Canadian actor Adamo Ruggiero publicly came out as a gay man in January of this year. Ruggiero is best known for playing Marco Del Rossi on the highly successful teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. Below is an excerpt from a new interview that he did with Diane Kristine. Ruggiero says "I thought, right now I have this voice, and that might not be there in 5 years or 10 years." That's what I love about this guy, his commitment to being a good role model for young people.

Diane Kristine writes:
For someone in the profession of assuming other identities, actor Adamo Ruggiero's career so far seems to nicely mirror his own personal philosophies. His time on Degrassi has allowed him to represent the "coming-out process as a young person in this new millennium" in a fictional storyline that has similarities to Ruggiero's real-life story.

"Marco has been so defining in my life," said the actor who came out publicly earlier this year, becoming an advocate for related issues he believes in. "This has been such a big gay year for me," he laughed. "It's something I've been wanting to do in my heart for so long." He appeared on the cover of fab magazine, went to the GLAAD awards in March, and supports The Trevor Project, a crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth.

"This is my purpose, the reason I wanted to open up," said the 22-year-old, who is juggling that advocacy with part-time university studies, season eight of Degrassi, and hosting duties on The Next Star. "I was annoyed at everyone so petrified about the future and ignoring the present," he revealed about the decision to come out and fears about how it might affect his career. "I thought, right now I have this voice, and that might not be there in 5 years or 10 years." Read Diane's full interview with Adamo Ruggiero here.

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Interview: 'Degrassi' star Adamo Ruggiero comes out