Gotham star Cory Michael Smith reveals he is gay while discussing his upcoming movie 1985

Actor Cory Michael Smith, best known for his work as Edward Nygma/The Riddler on the Fox series Gotham, has come out as gay. The 31-year-old actor opened up about his sexuality while promoting his new movie, 1985, which follows the story of a gay man returning home after his partner dies of AIDS. [caption id=“attachment_4396233” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Cory Michael Smith/Image from Twitter.[/caption] “There’s something special about telling a story that feels closer to home. I’m not exactly like The Riddler in real life. I’m from Middle America… I’m from Ohio. I’ve been living here (in New York) for a while, and there are stretches when I don’t see my family often. Going home and that whole charade is very familiar. The first family dinner after a while. Coming out to a family, the fear of that,” Cory told The Daily Beast. The actor said his family were accepting of his sexuality and took it with “a lot of love”, but it took them “a lot of time” to get their heads around it. Smith’s Gotham co-star Robin Lord Taylor, who plays The Penguin on the series, is also out and proud in real life — and said that growing up gay was partly his inspiration for his take on the character.