The first time I tried to kill myself I was 15
In emotional speech at a Human Rights Campaign Dinner in Seattle, the actor revealed he first attempted suicide when he was just 15 by taking an overdose.
‘The first time I tried to kill myself I was 15’, he said, ‘I waited until my family were away for the weekend and I was alone in the house and I swallowed a bottle of pills.’
The actor, who explained explained he didn’t know where to turn for help as a young boy.
Every day was a test
‘Come Monday morning I was on the bus to school pretending everything was fine,’ he said, adding that his attempt wasn't a cry for help, because he didn't ‘believe there was help to cry for.’
The 41 year-old, who only recently came out publicly, admitted he tried commit suicide multiple times because he couldn't handle keeping his sexual identity a secret.
‘Every day was a test,’ he said of his teenage years, and admitted that working in Hollywood as a closeted actor was also ‘torture.’
His public confession last month was a bid to tackle homophobia in Russia, where politicians have passed a law imposing heavy fines for providing information about homosexuality to people under 18.
The actor, who played Michael Scofield in Prison Break, turned down an invitation to the St. Petersburg International Film Festival, saying: ‘as a gay man I must decline.’
In his letter to the festival organisers, the star explained: ‘I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government.’
‘The situation is in no way acceptable, and I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly.’
Wentworth’s letter was made public by campaigning group GLAAD.