Sir Derek Jacobi: My mother said my sexuality was a phase
Veteran actor Sir Derek Jacobi has spoken about coming out to his parents.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Sir Derek said he come out to his mother when he was at university: “She said, ‘All young men, go through this phase, donāt worry.’
“I remember saying, ‘Donāt tell Dad.’
” think she did, but I donāt know.
“But they were wonderful, my parents, not much was said but they kind of knew, they got it.”
“I wasnāt open. I just lived my life and people responded to me.
“If they knew, or thought, I was gay, that was fine. If they didnāt, that was fine.
“Iāve never been on a Gay Pride march. It doesnāt mean I donāt feel as strongly about it, I just donāt talk about it.”
He also spoke about his partner Richard Clifford who he has been with for nearly 40 years, and in a civil partnership with since 2006. “ I donāt know. It is a long time, isnāt it? Thereās a certain amount of work, but thereās luck too.”
In 2012, Sir Derek described the fight for equal marriage as a “squabble over nothing” and said of his relationship: “Weāve been in a civil partnership for five years. It doesnāt matter what you call it.
“We donāt think of it as marriage, itās a partnership.”