Ben Whishaw Wants to 'See More Gay Actors Playing Straight Roles'

Ben Whishaw does not mind if productions cast straight actors in gay roles. However, he would like to see Hollywood create "an even playing field" in its casting practices.

"I really believe that actors can embody and portray anything and we shouldn't be defined only by what we are," the A Very English Scandal actor told reporters backstage at the Golden Globes Sunday after his win. "I think there was a time when we didn't know anything about actors, they were very mysterious. But now we know everything."

"I think there needs to be greater equality," the Mary Poppins Returns star added. "I would like to see more gay actors playing straight roles. It needs to be an even playing field for everybody -- that would be my ideal."

"I don't know how far we're away from that," he admitted.

Whishaw was responding to a question concerning Darren Criss's recent vow that he would never play a gay role again after his Golden Globe-winning performance in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. "There are certain [queer] roles that I'll see that are just wonderful," Criss told Bustle. "But I want to make sure I won't be another straight boy taking a gay man's role."

Whishaw, who has been publicly out as gay since 2013, triumphed in the Golden Globes category of Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for A Very English Scandal.

In his acceptance speech, Whishaw paid tribute to the man he portrayed, Norman Scott, a stable hand whose affair with Jeremy Thorpe -- a British member of Parliament who would go on to become leader of the Liberal Party -- became a national scandal in the 1970s. The Thorpe affair was the subject of A Very English Scandal.

"He's a true queer hero and icon and Norman this is for you," said Whishaw.

Watch Whishaw's backstage remarks below.