'Arrested Development' Star Alia Shawkat Comes Out As Bisexual

Alia Shawkat opened up about her sexuality in a candid new interview. 

The “Arrested Development ” star told Out magazine that she identifies as bisexual, and will star in a queer-themed film that she also co-wrote later this year. 

“I was a tomboy growing up, and I remember my mom asking me when I was 10, ‘Are you attracted to boys or girls?’ I said ‘I don’t know,’” Shawkat said. “Now I consider myself bisexual, and I think balancing my male and female energies has been a big part of me growing as an actor.”

Shawkat’s wildly addictive TBS series, “Search Party ,” doesn’t shy away from LGBTQ themes , and enjoyed a sizable queer following when it debuted last fall. Her upcoming project, “Duck Butter,” goes a step further by featuring a same-sex couple as its protagonists. The 28-year-old said the film was written with a heterosexual couple in mind, but she and the creative team opted to make it about two women instead. “I love that it was written for a man and a woman, but we couldn’t find the right guy, so now it happens to star two women [as lovers],” she said. 

The actress, who hits the big screen Friday in “Paint It Black ” opposite Alfred Molina, said growing up in Los Angeles and “being exposed to lots of gay artists” helped shape her identity as a performer. The current political climate, she said, has inspired her to be more outspoken. 

“As a woman, an Arab-American, and a member of the LGBTQ community, I have to use whatever voice I have,” she explained. “There’s no more delicacy in being quiet.” 

Read the full Out magazine interview here .