Actor John Cho's has revealed his "Star Trek" character Hikaru Sulu is gay but his personal life won't be a major issue in "Star Trek Beyond".
The USS Enterprise helmsman will be seen in upcoming movie "Star Trek Beyond" as being in a same sex relationship and the father to a daughter.
Cho, 44, is pleased with the low-key fashion in which his alter ego's personal life has been introduced to the saga, reported Ace Showbiz.
"I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thing out it, which is where I hope we are going as a species, to not politicise one's personal orientation," he said.
Cho explained writer and co-star Simon Pegg and director Justin Lin had chosen to make Sulu gay in a nod to homosexual actor George Takei, who played the character in the original 1960s series.
Filmmaker JJ Abrams, who rebooted the franchise in 2009 and has stayed on as producer for the upcoming third movie, previously admitted he would consider featuring a gay character.
Meanwhile, George came out as gay in 2005 after a bill to legalise same-sex marriage in California was vetoed.
In 2008, he and his partner, Brad Altman, became the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in California and they tied the knot later that year.
