Daniel Brocklebank says coming out as gay at 18 after Shakespeare In Love harmed his career
“I stopped being screen-tested for the heterosexual male leads", reveals the Coronations Street star.
Words: Jamie Tabberer; pictures: Joseph Sinclair/Universal
Coronation Street star Daniel Brocklebank has said that coming out publicly as gay as a teenager harmed his career.
The actor, who currently plays gay vicar Billy Mayhew on the ITV soap, made the claims in a new interview with The Mirror.
Brocklebank shared his sexuality with the public shortly after appearing in the Oscar-winning Shakespeare In Love, which was released in 1998.
“I was either the gay best friend or the character parts”
“I pretend for a living, I didn’t want to pretend in my private life,” he explained. “When you spend your life on screen, it’s important to hold on to the bits that are real. Who I am in my real life should bear no relevance to what I play on screen.”
The 41-year-old then said: “I remember my management in Los Angeles trying to convince me not to come out because they said it would affect work – and it did.
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“I stopped being screen-tested for the heterosexual male leads and I was either the gay best friend or the character parts. It was more in America than in Britain, but it was still very prevalent.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Daniel explained: “I love it at Coronation Street. For the first time in my life, I’m not chasing the next job.”
The star, who joined the show in 2014, continued: “I’m creatively challenged, I’ve made some beautiful friends and I love Manchester, why would I change it?”
Daniel’s other screen credits include 2001’s The Hole with Keira Knightley and Thora Birch, and BBC One TV show WPC 56.