LONDON — British actor Ben Whishaw, who played the role of Q in the 2012 James Bond film “Skyfall,” has revealed that he is gay, and in a civil partnership.
A representative for the 32-year-old actor confirmed Whishaw entered into civil partnership a year ago in Sydney with Australian composer Mark Bradshaw.
“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, according to the Daily Mail.
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“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,” he said.
Whishaw’s sexual orientation has been the subject of much speculation, sparked in part by a 2011 interview with Out magazine while he was playing a gay character in an off-Broadway play, The Pride.
“As an actor you have total rights to privacy and mystery, whatever your sexuality, whatever you do,” he said. “I don’t see why that has to be something you discuss openly because you do something in the public eye.”
The couple first met on the set of Jane Campion’s 2009 film Bright Star, in which Whishaw played poet John Keats in a story about the latter’s love affair with a neighbor — Bradshaw scored the music.
