Frozen actor Jonathan Groff told his brother he was gay after crying at the sight of Michelangelo’s David.
Then just 23 years old, Jonathan was traveling through Italy on vacation after finishing his performance in Spring Awakening, the musical that made him a Broadway star.
He raced around the countryside taking in the country’s sights, his last solo stop in Florence before heading to Rome, where he would be with his brother.
As he walked through the Academy, he was struck by a display of unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo, which seemed to him “squeezed, as if straining to be freed from the marble and struggling for air.”
Then he said Condé Nast Travelerhe encountered the sight of a ‘perfect, freed’ statue of David, which prompted him to free himself by telling his brother the truth.
Milestone: Frozen actor Jonathan Groff comes out as gay to his brother after he was brought to tears by the sight of Michelangelo’s David
Iconic: He told Conde Nast Traveler he saw a ‘perfect, liberated’ statue of David, prompting him to break free by telling his brother the truth
‘I started to cry and I asked myself, what is it about this naked man that makes me so emotional?’ wrote the Hamilton heartthrob.
“Afterwards I was sitting in the square writing a diary, thinking about how no one here knew or cared about me, and I decided to go out the next day to my brother – who is also called David,” Jonathan recalled, saying: “Only my my roommate knew I was gay because he was also my secret boyfriend.’
At Sabi’s restaurant in Rome’s Campo de’ Fiori, Jonathan decided to tell his brother, but was trembling with fear.
‘My hands were shaking; my voice was hoarse from speaking, because I had not spoken to anyone for seven days. But David also seemed nervous,” Jonathan said.
He said, “Jonathan, I need to talk to you about something. He told me all about this girl he was in love with, who is now his wife.
“It was like he was dating me, because we never talked about relationships or sex or love in our entire lives as brothers,” Jonathan revealed.
“He did it perfectly, and when he gave me all the details, he said, ‘This is the first time I’ve felt this, and I wonder, what’s wrong with you?’
Jonathan then “shared everything with him. We just showed each other. It could never have happened anywhere else.’
Together again: At the time of his trip, Jonathan had just found fame on Broadway in Spring Awakening opposite Lea Michele, with whom he reunited last year
Soon after, Jonathan was linked to fellow Broadway actor Gavin Creel, and his love life meanwhile included Star Trek star Zachary Quint.
Jonathan first rose to fame on Broadway in the 2006 musical Spring Awakening opposite rising starlet Lea Michele.
Leah and Jonathan reunited when he achieved television fame during his recurring guest role on Glee, where she was part of the main cast.
He has since made his presence felt in a number of high-profile projects, including Disney’s Frozen and the original Broadway cast of Hamilton.