Recent News Stories Suggest Andrew Scott Is Being Profiled for Being Gay

Is actor Andrew Scott being profiled for being too gay?

Two recent news reports suggest this may be the case. In the first, the reason why he was snubbed by the Oscars and BAFTAs for his performance in "All of Us Strangers" was expressed by writer/director Russell T. Davies ("It's a Sin," the original "Queer as Folk").

Scott, the Irish actor who came out in 2013, broke into the mainstream in 2019 with his ongoing role as the hunky priest on the second season of "Fleabag." When "All of Us Strangers" was released in December, many thought Scott was shoe-in for Best Actor nominations from the Academy Awards and the BAFTAs, especially after receiving a Golden Globe nod.

Was Andrew Scott Just Playing His Gay Self?

Davies claims the reason why Scott was snubbed is that "when a gay man plays a gay man, he's not considered to be acting..." Adding, "I genuinely think that happened there, that people thought, 'Oh, it's very good, but he's not acting there. He's not reaching; he was just being himself.'"

He also said Scott's turn in the movie was "a world-class performance [that] was massively underrated because he's gay and very publicly and visibly gay."

Davies was speaking at National Student Pride on Saturday (24 February), on a panel on queer representation in media moderated by Attitude editor-in-chief Cliff Joannou. (Watch the video of the panel at this link.)

"I very publicly and loudly proclaim that gay actors should play gay roles," he further pointed out, adding, "What I'm trying to do is shift it slightly so that more queer people are seen for queer roles"

Davies was joined on the panel by "It's a Sin" actor Nathaniel Curtis, "Everything Now" star Noah Thomas, "Shadow and Bone "actor Jack Wolfe and "Heartstopper" actress Bel Priestley.