Scott reaches deeply for authenticity and emotion in ‘All of Us Strangers’
NEW YORK – For Andrew Scott, the Hot Priest questions are cooling down.
Yes, the affable Irish actor is still best known stateside as a devout dreamboat on “Fleabag” with Phoebe WallerBridge. But lately, he’s encountered more people who are eager to discuss “All of Us Strangers” (in theaters now), a crushing gay romance that reckons with mortality.
“I was at the gym and this girl came up who’d just seen the movie,” says Scott, 47, still in his sweats as he refuels with scrambled eggs, toast and green juice. “Like all good art, it sparks a need in people to speak a little about their experience. I find it really moving they would trust me to talk about their lives – they feel like I’ve seen them.”
In Scott’s performance, ‘that is genuine emotion he cannot hide’
In the fantastical drama, Scott plays a lonely writer named Adam who ventures back to his boyhood home, where he discovers his long-dead parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) are alive. Over many visits, he reverts to a childlike state: unpacking his old pajamas and past traumas and climbing into their bed for late-night heart-to-hearts. It’s a remarkably unguarded performance that could earn Scott his first Oscar nomination for best actor.
“He’s one of the most extraordinary human beings I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting,” co-star Paul Mescal says. “The work that he does in the film is a testament to the person he is. That kind of vulnerability is what’s present in his friendship with me.”
Adam’s parents died in the 1980s, and are still stuck in their younger bodies and mindsets when he returns home. As a result, Adam wrestles with their outdated ideas around homosexuality and what it means to be a man.
“There was so much nuance I wanted to get across that I needed the actor to really understand what that felt like,” writer/director Andrew Haigh says. “So when you see Andrew, that is genuine emotion that he cannot hide or escape. You can’t fake that.”
The film was shot in Haigh’s real childhood home, which added levels of responsibility and intimacy that Scott had never experienced before on a set.
“Because he offered that up, I was going to offer my own stuff up and give my experience,” Scott says. “Whatever it is that we created, it’s certainly authentic to both of us.”
‘Coming out was the best thing that ever happened to me’
Scott was born and raised in Dublin. His mom was an art teacher, while his dad worked at an employment agency. As a kid with a “very strong imagination,” he enrolled in drama classes to help overcome his shyness. He got his start in a porridge commercial at age 6, appearing in other ads and theater before booking his first film, “Korea,” at 17.
Even at an early age, he felt different from his peers. His prized possession was a pair of binoculars, which reminded him of opera glasses from old movies (“Pretty gay, right?”). He remembers “the shame” of wanting to play with Barbie dolls, and the exhilaration he felt listening to disco legend Gloria Gaynor.
“I remember hearing ‘I Will Survive’ and thinking, ‘This song is for me!’ ” Scott says. “Not even knowing why – I was probably about 9. And then you find out 10 years later it’s a big gay anthem. That fascinates me because that has nothing to do with sexuality. That has to do with a feeling of otherness or defiance or drama.”
Scott came out to his parents in his early 20s, before publicly coming out in 2013 at age 37. At that time, he had already found success on TV with “Sherlock” and “John Adams.” But at the start of his career, people advised him not to speak about his sexuality, for fear that it might cost him roles.
“Coming out was the best thing that ever happened to me in relation to my work,” Scott says. “I got more opportunities. I felt like I was happier as a person. I was more experimental as an artist. Before that, you’re in a slightly speculative world where you’re thinking, ‘Well, if they saw this side of me, would I be (rejected)?’ Now, I don’t feel as defensive as I used to be.”
Working the awards circuit in recent months, he has found camaraderie with other “incredible” gay actors including Colman Domingo, Jodie Foster and Jonathan Bailey.
“That community within my own life has become incredibly important to me as I grow older,” Scott says. “There’s something about having gay friends that is really special to me now. There’s a shorthand and hopefully an empathy among us.”
‘I’m just trying to be courageous’
Like any actor, Scott never wants to be solely defined by his sexuality. “That’s one of the things that I think is a fear for a lot of queer people,” he says. “I don’t want that to be ignored, nor do I want to be drowning in that one attribute the whole time.”
Luckily, “I’ve had an opportunity to play lots of different types of parts,” including a villain in the James Bond movie “Spectre” and a lieutenant in the war drama “1917.”
Next up, he stars in the Netflix series “Ripley,” which he describes as a “stunning” and “quite faithful” adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” After leading a one-man “Uncle Vanya” in London last year, he also would like to do a musical (“But it’s hard because I can’t sing!”).
He recently got to watch “All of Us Strangers” with his parents, which they “loved.” Going forward, he believes the movie has made him a more open and confident performer.
“I’ve always brought myself to every character, but in this film, I certainly did more than any other one,” Scott says. “The fact that people have responded to it encourages me to share more. We’re not here long, so I’m just trying to be courageous in some way.”