The civil rights era is known for its influence through activism. During this time, people like Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Sirgant Marshall all became household names. But one name that you may not be aware of is Bayard Rustin, the brainchild behind the 1963 March on Washington. The late leader was a trailblazer forging the way for civil rights and gay rights. The new film, Rustin, takes a look at the life and influence of one of the country's most prolific activists. Take a look.

We are going to put together the largest peaceful protest made up of angelic troublemakers such as yourself.

And joining us now is the director of the film, Rustin, George C. Wolf. Mr. Wolf, thank you so much for coming on. Glad to be here. Why had I never heard of Mr.

Rustin before? Because it's one of those dynamics where Byard Rustin changed history, and history repaid him by forgetting him.

Why is that?

I think it's a number of things. I think that on that day, Martin Luther King, who was a regional rising star, delivered a phenomenal speech and became an international figure in that moment. And there were many other people who gave speeches, but we remember that speech. And also Byrd worked behind the scenes in the organizing. And also it was complicated because he was a 1963 version of an out homosexual. And that was very complicated then. In many respects, it's somewhat still.

Complicated now. How did you come to know about him and what made you decide, I need to tell this man's story?

Well, I first learned about him in college, but it was a name in a paragraph of other names. And then at one point I helped to work on a museum in Atlanta called the Center for Civil and Human Rights, and that's when I really dug in. And then I found out about him and how he was a freedom writer before the term was coined, that he was a conscious objector, that he spent his entire life 14, 15-year-old from Westchester, Pennsylvania, protesting segregation.

Talk to us about him being Quaker, being raised Quaker, and how that impacted him.

Very much so. It is very interesting because so many of the leaders of the civil rights movement were Southern and Baptist, and here he was a Quaker. And I think that sense of service, that sense of responsibility for, that sense of doing what you must so that it happened. So it wasn't a dynamic that was exclusively about him being a leader. He was a phenomenal leader.

I think that there are a number of crecendos, really, in the movie. Among them, there's a moment where Rustin is crying after he hears Martin Luther King really speak out on his behalf, knowing that he was gay. I think I found myself even surprised at that moment that Martin Luther King embraced him in such a public way as a Southern Baptist preacher.

Well, the thing which is really interesting is that Strum Thurmond denounced him on the Senate floor. There were forces, including the FBI, including J. E. G. Of Hoover, including the Kennedy brothers, John and his attorney general brother, Robert, were not overly enthused about this march taking place. I'm not saying that they were behind the FBI doing that, but the FBI was definitely behind Strom Thurman denouncing him in public as a homosexual. And this happened just a week and a half before the whole March. So it was a combination of support for Byrd and I think a collective contempt within the civil rights movement for Storm Thurman, where all these people came out and stood up for Byrd because he had done a.

Phenomenal job. And lastly, before I let you go, I want to talk about the role of music because that really was its own character in and of itself.

Yeah, exactly. Well, I work with Bradford Marcellus. This is the third project that we've done together. And so many of these people, you have the Adam Clayton Powell, Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, they were so smart and so articulate. And so I wanted a music equation that would capture the 1963 New York, but also captured the eloquence and the sophistication. So I worked with - Intellectual. And the intellectual thought process of all of these phenomenal men and women.

Mr. George Wolf, thank you so much for coming on the show. Really appreciate the conversation. One of our viewers to know his film, Rustin, is now out in theaters and available to watch on Netflix, November 17th.

Hi, everyone. George Stephanopoulos here. Thanks for checking out the ABC News YouTube channel. If you'd like to get more videos, show highlights and watch live event coverage, click on the right over here to subscribe to our channel. And don't forget to download the ABC News app for breaking news alerts. Thanks for watching.