Kristen Bell is "wildly proud" of Zachary Quinto going public with his homosexuality.

The actress and Zachary starred together on hit sci-fi TV show Heroes.

Zachary came out about being gay in October 2011.

Kristen commends his candour and bravery.

"Zach came out when he was ready, he did it for his own very specific reasons, and I'm wildly proud of him," Kristen told LGBT magazine The Advocate. "If I struggled with an issue like this, I hope that I would be able to set that kind of example, because I'd want someone to set that example for me."

While they were castmates on Heroes from 2007 to 2008, Kristen never was compelled to divulge the true nature Zachary's sexual orientation.

"I was never asked a question about Zach's sexuality," Kristen explained, "[B]ut if a journalist ever asked me about anyone's sexuality, gay or straight, I'd probably slap them in the face and say, 'Check yourself.' "

Kristen hopes that the homophobia will be obsolete in America within the next decade.

"In about 10 years, knock on wood, I think we're going to be embarrassed as a nation about our behaviour on this issue," she declared. "It's going to be exactly like what happened in 1970, when people were like, 'Whoa, 1960 sucked. We should've let everyone ride the bus.' "