Marvel star J. August Richards reveals he is gay

"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." star J. August Richards, who is known for playing the superhero Deathlok, is thanking fans for the "avalanche of love" after he revealed he is gay.

Richards had discussed his sexuality during an Instagram Live chat about his new series, "Council of Dads", and he recently took to the photo-sharing website to express his gratitude for the support he has received, reports aceshowbiz.com.

"Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. 'Thank you' feel like cheap words to describe the depths of the gratitude I feel for your support and the crushing avalanche of LOVE I felt aimed at me yesterday," he wrote alongside an image of himself sporting a rainbow shirt.

He added: "Who knew that something I once thought of as terrifying had within it something so beautiful... For every comment, like, emoji, repost, phone call, text message, everything," he added. "I felt it ALL... Thank you!!!"

In his latest series, Richards portrays a married gay man, and in his question-and-answer session for the show, he shared he felt a responsibility to be honest with fans.

"You have an opportunity to put an image into millions of homes and I wanted that image to be honest and correct," he said. "It required me to show up in a way that I haven't always when I was working."

Tags: Cinema, Showbiz, Hollywood