British actor Ben Whishaw, best-known for taking over the iconic role of Q in the most recent James Bond caper Skyfall, has not only confirmed speculation that he’s gay but revealed he’s “married” to his partner, Australian composer Mark Bradshaw.
The couple met on the set of Bright Star, a 2009 Australian film about poet John Keats and had a civil union ceremony in Sydney last August, reports Daily Mail.
Whishaw, who has played numerous gay characters in films such as 2008’s Brideshead Revisited and last year’s Cloud Atlas, was somewhat ambiguous about his sexual orientation in an interview with Out magazine two years ago. He noted the importance of openly gay role models but stopped short of coming out, saying that he was in the middle of a “transitional thing.”
Now the actor’s publicist has removed any doubt, saying, “Ben has never hidden his sexuality, but like many actors he prefers not to discuss his family or life outside of his work. Due to speculation, I can confirm that Ben and Mark entered into a civil partnership in August 2012. They were proud to do so and are very happy.”
fagburn
Outed by the Mail then?
Mr. E. Jones
but like many closeted actors he prefers not to discuss his family or life outside of his work
There fixed it. The only people who never discuss their life outside work are gay actors. Straight actors never shut-up about it.
marke
Outed himself in tabloid. What a looser.
Homophile
@marke:
What’s a “looser”?
marke
sorry, “loser”
Paul F
@Homophile: My guess would be someone who asks if it’s in yet, when your arm is up to the elbow in their posterior.
Scribe38
I wish him the best. I thought skyfall was the best bond movie in a very long time.
jwrappaport
What a beautiful man – with less hair and minus all that scruff.
Polaro
Damn, I didn’t even get a shot. And he is anything but a loser.
BritAus
Fucking QUEENS.
There’s always one – MARKE – that simply can’t help themselves and has to say something nasty.
We know who the real loser is.
MikeE
@BritAus: Pot? meet Kettle.
elbertdijkgraaf
He makes my panties go *ping*
One down, one more to go (Tom Payne please)
Larkin
So many people rag on actors for not coming out, but if it was your career, you might think twice as well.
He isn’t the rich megastar like Cruise or Travolta, who are set for life even if they don’t ever act again. He’s simply a working actor and that can turn into working barista pretty quickly.
The simple fact is ‘coming out’ can and does affect what offers you receive… and it’s not like a lot of casting directors wouldn’t love to cast him, but they are under high pressure as well because the goal is to make money, not necessarily to go with the best actor. Anything that can interfere with that goal of making money could be a slash in the ‘negative’ column when it comes to casting.
There have been notable breakthroughs, but hollywood is still generally uncomfortable with casting a gay person in a straight role and those who have come out, came out after having pretty big hits in most cases because just like N’Sync, Lance couldn’t come out because that would affect the image and likeability of the group when you target audience is tween girls who fantasize over your hotness and junk. Justin Bieber simply wouldn’t be where he is if he came out as gay before his career started. He’d still be on youtube and working at McDonalds.
So, let’s cut some slack to these actors as, for the most part, most of us really aren’t judged on being hired or not because we are gay. They really are based upon fear that it will cost the movie money.
Larkin
@Larkin: In an ideal world, if every gay actor came out tomorrow, I think that’d be great.
In related news, 50% of gay actors will never have a big screen role ever again.
Daniel-Reader
Cool. I liked Cloud Atlas and Skyfall.
Larry
No wonder its slow for our world to get the recognition it should have. People DEMANDING everyone come out NOW. This is a personal decision in a world of hate for us. And you know what. Those of you doing the DEMANDING are hating us too. Mind your own damn business!
Larry
@Larkin: Thank you!
stevearies40
@Larkin:
HERE HERE!!!!!!!!
Larkin
@Larry: You are welcome. It’s easy to say ‘come out’ when you are in a good job with accepting people… it’s not so easy when you are told to come out, but it MIGHT cost you your career…. If there was no issue of career, I believe almost all gay actors would come out, but the fact remains that gays are discriminated against in hollywood casting.
