Cory Michael Smith
Cory Michael Smith said it took a lot of time before he could come out as gay to his family. In this photo, the “Gotham” star attends the Todd Snyder fashion show during New York Fashion Week at Pier 59 on Feb. 5, 2018 in New York City. Getty Images/Ben Gabbe

“Gotham” star Cory Michael Smith has come out as gay as he talked about his role as Adrian in the touching film, “1985.”

The coming out film is all about a young man with AIDS who heads home to Texas for the holidays, which might be his last because of the disease.

“There’s something special about telling a story that feels closer to home,” Smith told The Daily Beast. “I’m not exactly like The Riddler in real life.”

“I’m from Middle America,” he continued. “I’m from Ohio. I’ve been living here [in New York] for a while, and there are stretches when I don’t see my family often. Going home and that whole charade is very familiar. The first family dinner after a while. Coming out to a family, the fear of that.”

Personally, Smith said his coming out was handled with “a lot of love,” though it took “a lot of time” before he mustered up the courage to do so.

Smith is known for playing Ed Nygma, better known as the Riddler, in the Fox show “Gotham.” His character has a long-standing feud against Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), also known as the Penguin.

But this Season 4, the two former-friends-turned-enemies will be back in each other’s lives. In fact, they might even be working together.

“The Riddler and the Penguin come back into each other’s lives, and it’s a really, really great moment. And it’s unexpected; I don’t think people will expect the way this happens,” Taylor told TV Line about their union. “It also kind of shows one of my favorite things about the show, which is that these characters take the lessons and the experiences of the past and they change and they grow and they evolve, as the years go on.”

Taylor added that everything that happened between the two characters have shaped them into becoming stronger individuals, so they will bring these newfound strength and knowledge to the table.

“And that’s why I think it’s unexpected but it gives our show a groundedness and a reality. Like, things aren’t just tossed away. The characters remember the people that have hurt them. It’s bingeable TV!” he continued.

“Gotham” Season 4 airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on Fox.

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