August 5, 2013
British Actor Ben Whishaw Comes Out, Announces Marriage
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
British actor Ben Whishaw has officially come out and announced that he is in a civil union, E! Online reports.
Whishaw, 32, who played the gadget-making genius Q in the James Bond film "Skyfal" last year, told the British newspaper, the Daily Mail he's gay and that he's married his partner, Australian composer Mark Bradshaw. The couple tied the knot a year ago in Sydney.
"Ben has never hidden his sexuality, but like many actors he prefers not to discuss his family or life outside of his work," his spokesman said Friday night. "Due to speculation, I can confirm that Ben and Mark entered into a civil partnership in August 2012. They were proud to do so and are very happy."
The men met on the set of Jane Campion's 2009 film "Bright Star," where Whishaw played John Keats and Bradshaw scored the movie's music.
Though Whishaw has talked about his sexuality in the past, like in a 2011 interview with Out, he never officially came out. In that interview, he was asked if it is important for LGBT youth to have positive role models.
"I really agree with that, and I feel in my heart that it's important, but I don't quite know yet the way to go about that," the actor said. "Maybe that's the transitional thing I feel I'm in the middle of at the moment. It's something I think about, but it's important for me to do it at the time that's right for me. And I'm not there yet."
Also in 2012, Whishaw starred in the drama/sci-fi film, "Cloud Atlas." Though he played many characters in the film, one of the characters he played was a gay composer.
As the Daily Mail reports, when he was answering questions about his private life last year, during a "Skyfall" interview, he said, "For me, it's important to keep a level of anonymity. As an actor, your job is to persuade people that you're someone else. So if you're constantly telling people about yourself, I think you're shooting yourself in the foot."
Whishaw also starred in the 2006 thriller "Perfume," the Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There" and Julie Taymor's 2012 adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." He is also a regular cast member on the BBC series "The Hour."
