Ben Whishaw: ‘I’m not worried about gay typecasting’

Ben Whishaw has said he has no concerns about the number of gay characters he plays.

The 33-year-old actor, known for playing gadgets guru Q in Skyfall, confirmed last summer that he had entered into a civil partnership with Mark Bradshaw, the Australian composer he lives with.

He stars in new indie film Lilting, which opens in cinemas tomorrow (August 8), as a man mourning his male lover, and is also attached to play late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in an upcoming biopic.

Asked if he ever worries about being “typecast” in gay roles, Whishaw told Time Out: “It’s not a consideration for me, because gay characters are as varied and different as heterosexual characters. I’ve played all sorts of different people, so I don’t see the need to balance them out.”

“It’s only worth doing anything if you believe in the story and the experience,” he added. “There’s nothing else to think about.”

Whishaw also admitted that he is unsure how the long-planned Freddie Mercury biopic is progressing following the exit of its director earlier this year.

“Actually, I don’t know what’s happening”, he said of the film. “It seems to be on a back burner. It was going, then there were problems getting the script working.”

Over the weekend, Whishaw spoke about coming out and said that the process “takes courage” – read his full thoughts on coming out here.