Richard Madden has defended the right of actors to take parts outside their own sexuality.
The Bodyguard star says it is OK for heterosexual actors to portray gay and bisexual characters.
Madden, 32, plays Elton John’s manager John Reid, who is gay, in new movie Rocketman.
He has dated a string of actresses including Jenna Coleman, Suki Waterhouse and Ellie Bamber.
But in an interview with The Guardian, he said he thought it was OK for any actor to play a gay man – regardless of their own sexuality.
Richard, from Elderslie in Renfrewshire, said: “It’s a really terrible route to go down if we start restricting people’s casting based on their personal lives.
The day Billy McNeill was given red carpet treatment by Watford because of Elton John
“We have to focus more on diversity and having everyone represented and I’m a firm believer in the best actor for the best part.”
He also revealed that his mum Pat had his back during his school days.
Madden said: “At school, I was fat and a boy used to give me abuse. I said I’d fight him and was about to swing my first punch in my first-ever fight.
“Then I felt this hand on the back of my blazer, got dragged backwards and slammed on to the bonnet of a Renault 105.
“It was my mum. She went mad and said, ‘Don’t you be fighting.’ No one fought me again. They were like, ‘Your mum will come.’”
