Watch: Wentworth Miller’s powerful HRC speech in its entirety: ‘I had multiple opportunities to speak my truth – that I was gay – but I chose not to’

Wentworth Miller’s speech last Saturday at the Human Rights Campaign dinner in Seattle got a lot of attention – mostly because he revealed that he had tried to commit suicide as a teebn.

Earlier today, HRC released the entire video of the speech (see below) and I found it to be so compelling overall.

Some highlights:

On becoming part of the LGBT community: ‘I’ve had a complicated relationship with that word, (community),’ he said. ‘I’ve been slow to embrace it, I’ve been hesitant, I’ve been doubtful. For many years I could not and would not accept that there was anything in that word for someone like me – like connection, support, strength, warmth. It’s been natural to see myself as an individual. It’s been a challenge to imagine that self as part of something larger.’

On staying closeted during run of Prison Break: ‘I was traveling to Asia, to the Middle East, to Europe and everywhere in between,’ he said. ‘And in that time, I gave thousands of interviews. I had multiple opportunities to speak my truth – that I was gay – but I chose not to.’ Miller said he ‘chose to lie’ because of the possible consequences to the career he had worked so hard for. ‘I was filled with fear, anger, and a stubborn resistance that had built up,’