Luke Evans Reflects On His Career, His Place In The Industry And Leaving Home
Actor Luke Evans has had a diverse career working in both raw, emotional roles and fantastical, action-packed roles. In an interview with The Independent, Evans reflects on his childhood, his career trajectory and what it means to him to play gay roles.
His latest project
Evans’ last role was alongside Pose star Billy Porter in the family drama Our Son. The two leads play a couple on the rocks who edge closer to divorce. It’s an emotional and deeply intimate narrative that Evans believes takes on new life when told from the perspective of a gay couple.
“We’ve seen the celebration of being gay, of gay marriage, of having children and all of those wonderful things, but not so much the splitting up,” he says.
“When gay people were given the right to marry, we were also given the right to divorce. And [these stories] are important. They allow everybody just to go, ‘We’re all the bloody same – we’re all dealing with the same things.’”
For this leading man, being gay and playing across from a fellow gay actor in a role designed to tell a sensitive queer narrative is important work.
“We’re both proud gay men in an industry where there isn’t so much of this going on, you know? Gay men playing these roles and telling these stories… I thought that was very powerful and important.”
Growing up and moving on
Evans left his hometown at 16. He was raised in Aberbargoed, a small town in Caerphilly in Wales, by Jehovah’s Witness parents. This background already offers us a glimpse into what growing up LGBTQIA+ would have been like for him.
After moving to London, Evans was determined to shed the difficulties of his childhood – a relatable experience for many queer people. “You could almost disappear,” he explains. “That’s the reason London appealed to me when I was a young man. You want to find your community, and often where [gay people] are brought up, there isn’t one, or there’s shame, or there’s secrets.
“To feel free, and to feel part of something, you go to a big city where you’ll find people like you. It’s what gay people have done for decades and will keep on doing. Though I do hope that these smaller villages and cities are a bit more accepting now.”
As important as moving forward has been for Evans, remembering who he was is equally valuable. “Yes, I’ve changed through the years, but I’m that young kid, too. I have to look after him a lot in life – you never get rid of that, and you don’t want to.”
