Hollywood actor, Luke Evans has candidly shared that he contemplated suicide as a teenager before coming out as gay, revealing the emotional toll of growing up in a religious environment that did not accept his identity.

Evans, known for his roles in Beauty and the Beast and the Fast & Furious franchise, appeared on Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend, where he revisited his childhood home in Wales and reflected on the isolation he felt during his formative years.

“I felt very isolated,” Evans told Hammond, explaining that being raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, where homosexuality was condemned, left him with no one to confide in.

He shared that he was bullied and lacked self-confidence, made worse by the fact that everyone around him, including his friends, were also Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“I didn’t speak to anyone until I was 14. I went to a psychologist because I wanted to ask them… I had no-one to talk to. She offered me a 14-week course at £200 a session at 14 and I went, ‘No no no I need help today,’ and she went, ‘Well I can’t help you,” he said.

Evans described knowing from a very young age that something about him was different.

“I knew I was different, I didn’t know I was gay, I knew I was different from seven, eight, nine, very young. I didn’t have anyone outside of the religion to be able to confide in or ask what was wrong.

“I’d been baptised in the religion and that meant that if I chose to be openly gay I would be cut off from everyone and everything I knew. It was very complicated and very confusing,” he said.

When Hammond asked if he had ever found himself in a dark place, Evans responded with stark honesty.

“Oh yeah… in my teenage years. I was clear in my mind who I was and I had no-one to talk to. It was a very difficult position, place to be. I contemplated suicide.

“Not a nice place to be, especially at that young age”, he added.

Despite these struggles, something deep inside prevented him from going through with it.

“I think because I thought that, what am I missing out on if I do this? What life have I got that I haven’t discovered yet, that I have to live?

“And I think it was needing to know what my life would be like once all this was over,” Evans shared.

The emotional episode also featured lighter moments. Evans took Hammond horse riding, drifting in homage to his Fast & Furious character, and to a performance where he showcased his singing talents. Toward the end of the 48-hour experience, he introduced Hammond to his long-term partner, Fran Tomas.

Asked what drew him to Tomas, Evans said: “Nothing phases him. He makes me calmer which I need sometimes. I juggle a lot of plates.

“And we are a good team.” (Nigerian Tribune)