Luke Evans knows ‘several actors’ in Hollywood who chose not to come out

The actor came out as gay early in his career

Luke Evans (Lucy North/PA)

Luke Evans has said he knows “several actors” in Hollywood who have chosen not to be open about their sexuality.

The actor, 47, came out as gay early in his career and admitted it “wasn’t easy” being one of the few out stars for a long time.

Speaking about actors who choose to not reveal their sexuality, Evans said 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.”

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.