Russell T Davies says Andrew Scott awards snub was ‘because he’s gay and very publicly and visibly gay’
"People thought, ‘Oh, it’s very good, but he’s not acting there," the TV legend told a panel with Attitude
By Dale Fox
Russell T Davies has spoken out on Andrew Scott not being nominated for a BAFTA for his role in All of Us Strangers, saying the actor was snubbed for his sexuality.
The Doctor Who and Queer as Folk writer was speaking at National Student Pride on Saturday (24 February), on a panel on queer representation in media moderated by Attitude editor-in-chief Cliff Joannou.
Many expected Scott’s acclaimed performance in queer love story All of Us Strangers to land him a BAFTA award, but were left shocked when the actor wasn’t even nominated.
“What I think happened there was, when a gay man plays a gay man, he’s not considered to be acting,” Davies said. “I genuinely think that happened there, that people thought, ‘Oh, it’s very good, but he’s not acting there. He’s not reaching; he was just being himself.’”
He also said Scott’s turn in the movie was “a world-class performance [that] was massively underrated because he’s gay and very publicly and visibly gay.”
“I very publicly and loudly proclaim that gay actors should play gay roles” – Russell T Davies
“I very publicly and loudly proclaim that gay actors should play gay roles,” he further pointed out, adding, “What I’m trying to do is shift it slightly so that more queer people are seen for queer roles”
Davies was joined on the panel by It’s a Sin actor Nathaniel Curtis, Everything Now star Noah Thomas, Shadow and Bone actor Jack Wolfe and Heartstopper actress Bel Priestley.
Echoing Davies’ points, It’s a Sin‘s Curtis said: “If a queer person plays a queer role, people are like, ‘Oh yeah, very well done, lovely.’ But if a straight actor plays a queer role, a lot of the time, they’re like, ‘Give them an Oscar.’”
On the authenticity that comes from casting queer actors in queer roles, Curtis added: “I watched [All of Us Strangers] a couple of weeks ago. Absolutely fell in love, bawled my eyes out, and Andrew Scott, I think, is one of the finest actors of our generation and I think Paul Messell does a beautiful job, but there’s something in Andrew’s eyes that you just recognise and there’s a depth to his sadness that only a queer person can see and can believe.”
Andrew Scott is the cover star of issue 357 of Attitude magazine, available to buy in newsagents now or to read through the free Attitude app.