Matt Damon suggests gay actors should stay in the closet

Matt Damon suggests gay actors stay in the closet to help their careers. Photo/AP

Matt Damon has suggested being openly gay can interfere with a successful acting career, telling young actors that "the less people know about you the better".

His comments come just weeks after Damon ruffled feathers by talking over a black female director during a discussion about diversity.

His latest statement came while Damon was promoting his new film, The Martian, when he suggested to The Guardian that gay actors might have better careers if they stayed in the closet.

"I think it must be really hard for actors to be out publicly," Damon said in the interview.

"I think you're a better actor the less people know about you, period. And sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether you're straight or gay, people shouldn't know anything about your sexuality because that's one of the mysteries that you should be able to play."

Damon was discussing his role playing Liberace's lover, Scott Thorson, in the HBO film Behind the Candelabra, when he made the comments.

Using his friend Rupert Everett as an example, Damon said he thought being openly gay might hinder an actor's career.

"I don't want to, like [imply] it's some sort of disease - then it's like I'm throwing my friends under the bus. But at the time, I remember thinking and saying, Rupert Everett was openly gay and this guy - more handsome than anybody, a classically trained actor - it's tough to make the argument that he didn't take a hit for being out," Damon said.

Everett was once considered a front runner to play James Bond before the role was handed to Daniel Craig.

Duncan Matthews, general manager of Rainbow Youth said "if Matt Damons is saying that, it means there's a lot of work to do in order to make people feel safe about coming out."

OUTLineNZ general manager, Trevor Easton, said "I can completely understand where he is coming from, which is very sad. When celebrities do come out, however, it does a lot to support people in their coming out process."

- nzherald.co.nz