Luke Evans tries not to take fan attention too seriously as he understands being a sex symbol is part of the business.
The 37-year-old actor, who is openly gay, has seen his following grow dramatically over the years thanks to his various film roles, from The Fast and the Furious franchise to The Girl on the Train. While some of the comments and actions of loyal devotees can be quite full on, Luke doesn’t let himself get too caught up in things unless his buttons are pushed.
“On social media, people are very brave and say things that if they were in a room with you they probably wouldn’t,” he mused to Britain’s Glamour magazine. “In terms of being ‘objectified’, there are certain jobs where I’ve been like, ‘There’s no need to do this topless scene.’ But sex sells. I don’t take it too seriously. In our business, you have a public persona – fans are going to look at us in roles and maybe objectify us. There’s not much you can do about it apart from maybe write an article and have it printed in The Guardian. It’s a compliment and I take it as such.”
Luke was joined in the interview by his Beauty and the Beast co-star Dan Stevens, who plays the titular beast while Luke portrays villain Gaston and Emma Watson stars as Belle. The former Downton Abbey star revealed that he himself had once made a list of sexiest men in Wales - despite not being Welsh and only living in the country for a brief period.
“Was I on the list?” Luke pondered. “Because I’m actually Welsh! There are so few sexy Welsh men that they had to bring in people that have no connections to Wales.”
Dan, who was born in London but spent some time growing up in Wales, noted he was “thrilled” by the title and is flattered by anyone thinking of him as “sexy”.
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