Boots’ Miles Heizer recalls ‘nightmare’ of coming out to family: ‘Everyone was upset’

Miles Heizer has opened up about his own difficult experience coming out, describing it as “nightmare.”

The actor, 31, is currently starring as the closeted Marine recruit Cameron Cope in Netflix’s Boots, which is based on Greg Cope’s memoir, The Pink Marine. The book was written about Cope’s experiences in the Marines in 1979, when being gay in the military was banned.

The series updates this to just before ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ came into effect. That policy prevented gay military service people from being open about their sexuality and gender identity.

In an interview with Variety, Heizer, who came out when he was 19, discussed his experience of disclosing his sexuality to his “super conservative, religious family.” Heizer was raised, along with his sister, by his mum and grandmother in Kentucky.

@pinknews Miles Heizer, the actor currently starring as closeted Marine recruit Cameron Cope in the new Netflix series ‘Boots’, has opened up about his own difficult experience coming out, describing it as an "unfortunately classic gay coming-out story." Speaking to Variety about the response from his family, the actor detailed the struggle he faced due to his religious background.“I had a very unfortunately classic gay coming-out story. It was a nightmare and everyone was upset. But at the time, I definitely had the old Christian upbringing.” The star, also known for his role in ’13 Reasons Why’, highlighted his family and friends who did support him.“I’m lucky my sister, who’s my best friend, could not have cared less and was very there for me. My friends around me were super supportive,” Heizer said.Heizer confirmed that his family relationships have improved over time. “Things have gotten so much better in that regard with my family over the years.” #13reasonswhy #milesheizer #comingout #gay #lgbtqia ♬ Serious piano strings sad(989795) – Yuli Audio Craft

“I had a very unfortunately classic gay coming-out story. It was a nightmare and everyone was upset, the 13 Reasons Why actor said. “I’m lucky my sister, who’s my best friend, could not have cared less and was very there for me.”

He continued, “My friends around me were super supportive and things have gotten so much better in that regard with my family over the years. But at the time, I definitely had the old Christian upbringing.”

Since debuting on Netflix Boots has proven a hit with audiences. In our own review, we praised the show for being “quietly affecting” with “beautiful” exploration of male relationships in the Marines.

The series leaves the door open for a potential second season, which if commissioned would have to start from scratch having already used all the material from Cope’s memoir.

Former Emmerdale star Max Parker, who plays Sgt. Sullivan, has shared his take on the future of the show while speaking to Radio Times.

“There are so many ways it could go for all of our characters,” he said. “I love that moment at the end where I hand over the walkie talkie to Cameron and let him know that he’s ready now… Just this battle of what’s right and what’s wrong. That moment of handing over the baton for him to carry on…”

Heizer agreed that there are “so many different directions” the show could go in if it were renewed for season two, including a romance for Cameron. “It would be interesting to see him navigating that, especially in this military world,” he said. 

All episodes of Boots are streaming now on Netflix.

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