Andrew Scott says being gay ‘isn’t interesting’ as he slams forced closeting of actors
Andrew Scott. (Getty Images)
Andrew Scott has spoke about the pressures faced by gay actors, saying they were often offered a “silent choice” – that of being offered opportunities, as long as they hid their sexuality.
Speaking with Vogue, the 50-year-old said straight actors did not have to make the same sacrifice, though added: “I do feel that the playing field is starting to level out.”
On visibility and prejudice, Scott said: “There’s that great expression that prejudice doesn’t survive proximity. If you see people, you become less frightened of them.”
He also briefly touched on his own sexuality, saying: “Well it isn’t very interesting…”
‘Terror of silence’
Scott also said the “terror” of AIDS-era silence still offends him, while praising the “freedom” he sees among young gay people today who have grown up after.
He reflected on growing up in Dublin in the years after the AIDS crisis, and what he described as a “conspiracy of silence around sexuality”.
Scott said: “The fact that the current generation of young gay people feels a freedom from that is wonderful.”
He added: “There was no information, no help, all this silence. The terror of that silence is the thing that offends. That should be where the shame lies.”
Andrew Scott as Ian Charleson in Elsinore
Scott’s comments were made as he promotes Elsinore, directed by Simon Stone and written by Stephen Beresford. The film is set during autumn 1989, when actor Ian Charleson played Hamlet at the National Theatre while seriously ill with AIDS.
Discussing taking on the role of Charleson, Scott said: “In some ways my fear was that we would fetishise Ian’s death rather than celebrate his life.”
Scott is known for roles including Moriarty in BBC’s Sherlock and the “Hot Priest” in Fleabag, and he was embraced by queer audiences for his role in All of Us Strangers. He said he “enjoys being gay so much, on so many levels”, adding: “I certainly know that the shadow of AIDS was looming when I was growing up in the nineties.”
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