Share
29th September 2023
12:10pm BST
Teo Van Den Broeke and Andrew Scott. Credit: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Universal Pictures[/caption]
"With the Barbie movie that came out, I think there’s an awful lot of gay men who understood, it was like ‘Oh, I really wanted to play with that’. But then somebody would come in and I’d drop that doll."
In 2013, the Fleabag actor opened up about his sexuality with The Independent and said that being gay is 'just a fact' and not something he wanted to 'trade on it' due to his private nature.
He went on to reflect on the lack of LGBT representation he felt as a young person and the knock-on effects it can have on identity and self-esteem. Scott also shared that cultural references such as music, clothes, and television are all 'incredibly important' for this reason.
"I think there’s something about when your very identity is being questioned. Certainly when we were growing up, I think maybe, to a lesser extent now, I hope so.
[caption id="attachment_589262" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
Credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images for British GQ and evian[/caption]
"But there was no representation, so you’re providing yourself with an identity, and you’re attracted literally to things that are bold because you feel so insecure about the way you are. So actually, to be able to be bold is a really wonderful thing. And I think sometimes clothes or music or even television or those early cultural references are so, so incredibly important to us."
The Sherlock actor, who plays Jim Moriarty, also explained that being bold with fashion, even when it can seem 'ridiculous', can be 'wonderful'.
"Of course we have to be sort of cautious about trends, but there’s something about jumping into trends that I think is kind of wonderful that you go, 'well, this is ridiculous'. But the idea of kind of jumping into it going, ‘Yeah, I’m going to do that’, then you look back at stuff and you think, 'Oh my God, I jumped wholeheartedly into that'.
"And it’s just something very present-minded about sort of getting involved with something and knowing actually that it’s slightly ridiculous and there’s something kind of playful about it."
Teo van der Broeke's newest memoir is now available to purchase on Amazon.
