How Acting Helped Utopia Falls' Humberly González Open Up About Her Sexuality - Exclusive

Over the past few years, actress Humberly González has been part of a lot of exciting projects. Two of her biggest roles have been as Brooklyn on Hulu's "Utopia Falls" and Sophie on Netflix's "Ginny & Georgia." Both of those characters are also part of the LGBT community, and because González identifies as queer herself, providing that representation has been an exciting experience. "I brought authenticity to those characters just by being me. So, that was really cool," she said.

However, during her exclusive interview with The List, González shared that it hasn't always been easy to be open about her sexuality. It was actually through playing these parts that she was able to accept herself and come out to the public more readily. During our conversation, González explained how her acting inspired her to be more open about her sexuality and what it means to her to play Latina LGBT characters.

Since Humberly González is now open about her sexuality, you might assume that she sought out LGBT characters to provide that representation. However, González was cast in LGBT roles before she came out publicly, and she said she didn't seek those parts out. "I was like, 'The camera knows. How did they know?'" The actress joked. "People are always like, 'Did you get to choose your characters and who to play?' I'm like, 'No, I never get to choose any of that.'"

Despite being in the closet herself, González had the opportunity to play more than one LGBT character, starting with her role as Vanessa on CW's "In The Dark." Though the actress has since come to accept herself and be more open with her audience, that first role was a big step for her. "Back then, I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' I was so scared. I was actually really scared to step into that because it was so new for me, too."

After her role as Vanessa on "In the Dark," Humberly González went on to play more LGBT characters, like Brooklyn on "Utopia Falls" and Sophie on "Ginny & Georgia." Talking about her role on "Utopia Falls," González said, "With Brooklyn, they never really talk about her sexuality. Everything is just kind of normalized, and she just is who she is and loves who she loves. That was so refreshing because that's always how I felt ... So for me to play these characters that are just accepted right away was so important."

She hadn't decided how or if she wanted to open up about her sexuality. She said she kept thinking, "Do I need to post about it? Who do I talk to?" But, playing characters like Brooklyn and Sophie, where their sexuality was accepted without any big coming out moment, helped González realize she could do the same. As she said, "It was just a moment of like, 'You know what? I can just exist, and that's enough, as long as I come to terms with who I am, and I love myself for who I am.'"

Thanks to these characters, Humberly González felt safe to share her sexuality, and she loves that those characters have helped others to feel safer in their own identities. Especially since the 1st season of "Ginny & Georgia" came out González said she's gotten a lot of positive feedback from fans who connected to Sophie and were excited to see someone they could relate to on-screen.

"I'm so grateful I got to play Sophie, and the impact that it had on young people specifically. Specifically, young, queer people and feeling represented. Being Latina as well ... you don't often get to see a queer Latina on TV and feel seen." González said. "So, for me, it was really special, and I think it was for other people, too. And that was the majority of the messages I got was just people feeling inspired to be themselves."

"Maps and Mistletoe" starring Humberly González is airing on Lifetime throughout the holiday season.