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Luke Evans has revealed that he knows “several actors” in Hollywood who have chosen to keep their sexuality private.
The actor, 47, came out as gay early in his career and acknowledged that it “wasn’t easy” to be one of the few openly gay figures for a long time.
Discussing performers who decide against publicising their orientation, Evans noted you “never know what a person has gone through”.
He told The Telegraph: “It wasn’t easy being the only one who was out for quite a long time, doing the level of movies I was doing.
“And I know of several actors in Hollywood (who chose not to be out).
“But you never know what a person has gone through. You don’t know what their family feels or how hard they’ve fought to get a career in the first place.
“Of course I can’t speak for any of them, and yes it saddens me that there shouldn’t be a whole smorgasbord of brilliant gay Hollywood actors, but it’s a very insular industry.
“No-one comes up to you and says, ‘Oh, by the way, this is how you deal with [coming out]’ or whatever it might be. You’re on your own.”
Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, Evans previously said he struggled to come to terms with his sexuality and decided to leave his home and religion behind at the age of 16 to pursue a career in acting.
“There were a lot of bullies in my school, and I was an easy target,” he explained.
“I needed to find my identity, and I needed to be independent of my family, find my voice and be a happy, gay teenager.”
Asked if he thought a gay actor would ever be cast as James Bond, Evans said he was “on the list for Bond for a good decade”.
He takes this as a sign that it would not be a problem but that he is “too old” for the part now.
Evans began his career as a theatre actor and later appeared in films including Clash Of The Titans (2010) and the Fast & Furious franchise.
More recently, he made his Broadway debut as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and will play the lead role in the upcoming ITV drama The Party.
