The 'Imitation Game' screenwriter sets the record straight on the rumor that he's gay after he, inspired by Alan Turing, opened up about his suicidal past at the Academy Awards.
- February 24, 2015
AceShowbiz -
Graham Moore clears up rumor that he's gay after he made headlines with his moving speech at the Sunday Oscars in which he opened up about his suicidal past. Although his speech was inspired by Alan Turing, the World War II hero who cracked Nazi code and later committed suicide after being prosecuted for being gay, "The Imitation Game" scribe says it doesn't necessarily mean that he's also gay.
"I'm not gay, but I've never talked publicly about depression before or any of that, and that was so much of what the movie was about, and it was one of the things that drew me to Alan Turing so much. I think we all feel like weirdos for different reasons. Alan had his share of them and I had my own, and that's what always moved me so much about his story," he told BuzzFeed.
"I am incredibly superstitious, so I had it loosely in my head," he said of his speech. "It's the kind of thing that I've imagined since I was a teenager. It was weird to get on the stage and say the things that I've been imagining in the shower and in front of mirrors. I think everyone practices their Oscars acceptance speech with a shampoo bottle, and I've done my fair share of them. It's really surreal to be able to do it in real life."
Graham Moore won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards. "Alan Turing never got to stand on a stage like this and look out at all of these disconcertingly attractive faces. And I do," he said when accepting his golden trophy. "And that's the most unfair thing I think I've ever heard."
"In this brief time here, what I want to use it to do is to say this: When I was 16 years old, I tried to kill myself because I felt weird and I felt different and I felt like I did not belong," the screenwriter continued. "And now, I'm standing here and I would like for this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she's weird or she's different or she doesn't fit in anywhere: Yes, you do. I promise you do. You do. Stay weird, stay different. And then, when it's your turn and you are standing on this stage, please pass the same message to the next person who comes along."
