About 13 months ago, Wentworth Miller came out as gay. He also came out as a man in his 40s, which was more mind-blowing than his homosexuality quite honestly (he’s 42 years old now). Wentworth’s coming out had a political flavor – he packaged his coming out story with a refusal to attend a film festival in Russia following Russia’s “crackdown” on all things LGBT. In subsequent interviews, Wentworth also discussed his struggles with depression and shame, partly because he wasn’t living a completely honest and “out” life when he was in Hollywood’s Glass Closet. Anyway, Wentworth has a new interview with Details and more than a year after the event, he seems to be in a much better/healthier/happier place. Some highlights:

On body image: “There’s a lot of pressure on actors to have a six-pack and everything that goes with it. But that’s never been an obsession of mine. I like being heavier sometimes. It feels like you’re a force to reckon with. Then again, at one point I was about 45 pounds heavier than I am now. I was looking to food as a fix for something missing inside. It was about putting layers of protection around me.”

Dealing with his depression: “I’m part of a group called the ManKind Project. It’s a circle of men I sit in with every week that’s a safe sounding board for whatever’s up for me: good, bad, ugly, really ugly. We know how to respond to someone coming out now—we’ve had that training—but admit you’re sad or that you’ve thought about suicide and people don’t know what to do. With sadness, particularly with men, that conversation is unfamiliar.”

Lifting the burden by coming out: “I feel more fully expressed. After Prison Break, I came to grips with the fact that my public persona was in misalignment with how I actually felt. I was out to a handful of people in my twenties, and once I hit 30, I was out to family and friends. But professionally, I was feeding a fantasy. I created this air of “We don’t address that thing.”

Whether he regrets denying his homosexuality in interviews: “My face was on billboards, and I thought it was my job to act a certain way. But I think audiences knew to a certain degree.”

Whether he worries about alienating his straight female fans: “No. The people onscreen aren’t the characters they’re playing. They’re our projection of who we want them to be. I think it’s possible to have a man-crush if you’re not gay or to have a crush on a guy you know to be gay if you’re a woman. Attraction is fluid, and I think our imaginations are strong enough to hold a container for all of this complexity, even if we know on a subconscious level something’s not what it appears to be.”

[From Details]

Wow, he’s really good at this. Like, there’s some touchy-feely language where you can tell he’s been in therapy and he gone through at least one 12-step program, but he’s not bashing you over the head with it. He just sounds… like he’s at peace with himself. Like he’s in a good place, emotionally, psychologically, physically. I hope he finds more work! He’s got some projects lined up and he’s promoting a movie in this piece (it’s a film called The Loft), but he needs more work! I wouldn’t mind seeing him in an ensemble TV show. Or even in a lead role in some kind of procedural (he would be good as a cop).

Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.