Scottish actor Alan Cumming has said that the prejudice towards the LGBT+ community has been much more noticeable in recent years.
Speaking to the Press Association, Cumming claimed that he experienced significant hostility on social media in recent times. He is to star in the new Channel 4 drama, Tip Toe, which looks at the dangers and prejudice facing the LGBT+ community today. It is directed by Russell T Davies.
The series sees Cumming play Leo, who owns a bar in Manchester's gay village, when he becomes involved in a feud with his troubled next door neighbour, who is played by Dave Morrissey. It explores mob mentality and the harshest forces that LGBT+ people face today.
"It was interesting to explore all of that in a way that isn’t sensationalist for the sake of it, though it is sensational, and rightly so, but also nuanced," he said.
"What I loved was how flawed the character is, how broken he is underneath it all", he continued. "He’s very lonely and fragile, even though he presents with bravado.
"I also loved that he is HIV positive, and that it only really comes out through his anger at how people with HIV/Aids are treated.
"In a way, he becomes an everyman figure for queer rights and the queer movement, spanning a significant part of a person’s life experience.
"That made it a really interesting role to play", he added. "And it felt like the perfect time in my life to do it, it really was a convergence of many things".
"I do feel it quite palpably at times", Cumming said. "I live in a very privileged, liberal queer bubble, of course, but sticking your head above the parapet to shout things means that I feel the hatred, or certainly I see it on my phone, towards myself".
"In my real life, thankfully, I don’t encounter much of it".
Cumming owns a gay bar in New York, and he added that his staff have also noticed a shift in attitudes towards the LGBT+ community.
"Even in New York, which is very much a liberal bubble, I’ve noticed things shifting," he stated. "In my club, the young people working there are talking about feeling more anxious about taking the subway and going about their lives".
He went on to state that the world is a much more dangerous place for minorities than it was 25 years ago, saying that the online environment has played a key role in creating hate and division in the world right now.
"It was interesting to explore all of that in a way that isn’t sensationalist for the sake of it, though it is sensational, and rightly so, but also nuanced," he said.
"What I loved was how flawed the character is, how broken he is underneath it all", he said. "He’s very lonely and fragile, even though he presents with bravado.
"I also loved that he is HIV positive, and that it only really comes out through his anger at how people with HIV/Aids are treated.
"In a way, he becomes an everyman figure for queer rights and the queer movement, spanning a significant part of a person’s life experience.
"That made it a really interesting role to play".
"And it felt like the perfect time in my life to do it, it really was a convergence of many things".
