Who is Nathaniel Curtis’ partner? A closer look at Curtis’ sexuality

Nathaniel Curtis was a theatre actor on tour when he got the script for It’s A Sin. With no experience as a screen actor, Curtis auditioned brilliantly, landing the role of Ash in the emotional series. It’s A Sin catapulted Curtis into international stardom, with icons such as Elton John praising his performance. 

The film tells the story of the queer community’s resilience during a time of oppression and the rise of the AIDS pandemic. “He [Elton] was so kind in reaching out,” Curtis told The Queer Review. “That hit me quite hard because he is such a Titan of a human and he’s done so much.”

Nathaniel identifies as queer and is currently single

The first portrayal of a queer person Nathaniel saw on screen wasn’t positive. It was from a ‘70s sitcom that depicted queerness as something to be laughed at. 

However, it didn’t affect Nathaniel’s appreciation of his sexuality. He drew from a play titled The Little Dog Laughed that depicted two boys who didn’t understand how they were falling in love but kept going because they were happy. Nathaniel told Digital Spy:

“When I began to discover and explore my sexuality later down the line, I was just thinking, ‘I have absolutely no idea what’s happening.’ But then I had to ask myself that question of: ‘Am I happy?’ I think that the simple answer wasn’t always yes. But when the answer became a solid yes, I was like, ‘OK.’ In which case, ‘Chill your beans, Nathaniel. It’s going to be alright.’”

Curtis’ half-Indian culture can sometimes be ‘very unforgiving towards LGBTQ+ people.’ His portrayal of a gay Indian character on screen has helped many from his community feel comfortable about their sexualities. He told The Queer Review:

“As a teenager, I longed to see Indian men portrayed as something other than the academic or the comic relief, and in being entrusted with the role of Ash it was really lovely to get to do that. The feedback has been wonderful. I love the fact that, with the help of Russell and Peter, I was able to show that Indian men can be sexy.”

Nathaniel Curtis is single or very secretive about the people he’s dating. He’s talked about being in relationships but hasn’t revealed the identity of his lovers. “I have had relationships with men,” Nathaniel told Digital Spy. “I have had relationships with me. I identify as queer. I sat in that in-between as well.”

Nathaniel would love to see queer actors treated the same as straight actors

Curtis understands the value of queer representation on screen because it shaped how he grew comfortable with his sexual identity. His portrayal of Ash in It’s A Sin has helped people and their families accept LGBTQ+ sexualities. 

Nathaniel talked to Digital Spy about a family that accepted their son’s sexuality after watching the show: “He came out to his family years ago, and I don’t think it went down particularly well. But after the show came out, he’d spoken to his mum about it. They were able to talk very openly about why they were concerned.”

Curtis’ story shows the importance of queer representation on screen. He opines that straight people playing queer roles should offer the roles adequate respect. The problem, according to Nathaniel, is that people don’t provide similar treatment to queer actors. 

For example, it’s okay for a straight actor to play a queer role and not vice versa. Curtis told Digital Spy that the imbalance needs to change:

“There’s a lot of inequalities in the industry, unfortunately, which aren’t getting there. Also, stop writing gay as a character trait. Being queer is one of the least interesting things about me, in my opinion. I hope. Let’s stop seeing queer people as a separate species. They are an actor. That’s what they do.”

An easy way to increase queer representation on screen is to write LGBTQ+-based stories. Curtis told The Queer Review that The Song of Achilles is one of his favorite books as it features Patroclus and Achilles as lovers. He told Digital Spy that he would love to see it adapted in film:

“Bring us gay superheroes. Give us the story of the Trojan War where Achilles and Patroclus are actually lovers. Get more gay Disney characters. Give us, I think, the opportunity. That’s one thing that I’d love to see.”

The changes Nathaniel wants to see will likely come slowly. Queer representation might not be where it should be, but Nathaniel offers hope to everyone struggling. He told Digital Spy:

“It doesn’t matter where you fall, but there’s a whole family out there who’s going to support you and love you. If it’s hard, it’s going to be OK. If it’s OK, at points it’s going to be hard.”