Andrew Scott says tragic gay history must not be ignored: ‘The shame doesn’t lie with us’

Following the European premiere of Elsinore, Andrew Scott opened up about being a “yearner” and the importance of queer joy in Heartstopper and Heated Rivalry.

At the 2026 London Film Festival‘s screen talk with the beloved 49-year-old Irish actor, Scott reflected on some of the most important queer roles of his career and opened up about his new meaningful role in Elsinore.

Simon Stone’s biographical drama chronicles the life of gay Scottish actor Ian Charleson (Scott).

The film follows Charleson as he prepares to perform Hamlet at the National Theatre in London. However, during this time, he is dying of AIDS and under the care of his doctor (Olivia Colman).

The film also stars Heartstopper’s Joe Locke, Doctor Who’s Billie Piper, Ripley’s Johnny Flynn, Bridgerton’s Monica Dolan and Bend It Like Beckham’s Juliet Stevenson. 

Appearing at the BFI on Thursday (8 October), Scott was asked about the queer roles that have been staples of his career. Scott’s recent melancholic dramas include Elsinore and All of Us Strangers, where he plays a lonely screenwriter finding comfort in his mysterious neighbour (Paul Mescal).

‘I welcome things like Heartstopper, Heated Rivalry and Red, White and Royal Blue‘

Notably, he appeared in a recent collection of films criticised for depicting queer turmoil and sadness. Historically, there have been lazy cinematic trends of ‘kill your gays’ and LGBTQ+ archetypes and stereotypes dominating representation; today, there are more diverse offerings of queer representation.

Some are even pushing the notion that ‘queer joy’ is the sole way forward in cinema.

When asked about this criticism of the roles and film tone, Scott (who is out gay) emphasised the need to portray the full spectrum of the queer experience on screen. He also noted his love for recent LGBTQ+ productions.

“I feel like I welcome things like Heartstopper, Heated Rivalry and Red, White and Royal Blue and all those things that are joyful. I really, really do,” Scott shared.

“The fact that there’s lots of different types of gay drama, so to speak, on film and TV is extraordinary.”

Scott went on to note that he is troubled by the notion that moments in LGBTQ+ history that are tragic would be overlooked. 

“Perhaps [these people] don’t want to go back to a time when you’re talking about the AIDS crisis, or you’re talking about when it was incredibly difficult for gay people.

“I think that sometimes comes from a place of shame: ‘No, I don’t want to go back there. I don’t want to see that anymore.’

‘Shame lies with the governments who ignored the AIDS crisis’

“The shame does not lie with the gay people. Shame lies with the governments who ignored the AIDS crisis and the stigma that was around people and the innate prejudice that was in society. That’s someone else’s shame.”

Scott’s answer was met by applause from the audience.

The conversation also included Scott reflecting on past breakthrough roles, including the theatrically villainous Moriarty from Sherlock and the Hot Priest from Fleabag.

When speaking about Pride, Scott expressed: “I guess we’re all yearners. To yearn, I guess, is an inherently cinematic idea.

“Pride was so extraordinarily beautifully written, a character who wasn’t particularly shy; I was very hungry to play that sort of part after Sherlock because it was so fun. It was wonderful to play something different.”

The conversation circled back to Elsinore and the role of Ian Charleson. Charleson is best known for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire, but he also had a rich stage career.

‘Ian was an enormously funny person and actor’

“Ian was an enormously funny person and actor, somebody I have a kinship with,” Scott says of the late actor. “He was an enormously brave person.

“What I love so much about Elsinore is that so often we equate success of an actor with fame… in some ways Ian had some success, but I don’t think he got the opportunity that he could have, for whatever reason…”

Charleson was diagnosed with HIV in 1986. He died of AIDS-related causes in January 1990 at the age of 40. He died eight weeks after his incredible performance as Hamlet. Also, he was among the first celebrity deaths in the UK openly attributed to the illness.

“Theatre was an escape,” Scott said of the actor. “The idea that he did that with no immune system… he’s an Olympian… the physical and psychological toll that must have taken on him.

“The bravery at a time when having that particular disease felt like there was some sort of blame attached to it.”

At the film premiere on Wednesday (7 October), Scott welcomed many of the real-life people from the film onto the premiere stage. Among them was pioneer of HIV/AIDS treatment Professor Margaret Johnson, whom Colman portrays in the film. 

“It was extraordinary,” Scott said of sharing the stage with the inspiration behind the film. “The whole 2000 people [in the Royal Festival Hall] stood for her.”

Elsinore is screening at the BFI 2026 London Film Festival, and is due for wider release in the UK in January 2027.

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