He’s one of Hollywood’s rising stars who plays a closeted gay teen in Love, Simon.
And now Nick Robinson, 22, has revealed that his part in the hotly-anticipated film helped him understand the experience of his own gay brother – who came out while he was filming it.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the film’s Sydney premiere, the handsome actor said the starring role helped him speak a little more ‘deeply’ to his sibling.
‘It helped me talk more deeply about what he was going through’: Love, Simon actor Nick Robinson said he thought his starring role in the film helped him relate to his own gay brother
‘I think it made me better equipped to have the conversation,’ he spilled on the red carpet.
‘To be able to talk a little bit more deeply about what he was going through and I hope that’s what the film does for everyone… To start a conversation where maybe there wasn’t one before.’
Nick, who stars alongside Australian actress Katherine Langford in the film, said he had watched the first screening of the film with his brother.
‘To start a conversation where maybe their wasn’t one before’: The actor said the movie was helping to break barriers on LGBT issues
‘We saw it in Seattle,’ he revealed and described it as ‘a great moment for both of us.’
Nick said his brother was tight-lipped about what he thought of the acting but had thanked him after the screening.
Based on a novel by Becky Albertalli, Nick plays the lead role of Simon Spier, a 16-year-old who is forced to come out at school after he is blackmailed with e-mails he has sent to a love interest.
Life imitating art! Earlier this week on the Ellen show, the actor revealed that his own brother came out during filming of the movie
‘People are finally seeing themselves in this form that they haven’t before’: The actor spoke about the importance of representation
The actor, who started in the 2015 film Jurassic World, commented on the important ‘representation,’ the film offers.
‘I think that’s what a lot of the reaction has been…People are finally seeing themselves in this form that they haven’t before…And I think it can be very liberating.’
Hunky Nick revealed on The Ellen Show earlier this week that his brother had come out and described the timing of it as ‘sort of coincidental.’
Lots of love, Simon! The film follows a gay team who is being blackmailed after love letters to a classmate are found
Robinson told the host: ‘He came out right around the same time we started filming,’ before adding: ‘I think he had been dealing with this for a long time.’
The film also stars Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Garner, both 45.
A slew of local celebrities attended the film’s Australian premiere in Sydney on Sunday including Erin Holland and Ksenija Lukich.
Love, Simon will be released on March 29.
‘The timing was sort of coincidental’: The film also stars Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Garner