{"id":48476,"date":"2024-03-26T11:24:09","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T10:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2014728"},"modified":"2024-03-26T12:01:41","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T11:01:41","slug":"luke-evans-on-our-son-ive-never-seen-this-from-the-gay-point-of-view","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/luke-evans-on-our-son-ive-never-seen-this-from-the-gay-point-of-view\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke Evans on Our Son: \u201cI\u2019ve never seen this from the gay point of view\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Welsh actor speaks to RadioTimes.com about his new divorce drama, his upcoming projects and the cancelled Beauty and the Beast prequel. <\/p>

By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 26 March 2024 at 10:24 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Luke Evans has accomplished many things in his career \u2013 from starring in major blockbuster franchises like Fast & Furious<\/a> to releasing two albums as a musician \u2013 but his new film marks a first for the Welsh actor.<\/p>\n

When production began on Our Son, which is now available to own and rent<\/a> on digital platforms, it was the first time Evans \u2013 who is gay \u2013 had played an LGBTQ+ character on screen.<\/p>\n

The film tells the story of Nicky (Evans) and Gabriel (Billy Porter), a married couple whose collapsing relationship ultimately leads to messy divorce proceedings and a fight for custody over their son, Owen (Christopher Woodley).<\/p>\n

For Evans, it was the chance to explore a common experience from a fresh perspective that enticed him to the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a story that we\u2019re so used to seeing in huge Hollywood movies, but from the straight point of view,\u201d he tells RadioTimes.com<\/a> during an exclusive interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen it from the gay point of view \u2013 a gay couple going through a very normal, common experience. But it felt important.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that it was the \u201chonesty\u201d of the script by screenwriter Peter Nickowitz and director Bill Oliver that made the project jump out at him \u2013 and which made his character so instantly relatable.<\/p>\n

\u201c[They] did such a great job of just finding the right detail of dialogue that felt painfully real\u2026 it\u2019s not sensational in any kind of way,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sadly very normal, common story. But it\u2019s nonetheless extremely painful and traumatic: couples break up no matter how much love there has been, sometimes the love just goes or changes. And reading it, I just had such empathy for all of the characters, but especially Nicky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Luke\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Luke Evans as Nicky, Christopher Woodley as Owen and Billy Porter as Gabriel in Our Son.<\/span><\/figcaption> Universal<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

He continues: \u201cI understood him. I understood his confusion, I understood his mistakes, I understood his choices. I am always looking for those characters that I can relate to somehow \u2013 and with Nicky, I understood him implicitly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond that implicit understanding, Evans was determined not to do too much preparation for the role. For example, he had no intention of speaking to any divorce lawyers \u2013 or to anyone that have been through a divorce themselves \u2013 to get a better understanding of the topic, in part because he wanted his own experience to mirror that of Nicky\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t know how to navigate it, so the knowledge wouldn\u2019t have helped me,\u201d he says. \u201cIn a way, I wanted to feel as [if I was] living this moment as Nicky was living \u2013 every day waking up, not understanding or knowing how he was gonna get through that day, not understanding his son, this confusion and this lack of communication.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinding the humanity in any character, sometimes it\u2019s easier than other times, depending on the character, who they are. But with this character, you know, I\u2019m a gay man. Nicky is a gay man. And not that I\u2019ve been through a divorce, but I\u2019ve been through break-ups. I\u2019ve been through that confusion, and desperation of hoping that you can fix it, and it just can\u2019t be fixed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I had empathy for him, I understood him, but I wanted to live every day as Nicky was living and discover and learn and try and find a map out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n