Andrew Scott’s Oscar Quest: Could He Become the First Openly Gay Best Actor Winner?

When the Toronto International Film Festival wraps up each September, the industry’s chatter usually drifts toward the next awards season. This year, however, one name keeps popping up on every coffee‑break conversation: Andrew Scott.

The 49‑year‑old Irish actor, who will turn 50 next month, has already secured what many would call a “lock” for a Best Actor nomination – and the excitement is not just about another trophy. If he walks away with the Oscar, he would make history as the first openly gay man to win the top acting prize in the Academy’s near‑century‑long run.

Elsinore is a period drama set in 1989, a year that still feels raw for the LGBTQ+ community. Scott plays Ian Charleson, the charismatic Scottish actor whose career peaked in the early ’80s with films like Chariots of Fire and Gandhi. In real life, Charleson’s story is bittersweet: he took over the role of Hamlet from Daniel Day‑Lewis at the National Theatre while secretly battling AIDS, and he died just weeks after the final performance. The film doesn’t shy away from that tragedy; instead, it leans into the emotional weight, and Scott inhabits it with a mix of bravado and heartbreaking vulnerability.

Scott’s connection to the material runs deeper than a typical starring role. He helped produce Elsinore alongside screenwriter Stephen Beresford, the man behind Scott’s breakout film Pride (2014). That earlier project, another 1980s‑set LGBTQ+ story, sparked a personal drive for the actor after the death of his mother, Nora, in 2023. “When you’re in that grief state, you feel like you’ve got nothing to lose,” Scott told reporters after the Toronto premiere. It’s a line that feels both intimate and oddly cinematic, mirroring the very emotions the film pulls from its audience.

The irony of the casting is hard to ignore. Scott, a Dublin native who first stepped in front of a camera at 17, has spent his whole career walking a fine line between queer and straight roles. Early on, he was told to keep his sexuality under wraps, a warning that echoed the very advice given to Charleson in the ’80s. It wasn’t until 2013, after his breakout as Moriarty in Sherlock, that Scott publicly came out at age 37. Since then, he’s become something of a trailblazer, proving that an openly gay actor can, and does, play the full spectrum of characters – from the sardonic priest in Fleabag to the stoic Group Captain James Stagg in the war drama Pressure.

Critics are already singling out his performance in Elsinore as a career‑defining moment. Variety’s Guy Lodge called it “astonishing,” noting that Scott “is essentially carving an unprecedented career path for an out gay leading man in the industry. One where he isn’t pigeonholed into queer roles, but where he doesn’t have to avoid them either.” The sentiment is echoed across the board: the actor brings a raw, almost tactile honesty to Charleson’s final weeks, making the audience feel the weight of a man who knows his time is short yet still strives for artistic perfection.

Beyond the accolades, the film raises broader questions about representation. In a recent panel in Toronto, Scott remarked, “The war is never over, but there have been significant advances in what I believe is stopping the underestimation of audiences. They’re smart and they want to see representation and also transformation.” He’s also been vocal about language, critiquing the term “openly gay” as something that subtly “other‑izes” LGBTQ+ people – a stance he’s carried into his upcoming sitcom It Gets Worse, where he plays a provocatively‑styled therapist pushing boundaries for the sake of conversation.

Co‑star Johnny Flynn, who portrays director Richard Eyre in Elsinore, summed up the feeling on set: “I love him. He’s a dear friend and I think he deserves everything for Elsinore. He always puts his whole soul into whatever he does.” That kind of camaraderie translates to the screen, where Scott’s chemistry with the supporting cast feels earned rather than manufactured.

So, as the festival lights dim and the award‑season calendar flickers into motion, the question remains: will the Academy finally recognize an openly gay performer in its most coveted acting category? If history is any guide, the answer could be a resounding yes – and Andrew Scott might just be the man to deliver it.