“I figured if I changed my f***** self, I could be in.”
Fuller House star Juan Pablo Di Pace has spoken about his sexuality for the first time.
The Argentinian actor, singer and director – who plays Fernando on the critically-acclaimed Netflix sitcom – opened up about being gay and the anti-LGBTQ slurs he faced as a child in Buenos Aires.
Whilst speaking at a TedX event, the star admitted: “Acceptance was my fuel, and when that is the case, like an addict, you do whatever it takes to get a fix. I figured if I changed my fucking self, I could be in.”
He said he found acceptance within himself when he moved to a different country to attend college, and then recalled his role as Jesus Christ in the miniseries, A.D. The Bible Continues.
“Many years later and still justifying my being gay with my critic, I get offered the role of a lifetime: Jesus Christ,” he continued. “Well, you know, of all the people in the world that could play this part, they gave it to me.
“So there I am, hanging on the cross… in Morocco… and I look up at the sky, and I think, ‘You could still strike me down with lightning. Are you sure you want me to play your son?'”
Di Pace explained that he felt an “overwhelming feeling of love and acceptance and freedom” that he couldn’t put into words, and said it was possibly a message from a higher power.
He added: “Words are like universes and we are musicians who can create universes with them.”
The actor has played Fernando in the Full House reboot since 2016. He has also starred in Mamma Mia and Dallas, and competed on the 27th series of Dancing With The Stars.
All four seasons of Fuller House are available to stream on Netflix. The fifth – and final – season will premiere later this year.