Luke Evans has admitted he found it "strange" when people accused him of "hiding" his sexuality from the world.
The 41-year-old actor has always tried to keep his private life out of the public eye, because it was "the last thing he had”, but he would never try to conceal being gay because he is out and “proud”.
Speaking to Attitude magazine after being crowned Man of the Year at the 2020 Attitude Awards on Tuesday night, Luke said: “It was the last thing I had, because everything else I’ve given to the world. My career was public, I was photographed, and all that stuff. My personal life just became the last thing that I had.
"Also, what was strange was that when people did find out that I was gay, there was a lot of articles and stuff written saying that I was hiding it, and I wasn’t.”
The “Beauty and the Beast” actor came out to his parents, who are Jehovah's Witnesses, when he was a teenager, and had to leave home at 16.
And Luke admitted it was "a scary moment" when people accused him of being "ashamed" of his sexuality.
He said: “I just wanted to get online and I wanted to pick up the phone and say, ‘Do you realise I left home at 16 because I was gay?’
“I went into the world as a kid, because I had to. I am proud and happy, and I’ve lived a very big life that I’m super happy with. And I’ve never been ashamed.
“And now all of a sudden I was being treated in this way and it was a scary moment because I was, like, oh God, this is horrible. This is not true. None of this is true.”
The Welsh-born star is set to play his first gay role as Lars alongside Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy in the Hulu series, “Nine Perfect Strangers”.
And he hopes he's paved the way for other LGBTQI+ actors to become leading stars in Hollywood.
He said: "I hope that I’ve broken down a lot of barriers, just because I’m trying to represent my community, but I can’t represent everybody. And I certainly can’t please everybody. I just have to do it my way.
“I just try and be authentic, because this is who I am. I am this person. I’m not creating another image so that I can portray one to you."