Nigel Hawthorne

Sir Nigel Hawthorne was a British actor known for Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister (1980, multiple BAFTA Awards) and for his Academy Award-nominated performance in The Madness of King George (1994), a role he originated on stage in The Madness of George III (1991), winning an Olivier Award, and reprised on Broadway in Shadowlands (1990), winning a Tony. He was knighted in 1999 for services to theatre, film, and television. He was outed against his wishes when a journalist disclosed his relationship with his partner Trevor Bentham during the 1995 Oscar nominations season -- a disclosure he described as devastating. He came out formally in response and spoke in subsequent interviews about the harm done by involuntary outing. He and Bentham had been together since 1979 and remained so until Hawthorne's death in 2001.