All of Us Strangers star Andrew Scott on the power of representation, embracing queer identity and the importance of understanding that sex is communication
Words Cliff Joannou Photography Ramon Christian Styling Warren Alfie Baker
WHEN IT WAS announced that Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal would be starring as lovers
in the film All of Us Strangers, fans on social media were buzzing about what the combination would deliver. No surprise,
really: Scott — already a celebrated actor from roles such as Moriarty in Sherlock, the ‘hot priest’ in Fleabag and the incredible 2014 film Pride — and Mescal (Aftersun, Normal People) are the definition of queer catnip. The film, out now, is an enthralling exploration
of what it means to be a gay/queer man in 21st-
century Britain.
Even ahead of its general UK release, All of Us Strangers had been making an impact by literally shifting the language we use around LGBTQ+ representation on screen. While on promo for the film, Scott challenged the use of the term ‘openly gay’ to describe out queer people during a filmed interview for the Hollywood Reporter. “The response to the clip reflects that,” says Scott of the overwhelmingly supportive reaction to his statement. “I do understand that historically we need a word to recognise the fact that there are sometimes people that are gay but for whatever reason aren’t able to be open about it. I totally get that. I just feel the word ‘out’ does that. It’s just simpler. It does the job, and with less implications.”
With All of Us Strangers, writer and director Andrew Haigh — acclaimed for Weekend and 45 Years, as well as HBO series Looking — has crafted a tender examination of love in the shadow of shame. An enigmatic dive into the pain and pleasure of finding affection in another man through the constrictive confines of emotional isolation, All of Us Strangers excels on so many levels.
The premise: 40-something Adam (played by Scott) meets Paul Mescal’s 20-something Harry, and the pair begin a love affair that has Adam revisiting his childhood home and conjuring up the ‘ghosts’ of his dead parents. And no, that’s not a spoiler, it’s simply the early scenes of a film that examines a love affair between two gay/queer men of disparate ages whose very different life experiences have brought them unexpectedly together. What happens next? Well, that’s for you to discover in a movie theatre near you. In one of the most enthralling films to explore British gay identity of the 21st century, Scott delivers the performance of his career, dancing between visceral suffering and emotional
