opened up on The Ellen Show this week.
By Will Stroude
Upcoming teen drama Love, Simon is set to mark a major milestone when it comes to mainstram LGBT cinema, but for the film’s star Nick Robinson, its importance hits a little closer to home.
Robinson, who plays the titular character in Greg Berlanti’s big screen adaptation of Becky Albertalli’s hit young adult novel, appeared on The Ellen Show earlier this week, where he revealed that his own brother came out as gay around the time he shot the film last summer.
As Nick and Ellen discussed the movie, which tells the story of a closeted high school senior whose life is turned upside down after a classmate threatens to out him, the conversation turned personal as the young actor revealed how his role had helped him connect with what his sibling was going through.
“I think that he had been dealing with this for a long time, and I think the timing was sort of coincidental,” Ronbison explained. “But one of the best things that came out of this movie was just being able to talk to him.”
The 22-year-old went on: “I think that’s the strength of a film like this: it starts a a conversation. It’s a conversation starter. It hope it can do that for moe people, and start a conversation that might not have been there.”
Whether the timing of Nick’s brother coming out was coincidental or not, Love, Simon has already touched the lives of those involved in the film’s production.
Earlier this week, The Flash‘s Keiynan Lonsdale – who plays one of Simon’s friends and classmates, Bram – said that his experience of shooting the movie played a big part in his decision to come out publicly last summer.
We doubt that will be the last conversation Love, Simon sparks when it hits cinemas in the US tomorrow (March 16) and in the UK on April 6.
Watch Nick Robinson’s appearance on The Ellen Show below: