Obsession star Richard Armitage opens up about his sexuality and coming out at 19
Obsession star Richard Armitage has opened up about his sexuality, after he revealed that he came out as gay to his closest family and friends when he was 19.
The actor, who plays William Farrow on the steamy new Netflix show, revealed to the Radio Times that he didn’t feel comfortable coming out publicly until recently, but his close friends and family knew.
"[Coming out] happened when I was 19 - to anybody who mattered," he said. "I was always waiting for that question to punch me in the face, and it never did. I thought, 'Are people being polite, or is it that they don’t want to know?'
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He said: "I don’t know that I ever wanted to put myself in front of the work I was doing, anything about my family or personal life. I just thought, 'Let the work speak for itself.'"
Armitage, who has also appeared in Spooks and The Hobbit, added that he is pleased that sexuality is viewed in a less rigid way now.
He continued: "I love the conversation with the younger generation. I love the idea that whatever gender, sexuality, the fluidity of who you love, how you identify, is not fixed."
"That was always a thing: if I declare who I am and my sexuality, then I’m saying it’s fixed and I don’t know that, or if I might feel something for somebody further down the line. I doubt it, but I don’t know."
He added: "It’s more relaxed now. As a writer and producer, I do wonder if anybody has to be defined by who they’re in love with."
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Obsession follows Armitage as William as he begins an affair with his son’s fiancée Anna (Charlie Murphy), and the actor has recently spoken about that viral scene in which his character sniffed a pillow.
"It was really unexpected because it was written as quite a different scene," he said. "I was really conscious that it shouldn't be in any way comedic so we sort of left it quite open and it was a bit of an improvisation actually."
Obsession is now streaming on Netflix.
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