Out Irish actor Andrew Scott has
described the day Irish voters approved same-sex marriage as the
happiest day of his life.
The 40-year-old Scott is best known for
playing Jim Moriarty in the BBC series Sherlock. He is
currently starring as the lead in a production of Hamlet at
the Harold Pinter Theater in London.
In a cover story for UK gay glossy
Winq, Scott, who grew up in Dublin, talked about the cultural
transformation Ireland has undergone since his youth. In 2015,
Ireland became the first nation to approve marriage equality through
a popular vote.
“It's extraordinary,” Scott
said. “In 1993 I would have been 16 so it would have been
illegal for me to hold my boyfriend’s hand. And now, genuinely, the
fact that Ireland became the first country in the world to vote in
gay marriage by popular vote, by referendum, that is absolutely
extraordinary to me.”
“And the day that result came out was
probably the happiest day of my life. Because I’d done a little bit
of campaigning for it and I think it’s a landmark in Irish history
– there’s no doubt about it,” he added.