Ben Whishaw: Keeping my sexuality secret only had a negative effect

Ben Whishaw has opened up about the effect his sexual orientation has had on my career.

“I’m not damaged,” Ben Whishaw told the Guardian. “Not more than anybody else.”

The London Spy star told the Guardian that keeping his sexual orientation a secret at the beginning of his career was damaging.

He said keeping it quiet “just made it worse.”

“Because then people assume you’ve got some really juicy, awful thing that you’re keeping from them,” he went on.

Discussing the fact that his civil partnership was revealed by a journalist, Whishaw said it was actually a relief.

“Because now people aren’t that interested, because now there’s nothing being concealed,” he said.

Although Whishaw’s career does not appear to have suffered since he came out, he said he avoids thinking about what other people think about his sexual orientation.

“If you don’t let it be a weight upon you, it won’t manifest as one in your life,” he says. “I just try to give it little space in my brain. It’s not interesting to me.”

Whishaw last year said he was ‘baffled’ about a debate over actors revealing their sexuality.

The actor – who has a high-profile role as Q in the James Bond films – spoke after Matt Damon sparked a debate on the issue.

Damon had suggested that Rupert Everett was less able to get successful straight roles after he came out – but later clarified he did not mean actors should stay in the closet:

Speaking at a screening of his new drama London Spy, out actor Ben Whishaw did not seem enthused by the row.

• Dec 01 2023

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