I am gay, admits Star Trek's Mr Sulu

Actor George Takei, best known for his role as Mr Sulu in Star Trek, has come out as a homosexual in an interview with a Los Angeles magazine.

Takei, 68, said his role as a psychologist in a new play, Equus, has inspired him to discuss his sexuality publicly.

"The world has changed from when I was a teen feeling ashamed for being gay," he told gay Frontier magazine. "The issue of gay marriage is now a political issue. That would have been unthinkable then."

Takei, a Japanese-American who lived in a US internment camp as a child, said he grew up feeling ashamed of his race and sexuality.

The actor said he had been with his partner for 18 years.

Takei joined the Star Trek cast in 1966 as Hikaru Sulu, a character he played for three seasons on television and in six subsequent films.