Ben Whishaw: ‘It takes courage to come out’

Ben Whishaw has shared his views on the coming out process, saying it takes “courage” and often time.

The 33-year-old actor confirmed last summer that he had entered into a civil partnership with Mark Bradshaw, the Australian composer he lives with.

He can now be seen in independent film Lilting, which tells the story of a mother who learns that her son was gay shortly after his death, and follows her attempt to deal with her grief by getting to know his former lover, despite a major language barrier. Read our review of the film here.

Whishaw opened up about his own experiences of coming out an interview with The Sunday Times today (August 3). “I did have to [come out],” the actor said. “It’s a phrase I’m not entirely comfortable with, but since it’s the only one we have…”

The actor, who plays gadgets guru Q in the James Bond films, then recalled:

“My experiences were not dramatic. No walking around the block. And everyone was surprisingly lovely. I hadn’t anticipated that they would be, but they were. I identify with the character in Lilting in as much as I had a lot of fear in doing it for a long time. And who can say why? I’m not sure I know. But it takes courage and people have to do it in their own time, which is a negotiation you see happening in the film.”

Explaining why he thinks coming out takes such courage, Whishaw added: “It’s hard to have a conversation with people you’ve known your whole life about a very intimate thing. It’s massively weighted with all sorts of stuff, whatever the wider world is saying… it’s an intimate and private and difficult conversation for most people.”

Meanwhile, EastEnders‘ recent coming out storyline has recently been nominated for a prize at the Inside Soap Awards – click here to find out more.