5 minutes with Tituss Burgess
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star celebrates who he is every single day
Before Tituss Burgess “Pinot Noir”-ed his way to cult stardom in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as the flamboyant roommate of the titular character, he was a Broadway performer — and even before that, he was an advocate for the LGBT community.
We caught up with him to chat about his faith, pride and why his couch is so important.
Q So Titus Andromedon is pretty much a walking Pride parade. How are you celebrating this year?
A When I walk out my door, I celebrate it.
I rally and go to parades in June, but for me June extends all year round by not hiding. Look, I’m not a 32 waist.
I represent more of my community.
It can be hard to find your place in an image-driven world, but it’s all about loving yourself and being who you came to this planet to be.
Q Even though your character is this completely outrageous one, his experiences with coming out and navigating life as a gay man feel very real — how much do they mirror your own?
A His experience doesn’t resemble mine at all — I came out to my mom at 19, and I’ve built my life on being frank and not hiding.
But Titus looks like a lot of people I know.
His life resembles a lot of people — living in New York or just chasing your dreams — I think a lot of people understand that.
Q The show has so many oneliners and catchphrases — is there one you use in your real life?
A Oh, it’s so hard to choose, because Tina and Robert do this thing where they tuck away all these gems, and you almost have to go back to get them all. The show on the whole is like ... some kind of a Batman symbol of resilience and not accepting circumstances and creating a new future for yourself.
Q What travel destination is on your bucket list?
A This is going to be a boring answer because I hate to travel. My dream destination is my couch.
Q Homeless LGBT youth — what draws you to that cause?
A My church has a whole department related to raising money and awareness about this very thing, so it was a no-brainer.
I wrote an album called Welcome, back when I didn’t have two pennies to rub together, with all the proceeds going to the cause.
Q Tell me about your church.
A It’s Middle Collegiate Church. It was important to me to find a place that didn’t use the Bible as a weapon of mass destruction, but rather as weapon of mass inclusion. It took a while — I grew up in the church.
I directed the choir.
I wanted to find a place whose sole agenda was human beings, taking care of human beings.
It’s alarming how rare that is.
This is going to be a boring answer because I hate to travel. My dream destination is my couch.