Walking Dead actor comes out

Daniel Newman who plays Daniel in The Walking Dead has come out as gay.

The 36-year-old actor, who has also appeared on Homeland, The Vampire Diaries and Sex and the City, later said he had decided to be true to himself despite facing pressure to remain in the closet for the sake of his career.

“I don’t want to be hidden and have to dodge the question,” he told People of publicly revealing his sexuality. “I’m proud of who I am.”

“I grew up in a very conservative southern Georgia home, and it didn’t really matter what your sexuality was — it just wasn’t open conversation,” Newman said. “It was always, ‘Don’t talk about your private life,’ so I was so used to that. I didn’t really think about it really as hiding. I never thought of myself as being in a closet or hidden. It just was that I didn’t really feel like talking about my private life.

“I’ve seen such a revolution in the last five years of the LGBT community — it’s been such a transformation. It’s gone from something that was a negative thing before to something that is so celebrated and a part of our culture now,” he continued. “Even though I felt before that I couldn’t talk about my private life, I was like, ‘You know what, this is something that everyone should be comfortable with, being 100 percent themselves and authentic.’ ”

The news comes less than two weeks after the character of Paul ‘Jesus’ Rovia, played by British actor Tom Payne, came out as gay in The Walking Dead.

Newman also released a video thanking supporters for their many messages.