For British actor Ben Whishaw, being a “celebrity” never came naturally to him. For years, he shied away from questions about personal life, particularly his sexuality.
But not anymore.
In a revealing new interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, the 38-year-old actor says there was a time he “hated” himself for being gay.
Related: Ben Whishaw scores a Golden Globe, dedicates it to queer defiance
”There was a moment in my early twenties when I did not feel very good about myself,” Whishaw recalls.
“It was to do with my sexuality and not knowing how to be myself and hating myself. I did know [my sexuality], I just couldn’t tell anyone.”
Whishaw, who recently won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for playing Norman Scott in A Very English Scandal, came out publicly in 2013.
For a long, he hesitated to talk about his sexuality in interviews, he says, because he feared being “pigeonholed” in his career. In hindsight, he now believes those fears were irrational.
Related: Ben Whishaw wants gay actors to go straight…for money
“People assume there’s some juicy secret. But I don’t agree any more with that statement [about being pigeonholed],” he explains.
“I don’t think it’s the be-all and end-all, and since revealing my sexuality I haven’t had any negative effects.”
In 2012, Wishaw entered into a civil partnership with Australian TV and film composer Mark Bradshaw, who he met on the set of Bright Star in 2009.
Watch Whishaw’s moving Golden Globe acceptance speech from earlier this year below.
james7
I’m a huge fan of Ben. On Netflix, watch him as a gay man who falls for the wrong guy in LONDON SPY.
DarkZephyr
I’ve seem only a few episodes of that so far, but that’s definitely where I know him as well. Its a good show so far. I was very pleased to see he actually is one of us in real life. <3
Apolodorus
His voice is incredible.
ingyaom
“Very candid”? I at least expected to hear if he was a t0p or b0tt0m.
Billy Budd
He is gorgeous, smart and extremely talented. I wanna make tender, very tender love with him.
Donston
He doesn’t really contribute much to the nuanced conversation around identity, sense of self, self-esteem/self-respect, the struggle with being out, homophobia in the entertainment industry and the pressures to stay closeted or maintain “hetero appeal” in the entertainment industry. However, he is a reasonable, seemingly level-headed and fairly talented guy.
queerty02
Funny that a guy that hot feels bad about himself lol
justgeo
Yo S’heads A Very English Scandal, was a totally unwatchable piece of garbage!!!!!!!