Andrew Scott talks sexuality and sudden fame

BAFTA-winning Irish actor Andrew Scott is not hunting for fame. But since his role as Moriarty in the wildly popular TV series Sherlock opposite Benedict Cumberbatch, fame’s undoubtedly found him. Getting fired onto the A-list takes some getting used to; is he wary at all?

“I’m not, actually. It was interesting, I went back to the theatre and played a rockstar in Birdland in The Royal Court Theatre, which was all about dealing with fame,” he recalls. “You start thinking about it; but though you can come out one night and have one hundred people waiting at the stage door, if you slip out of the other exit, you can just disappear and no-one bothers you.”

His latest project is Pride, a comedy set against a backdrop of trade unionism and LGBT rights. He plays Gethin, a gay man struggling with estrangement from his family and hometown.

“We wanted to make a mainstream film that didn’t trivialise the politics,” says Scott; “I think that’s its great achievement: we made a piece of entertainment that still has very sophisticated politics.”

To read the full interview with Andrew Scott, check out the new issue of Hot Press, in shops tomorrow!