In an interview with New York Magazine published on Sunday, Quinto recalled a stage play he performed in last year, Angels in America, which was set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic and the toll it took on him personally.

"(A)s a gay man, it made me feel like there's still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed," he told the magazine.

Quinto, who rose to fame playing the evil killer Sylar on the television series Heroes, also mused to the magazine about gay marriage and young gay teens who have committed suicide after being bullied.

"And again, as a gay man, I look at that and say there's a hopelessness that surrounds, but as a human being I look at it and say 'Why? Where's this disparity coming from...?" he said.

At the premiere of his latest film Margin Call, Quinto said he appreciated the kindness he had received since coming out.

He said: "I feel so incredibly grateful to all of the people who've reached out to me directly or indirectly or just in spirit and I feel really, really like my entire future is laid out in a different way and it's thrilling and scary and overwhelming."

He will reprise the role of Spock in the another installment of the Star Trek franchise, which goes into production in January.