Ben Aldridge talked about his coming out in a cover story for UK LGBTQ glossy Attitude.

The 37-year-old actor plays a gay man in two current films: Spoiler Alert and Knock at the Cabin.

(First Look: Ben Aldridge, Jonathan Groff play gay couple in horror film Knock at the Cabin.)

Aldridge, who came out in an Instagram post in 2020, told Attitude that he feared coming out would end his acting career.

“I was really terrified that it would derail my career,” Aldridge said of creating an online dating profile without a photo.

(Related: Spoiler Alert, starring Jim Parsons, Ben Aldridge as a gay couple, opens in select theaters.)

He also talked about growing up in a religious household.

“I was just deeply ashamed and deeply afraid. There was no positive to it. It was only ever a ‘negative lifestyle.' And I also didn’t know what it was, as well. I didn’t know what it would lead to. I had no examples. None at all,” Aldridge said. “I didn’t even let myself watch Queer as Folk. I was too afraid to watch it.”

“Queer as Folk just scared the shit out of me. I remember seeing Aidan Gillen going online to get a prostitute and inviting him over. I was thrilled and excited, and also really terrified to be watching it.”

“My family at one point banned me from watching Neighbours because it was too adult-themed. It was like, people having affairs and stuff. We were banned from watching Friends, too, at one point. That makes us sound like we were Mormons,” he laughed. “We weren’t.”

Aldridge is best known for his roles in Fleabag, Our Girl, Pennyworth, and The Long Call.