Wilson Cruz Discusses his Decades Long Career, Upcoming Projects, and Hopes for the Future

With a career as groundbreaking as Wilson Cruz‘s, it’s impossible to not be a fan. The multi-talented actor, producer, and activist has been making waves in the industry for decades, first making history in 1994 as the first openly gay actor playing an openly gay role on series television on "My So Called Life."
Since then, Cruz has continued his mission of bringing authentic LGBTQ representation to the screen in series like "Thirteen Reasons Why," "Party of Five," "Red Band Society," "The Bravest Knight," "Eastsiders," "Grey’s Anatomy," and most recently "Star Trek: Discovery."
To discuss the GLAAD Media Award winning series "Star Trek: Discovery," his new Netflix film "Mother of the Bride," his upcoming docuseries "Not Part of the Plan," and so much more, Cruz joined GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos and Galeca‘s Outreach Director Jim Farmer.
As the iconic Star Trek series approaches its conclusion, Cruz talks about what it has meant to him to get to be a part of this franchise that means so much to so many. “I was allowed to do some really amazing work on it. I was given some opportunities to really spread my wings,” he says. Being on the series allowed him to “really fight and advocate for a character who I really felt was important, not just for the queer community, but for Latinos and Afro-Latinos especially.”
“I’m so proud of the man that he ends up becoming.” Cruz plays a doctor who gets a second chance at life in the and he says that his character’s storyline is “a love letter to all of my friends who in the 90s were diagnosed with AIDS and were given a death sentence and suddenly after spending all of their life savings and coming to terms with their own mortality, were given a second chance.”
He says that “I think what we bring to our work as journeymen actors who cobbled together this career, that was not easy, especially for me, as a person of color additionally, that in all of our work, we brought the resilience that it takes to deal with the trauma of being a queer person at that time.”
He explains how for them as gay men who were around during the AIDs epidemic, they never would have imagined a life as beautiful as the ones they now live. “We also bring the euphoria and gratitude when there is queer joy in our lives because we never expected it.”
As the 2022 recipient of GLAAD’s Vito Russo Award, using his platform for good has long been important to the actor. “Yes, I’m an actor and I’m an artist and I love what I do… But I still live in the world and I’m still affected by everything that that happens in it,” he begins. “We all live in revolutionary times. This is a moment in human history, at least in America, where we are having a conversation about the expansion and understanding of love and gender. And as a queer man of color, I want to be a part of that conversation. I want to make sure that when I when I leave here that I’ve left the movement towards a better understanding.”
Cruz reveals that he didn’t even know that his character on "My So Called Life" made him the first openly gay actor to play an openly gay role until a few years ago. He talks about how his role as Ricky changed not only the culture, but his personal life as well.
“That show brought my father back into my life,” he explains that he had no relationship with his dad when he began filming the show. “Like I said, television and art is how we reach people’s hearts and minds. And it reached my father. He was able to watch that show and understand me and my experience. a bit better and it opened a door for us.”
Acting isn’t Cruz’s only talent. He is also the producer of multiple documentaries including "Visible: Out on Television" and his upcoming project "Not Part of the Plan," a series that follows the lives of four queer Utah teenagers who grew up Mormon.
He shares that one of his dream projects would be to tell the life story of Walter Mercado. He is “a man who had to survive being Latino and gay in Puerto Rico and in the world and failed time and time again, but somehow in the end found success in the least likely way he could have imagined. And did it as flamboyantly as he could possibly do it.” He explains that Mercado “changed the way that a lot of abuelas and mothers thought about gay people because they saw him every day and he was part of their lives.”
Cruz’s latest project to premiere is "Mother of the Bride" on Netflix where he stars opposite Brooke Shields and Benjamin Bratt. After 5 seasons of “saving the universe” on Star Trek: Discovery, Cruz was thrilled to take part in a romantic comedy. “These are anxious times and we could all use a little levity and some frivolity and some beauty in our lives and I think the movie provided that.” Mother of the Bride is out now on Netflix.
Don’t miss the final season of Paramount +’s "Star Trek: Discovery," season 5 is streaming now.