Broadway's Matt Zarley Remembers Being the First Out Gay Man in PEOPLE's Bachelors Issue

Actor Matt Zarley is living out his dream after a successful transition from theater roles in "A Chorus Line" and "Chicago" to his now one-man web series "11 O'Clock Number."

As reported by People, the 47-year-old Broadway vet recently recounted one of the moments when things began to crystallize for his career, specifically being named one of PEOPLE's first openly gay bachelor back in the 2012 Bachelors issue.

"It was an unbelievable honor," he recalls. "So many people said to me, 'You're so brave for doing this,' and I said, 'I'm just being me, I don't know what's brave about that.'"

Zarley said he wasn't aware "of the magnitude" of the honor at the time.

"I was surprised at how far and wide it reached," he said. "I have always wondered what it wouldn't been like if the internet was around then [like it is now]."

His show "11 O'Clock Number" reimagines 12 iconic songs from the Great White Way as a dozen narrative episodes.

"When I was 19 years old, I made my Broadway debut in A Chorus Line," says Zarley, who sings "What I Did for Love" to close out the series. "It holds a really special place in my heart."

As far as how things have changed for LGBTQ+ performers in the past 20 years, Zarley says things have "come really far."

"Positive representation in the media and entertainment has definitely helped," he said. "Unfortunately, all of these legislative rollbacks currently working their way through several states casts a bit of a dark cloud over the progress that we've made. But I'm determined we're going to move forward and keep evolving as a society."

Watch the preview for "11 O'Clock Number" below.