John Cho confirms Sulu is gay and married in 'Star Trek Beyond'

WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- Actor John Cho confirmed that this character Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek Beyond will be depicted as an openly gay father in a same-sex relationship.

Cho told Australia's Herald Sun director Justin Lin and writer Simon Pegg decided to make the character gay as a nod to openly gay actor George Takei who portrayed Sulu in the 1960s television series.

"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 politicize one's personal orientations," Cho said.

USA Today confirmed Cho's quote with his publicist, but reported that Paramount would neither confirm nor deny the decision.

Takei spoke about his experience working on the show during the '60s in an interview with News Corp from 2015.

"If I wanted to work as an actor I had to keep it a secret. Back then I couldn't marry a white person — that was against the law here, miscegenation," he said. "But now I am married to a white dude, so we have changed."