He wasn’t written as a type, and I wouldn’t play him as one.” Once I realized that Omar was non-effeminate, that I didn’t have to talk or walk in a flamboyant way, a lot of that fear drained away. “I think my initial fear of Omar’s sexuality came from my upbringing, the community that raised me, and the stubborn stereotypes of gay characters.

“As for Omar’s homosexuality, it was groundbreaking 20 years ago, and I admit that at first I was scared to play a gay character,” Williams wrote. The book, co-written by Jon Sternfeld, details Williams’ initial fears about playing a gay character onscreen. 'I realized that he wasn't saying this out of hate, he was saying this out of fear.' Since, the family has strengthened its relationship.While Williams, who died of a drug overdose at age 54 last year, did not identify as gay, he mentioned in his memoir that he was called “Faggot Mike” growing up. 'It really, really hurt to hear those words,' Ramzi said.

When Ramzi told him what he wanted to hear, his father became quiet and said 'why don't you just put a bullet in my head.' Ramzi's sister, who is also queer and had come out before, was also present. His father ended up forcing the coming out, having already suspected, in an extremely intense scene. When he came to the realization that wasn't his future, he told his mother who was very supportive. 'I was so scared of what it actually meant to call yourself gay so even the first man I dated, I still thought that afterwards I was going to eventually meet a girl and get married because that's what men did,' he said. It took until age 21, even after dating someone for the coming out to occur. 'I grew up in an Armenian-American community and I grew up in a divorced family so I feel like I had to come out twice,' he said. Ramzi's story was more complex than some.

Gay brave williams