- Born
- Birth nameRobert Gonzalez
- With several decades of wide-ranging credits to his name, Robert Gant has become a well known actor and participant both in Hollywood and abroad. From television to film, dramatic to comedic, his portrayals have spanned all genres. In one of his most well known roles, Robert starred as Professor Ben Bruckner in Showtime's hit television series, "Queer as Folk." In that groundbreaking show, Robert explored broad dramatic terrain through his character, including being married in the first legal gay marriage ever portrayed on television. His list of credits include recurring parts on multiple series, television and theatrical films, and becoming television's first gay spy in the film, "Kiss Me Deadly." His many guest starring roles include a well known turn on the TV hit show, "Friends," where he played one of two men Phoebe was dating simultaneously. Robert also stars as Melissa Benoist's Kryptonian father Zor-El on "Supergirl" and as Todd Crimsen on the Netflix series, "Thirteen Reasons Why."
Robert's love of acting and performing began at an early age. He started doing television commercials and joined the Screen Actors Guild at the age of ten in his home state of Florida. He attended undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania and law school at Georgetown University. While studying, he never gave up on his artistic passions and took part in numerous singing groups and theatrical productions. Interestingly, it was his career as an attorney that brought him to Los Angeles when he accepted a position with the world's then largest law firm, Baker & McKenzie. In a twist of fate, the firm's Los Angeles office was closed soon after. Taking that as a sign, he made the decision to focus all of his time on the entertainment business.
Robert's experiences in Hollywood are not limited to performing. He was a producing partner in the production company, Mythgarden. Its feature film, "Save Me," which stars Robert along with Judith Light and Chad Allen, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Robert also co-produced, co-wrote, and starred in the Netflix-distributed period drama "Milada," the true story of Czech heroine Milada Horakova, who was, in 1950, the first woman executed in Czech history by the Communist government. In addition, Robert has completed the first draft of his first novel and, with a writing partner, is developing television projects and penning screenplays.
While he has given time to a number of philanthropic and political causes, such as HRC (by which he was given their National Equality Award), GLAAD (by which he was given their Davidson/Valentini Award for the promotion of equal rights in the community), and Lambda Legal, Robert's "torch issue" has been that of aging in the gay community. He's supported such organizations as SAGE (Senior Advocacy for GLBT Elders), which named him their first Honorary Elder, and GLEH (Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing), for which he served as a Board Member, and has been committed to addressing the community's collective challenge of growing old, alone. In 2016, Robert received the ADL Heroes Award from the Anti-Defamation League for his work on behalf of the LGBT and aging communities.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Moderator
- He was a practicing attorney before going into acting full time.
- He graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1993 in the same class as Michael Powell (Former FCC Chairman) and Robert W. Bigelow (Court TV).
- He was the recipient of a special civil rights award presented to him in New York's City Hall in 2003.
- At the age of eleven, he performed a soft-shoe routine with Bob Hope as part of Hope's USO tour.
- One of the co-founders of a production company called Mythgarden, which he formed with producer Christopher Racster and actor Chad Allen (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993)).
- Gandhi said, 'Be the change you wish to see in the world," and so I guess I'm being the change that I wish to see.
~~~~ - For me, the litmus test to know whether or not I'm doing the right thing is to examine whether my decisions are love-based or fear-based. I think outing people is fear based, the fear that if we don't out them, it will make things harder for all of us. It's important to treat people with love. How would you treat your own kid? Would you whip him out of the closet, or would you sit down with him, talk, hug and help him come out on his own?
- A friend of mine says, "In God's world there are no mistakes, only lessons." So I'm coming out exactly when I'm supposed to.
- Freedom is my big buzzword in life. It's just my favorite word. And I think so many of my choices have been about gaining freedom.
- I think as a kid I wasn't even aware of the extent to which my freedom was being infringed upon. We're conditioned not even to know that we're not free. When you think about what we all believe America to be, it just seems ludicrous that so much of America's populace lives in this sort of prison. I think coming out for me is really about tearing down the prison wall.
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