Joseph Gordon-Levitt on cover of “Out”

Regularly recognized as he puts it “that kid from 3^rd Rock From the Sun,” Joseph Gordon-Levitt, now all grown up, is quickly turning into one of Hollywood’s most sought after leading men.

For OUT’s October 2013 cover story, he talks about how fame affected his life, his upcoming film, Don Jon, and turning the cameras on the paparazzi.

Here are some snippets:

On not refuting paparazzi allegations he is gay: “That would be really tacky – they would win if I had to clarify.”

On his ambivalence toward fame developing out of a sense of self-preservation: “It comes from a really young age. It can be really awkward and difficult to be though of as this thing on TV. Before understanding it or being able to analyze it, I just knew it made me really anxious. I wouldn’t just say ‘No.’ I was way more convincing than that. I would first act confused, and then I would try to understand what they were saying. I would play the part.”

On his hippie parents: “I think they both instilled into me and my brother the feeling that we’re part of the world, and that that’s important – that we’re all connected and everyone’s well-being is tied to each other. They’re hippies, but they were not so much about being flower children as getting something done, trying to stop this war, or changing civil rights or the feminist movement – and they still are that way.”

On his new film, Don Jon, in which he plays a porn addict: “I wasn’t interested in making a movie about pornography. I was interested in making a movie about how people treat each other like things, and all kinds of media can contribute to that. I’ve been working as an actor since I was a little kid, and I’ve always been fascinated, and a little horrified, by the way people relate to images they see on screen. Sometimes I feel I am seen as a thing more than a person, and I don’t think that’s unique to actors. I think everyone is subject to that kind of pigeonholing.”