You’ve duetted with Elton, which is a fairly unique thing to do. Ryan Gosling doesn’t get to go to the moon with Neil Armstrong…

Yes! I’ve done it three times. I did “Tiny Dancer” at the Elton John Aids Foundation dinner, then “Rocket Man” on the beach in Cannes. And then he asked me, for his first gig of his world tour in the UK, to come out and do “Your Song”. And so I progressively got more and more comfortable. And, of course, they are about spreading the word for the film, but for me they felt more about celebrating the friendship through this process with Elton. He’s very interested in other people. He’s very interested in making friends. To be honest – I’m putting words in his mouth – but I suspect that when your family were less than you would wish them to be in some respects, you pick your family from your good friends, and I think he’s got a real hunger for forming relationships.

What surprised you to learn about Elton during the process?

I mean, the really ugly side of taking that much cocaine and where that takes you. Some of the stuff he told me made my teeth itch! Which probably doesn’t need to go in the article…

Doesn’t it? Go on. One teeth-itching story…

He used to have so much cocaine he’d have seizures, be put in his bed and then wake up and immediately start taking more cocaine.

You talked about the trepidation of playing a gay man. The whole Scarlett Johansson thing blew up again recently, with her saying she should be able to play anyone no matter the ethnicity. Is that how you see it? Is there anyone you couldn’t play?

You can look at it through two prisms, I suppose. Lots of gay actors feel that by being public about their sexuality it denies them the opportunity to play heterosexual roles and that they get typecast. That is where the frustration with straight actors playing gay roles comes from. And that is the core problem. I don’t know that stopping straight actors from playing gay roles is the solution to that problem. I think that’s an inelegant, reactive solution. But I can understand it, it’s born of a deep-rooted frustration. But what it doesn’t do is promote inclusivity. It doesn’t promote celebration of things that are other from yourself. And it doesn’t promote creativity. And that’s how I feel about it. And I think, actually, that is possibly the best I’ve articulated how I feel about it! [Laughs.] I’ve been reaching for that for months!

Is it still a problem then? If you were a young, gay actor do you think you would still feel worried about coming out?

I do. I do. And I can understand that. And I think there’s probably still some justification to be concerned about it. But that being said, I think that it’s shifting for the better.