So when people shout ‘come out, come out, wherever you are’…. umm.. that totally forgets about the rampant homophobia that exists in hollywood marketing. It’s easy for NPH to be out because he already had a following and a cultish one at that, plus, he’s a very good comedian. For a supporting actor… they aren’t feeling the same love.
Lefty
I think it’s understandable for an actor to want to be as blank a canvas as possible in the public’s mind and so to want a degree of privacy and anonymity in that respect.
He’s never pretended to be straight and has seemed in previous interviews to want to navigate that privacy with questions of being a role model or inspiration or whatever.
The real story here, as Fagburn says above, is that this appears to be yet another forced outing by the Mail.
BlogZilla
When is our society going to grow up and realize that’s it’s not a shock to those of us that are sophisticated that Gee, hmm someone who’s a politician, actor, etc, etc. happens to be gay. Who cares?! Homos are all over the place.
vonlmo
Fearlessly full frontal, he’s chosen challenging roles. I regret that I never got the time to attend his Off Broadway turn in “The Pride”. I hope he & Judi Dench will bring their “Peter & Alice” play to Broadway in 2014.He merits his acclaim.
dwndckd
@ Mr. E. Jones, “but like many closeted actors he prefers not to discuss his family or life outside of his work. There fixed it. The only people who never discuss their life outside work are gay actors. Straight actors never shut-up about it.” Really—who told you that! It is too bad- no one respects the privacy of others anymore… As for myself- I am not that familiar with the “gay” community, but if it’s anything like the STR8 community, in which I am apart, then let me say this; if a person decides that they don’t want to discuss their personal lives— then they should be left alone! After all- it’s their choice, not anyone else’s.
RomanHans
Nobody recognizes Mr. Whishaw from The Hour? Absolutely brilliant miniseries. All the best to him and his partner!
Pucifer
@marke: Ha ha — look at you calling Ben Whishaw a “looser.” Have you looked in the mirror lately?
gjg64
@jwrappaport: Au Contraire! It’s the scruffiness that makes him hot. Mark is a handsome as well!
gjg64
I don’t think Ben Whishlaw ever really hid it; he was just very British and private. If I recall from the Out article he talked about his parents having some problems with it so perhaps he was trying to be a good son and “let them get used to it”. He’s a fantastic actor first and foremost. He’s taken a number of gay roles as well, which is more than most straight actors can say too.
So, congrats to the two of them and let the bitchy Queens go away.
Goldneye
Good for him!
Pity he was in one of the worst 007 films ever made, but maybe they will make ‘Q’ gay in the next film, which could only improve the series (along with getting ride of that horrid-looking lead as Bond).
It would certianly be some kind of cool in-joke calling him ‘Q’.
jmmartin
I have been fascinated by Mr. Whishaw for a long time now, especially after the remake of “Brideshead,” which was better than the original since more honest and graphic. I wish the couple well, but I also wish I were about 40 years younger and that Mr. Bradshaw were not around.
regina4aregina2037
So Ben Whishaw outed himself really I never thought of him being gay. Brilliant actor, Ben was wonderful in the ‘Hollow Crown’ as Richard II. So really who gives a feck?
cestmua
Is this beautiful actor related to the one that plays Jon Snow in Game of Thrones? The resemblance is remarkable.
LadyL
@Larkin: I’m sorry, but I don’t buy it.
To say that it’s only about money and career is to ignore the self-doubt and self-loathing that many closeted (and even “semi-closeted”) people carry around with them. The stigma and negativity we struggled with in childhood doesn’t simply vaporize when we become adults; on the contrary it follows us into our working lives and complicates things there as well. (Which is why so many people stay closeted on the job no matter what industry they work in)
*
I fully get it that it’s too easy to stand on the sidelines and say “come out.” But I also think the discrimination that gay actors continue to face in Hollywood will never end if they simply accept it as an unalterable fact of the business. At some point you have to take responsibility for how your own choices can enable the bigotry directed against you.
*
And if you’re an actor you also have to confront the fact that all kinds of variables will affect the trajectory of your career, including who you know, what you look like and how old you are.