For Sebastian Croft, the contrast between school and the world of acting could hardly have been greater.

The actor, whose screen credits include Heartstopper and who is now appearing on Celebrity Traitors, has spoken about being outed at school and the isolation he experienced during those years.

In an interview with The i Paper, Croft said a boy he was secretly seeing revealed his sexuality to others.

He described a difficult period, while expressing understanding for the other boy’s own struggles with pressure around being gay.

His account holds room for both the hurt he experienced and the difficulties another young person was facing.

A Different Kind of Community

Acting offered Croft a welcome contrast to school: a place to do something he loved alongside people with whom he felt more comfortable.

Later, working on Heartstopper brought a supportive environment and the opportunity to participate in a series that celebrated queer lives.

He played Ben Hope, whose relationship with Charlie Spring forms part of the Netflix drama’s exploration of secrecy, identity and acceptance.

The distinction between the actor’s experiences and his character’s behaviour matters, even as his reflections add another layer to his connection with the series.

For viewers who remember carefully choosing whom to trust with their sexuality, that contrast between isolation and belonging may feel familiar.

Finding Another Way to Express Himself

In a separate interview with Rolling Stone UK, Croft discussed making music under the name Bash Croft.

Songwriting gave him an outlet for feelings he found difficult to share, and he has spoken about making pop through a queer perspective.

He also described the importance of queer musical figures such as Elton John and George Michael during his younger years.

Those examples underline how much visibility can mean to someone who feels alone.

Making Space for Other Queer Lives

His work beyond acting also includes Queer Was Always Here, the community he created with fellow actor Connor Jessup in 2023.

Dedicated to queer lives, art and history, it works with Choose Love to support LGBTQIA+ refugees and displaced people.

Together, these parts of his story offer a wider picture than a television appearance alone: a young queer artist exploring expression, community and the possibility of helping others.

Finding acceptance does not erase a difficult past, but it can make the future feel more open.

Photo: @sebastiancroft

For more LGBTQ stories, visit B-Gay on YouTube.

Andrew Scott is attracting awards attention for two very different performances, with an Oscar rule change creating an intriguing possibility: competing against himself.

A Daily Mail report has raised that prospect in connection with Elsinore and Pressure.

It remains speculation about a future ballot, rather than an announced double nomination, but it certainly is interesting that a gay actor could be the first in this situation.

What the Academy actually changed

In its official announcement of rules for the 99th Oscars, the Academy confirmed that actors may receive multiple nominations within the same acting category if the performances place among the top five vote-getters.

That opens a route for two separate roles to be recognized in one category, but each must earn the necessary voting support.

The Academy’s published schedule lists the nominations announcement for January 21, 2027, with the ceremony on March 14.

Until then, a possible nomination and a confirmed nomination are two different things.

Elsinore brings Ian Charleson’s story forward

For queer audiences, Elsinore carries a particular resonance beyond the awards discussion.

Scott plays Ian Charleson, the Scottish actor known for Chariots of Fire, whose final stage appearance as Hamlet became a celebrated performance while he was living with AIDS.

Focus Features describes the film as a story about an actor confronting mortality and finding a final artistic triumph at London’s National Theatre.

Directed by Simon Stone and written by Stephen Beresford, it also stars Olivia Colman, Billie Piper and Johnny Flynn.

Focus has set a November 20 opening in select North American theaters, followed by an expansion over Thanksgiving and through December.

The opportunity to introduce Charleson to viewers who never saw him perform gives the film a significance of its own, whatever happens during awards season.

A different kind of pressure

In Pressure, Scott plays meteorologist James Stagg, opposite Brendan Fraser as Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The official synopsis places the drama in the tense 72 hours before D-Day, as the men confront the decision of whether to launch the invasion.

Anthony Maras directs the film, which he co-wrote with David Haig.

The roles offer very different settings, but both center men facing an extraordinary moment in their lives.

For now, the double-nomination idea is a possibility allowed by the rules, with the outcome still in voters’ hands.

For Scott’s longtime admirers, that is already an exciting conversation to be having.

📷 Focus Features.

Watch more from B-Gay on YouTube.

Olly Alexander brought together a memorable group of guests for a dinner celebrating Oscar Wilde’s birthday at London’s Hotel Café Royal.

Among those attending were Sir Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming and Russell T Davies, with Davies joined by his boyfriend, Oliver Cole.

Sharing photographs on Instagram, Alexander described hosting the dinner as a pleasure and wrote: “I hope we made Oscar proud.”

The images offer a glimpse of an evening filled with champagne glasses, green carnations and friendships across generations of queer entertainment.

A celebration with enthusiastic reviews

Davies responded beneath the post: “The best evening!”

Cole added: “What a delicious evening with delicious people”.

The writer has recently spoken publicly about their relationship, as reported by Attitude.

Alexander also credited designer Phoebe English for his outfit, a delicate, layered ensemble that suited the ornate surroundings.

A photograph of him with McKellen captures the warmth of the gathering, while another shows McKellen and Cumming together.

Why Café Royal is a fitting setting

The venue brings a genuine connection to the writer being celebrated.

According to Hotel Café Royal’s account of Wilde’s London, he regularly spent time at the Regent Street establishment, dining and conversing with fellow artists and intellectuals.

A birthday toast there therefore connects a contemporary gathering with part of the writer’s own social world.

Wilde was born in Dublin on October 16, 1854, as documented by the Royal Berkshire Archives.

The green carnations carry their own history

The flowers visible in the photographs add another connection.

Cambridge University Library records that Wilde asked W. Graham Robertson to wear a green carnation at the 1892 opening of Lady Windermere’s Fan.

The flower became associated with Wilde and his circle, although scholars continue to discuss its precise historical meanings.

There is a poignancy to seeing that emblem worn so openly at a celebration of his life.

Wilde was imprisoned for sexual acts with men, receiving a sentence of two years with hard labour.

That history belongs alongside his literary brilliance, but it need not be the only way he is remembered.

These photographs offer another response: queer people gathering in friendship, dressing beautifully and raising a glass to someone whose influence endures.

As Alexander hoped, it is an evening that gives Oscar plenty to be proud of.

📷 Photos shared by @ollyalexanderr.

Watch more from B-Gay on YouTube