Great news from our Friendly Neighborhood to the North: 21-year-old actor Adamo Ruggiero, who is wrapping up a 6-year stint as beloved gay teenager Marco del Rossi on critical and fan fave Degrassi: The Next Generation, has come out as a gay man in a candid interview to a Canadian Internet video site.

Echoing the coming out of Wilson Cruz, the US's first gay primetime teen on My So Called Life, Ruggiero decided that after serving as a role model to youths for years as Marco, his going public with his sexuality was a no-brainer. 

He notes:

"I thought, you know, I was learning and I learned and what better way to kind of share my knowledge than right now."

Ruggiero also speaks about the parallels between Marco's journey and his own, whether or not he was afraid of being forcibly outed by the gossip press, and much much more in this thoughtful interview. He's also Italian, so he talks with his hands a lot, which is adorable:

We've been big fans of Ruggiero and Marco for a while now, and posted some great pics of him a while back - check 'em out! You can find more of our coverage of Degrassi's gay character over here.

Big love to Ruggiero for the courage to speak openly about his sexuality and to continuing to be an inspiration to young gay people by living his life authentically and with pride.