OUR STRAIGHT MATES
END GAME
He’s played a pirate, a cop, a rock star and a footy player’s boyfriend. But The End could be Luke Arnold’s toughest gig yet?
BY MATTHEW MYERS
DNA: Let’s start with Black Sails, in which you play Long John Silver. The show certainly has some gay overtones!
Luke Arnold: Oh, it’s the gayest show on TV! One of the greatest triumphs of Black Sails is its queer elements. Pirate shows often have this idea of freedom, which is symbolic of being free of the shackles of king or queen. However, this was about the freedom to be oneself and, for a lot of the characters, sexuality and identity is tied up in that idea.
Black Sails.
You’ve
played
a
few
gay
roles.
Yes. I did a remounting of the plays Like Stars In My Hands and Thieving Boy by Timothy Conigrave who wrote Holding The Man. I did an episode of the ABC’s Lowdown where I played the secret boyfriend of a footballer struggling with coming out. Then the Black Sails fans have their forums about the sexuality of John Silver. I’ll leave that to them!