Paul Bettany admits seeing his father struggle with his sexuality helped him become a better dad

Actor Paul Bettany believes watching his father struggle with his sexuality shaped his own approach toward fatherhood.

Paul, 49, shares three children – Kai, 23, Stellan, 17, and Agnes, nine – with actress Jennifer Connelly, 50.

His father Thane Bettany split from his mother Anne in 1993 after 25 years of marriage. He then went on to have a relationship with a man, Andy Clark, which lasted until 2015, when Andy passed away.

Actor Paul Bettany believes watching his father struggle with his sexuality shaped his own approach toward fatherhood

‘The terrible thing for my father is that, in the end, he went back in the closet, which was awful to watch, really,’ Paul recalls, speaking to People. ‘And that really speaks to the power of his Catholicism, which sort of led him to a place of shame and inability to mourn his partner in a real way.’

Andy died three months before Thane also passed away, aged 86.

Paul went on: ‘I really want my children, and I want everybody, to just live authentically as the person they are, and however hard that is, it’s absolutely better than pretending to be something other than you are.

‘Having been through a thousand years of therapy, there’s real power in getting to know yourself… and I have so many things to be grateful for.’

Paul suffered a major loss when his younger brother Matthew died when they were children. Matthew was eight, Paul was 16.

Matthew fell from a roof, leaving Paul to turn to drink, quitting school to busk on the streets. He then went to drama school at 19, following in his parents footsteps, also both actors.

Paul stars in the upcoming WandaVision alongside Elizabeth Olsen – who has revealed he was left fuming with her when she made an ill-timed joke about his runny nose during filming.

Elizabeth, 31, and Paul, whose characters Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) and Vision enjoyed a brief and epic romance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have reprised their roles in the new Disney+ series.

It sees the pair dropped into a 1950s suburban town and discovering they’re in a black and white sitcom and hurtling through the decades together – but Elizabeth revealed it wasn’t all plain sailing on set during a chat on Monday’s The One Show.

Oh dear: Elizabeth Olsen has revealed her WandaVision co-star Paul was left fuming with her when she made an ill-timed joke about his runny nose during filming

Oh dear: Elizabeth Olsen has revealed her WandaVision co-star Paul was left fuming with her when she made an ill-timed joke about his runny nose during filming

Appearing with Paul via webcam, the Avengers star spoke about the awkward moment Paul’s runny nose dripped onto her face during a passionate kiss scene.  

As Paul exclaimed: ‘Oh no, don’t let her tell the story’ she said: ‘Paul has three layers of purple paint on his face, he cannot feel his skin.

‘He was giving me a kiss in this scene pre-COVID and his snot fell onto my face.’

‘And it was the first time in our relationship that Paul was genuinely mad at me.’

Yay: Elizabeth, 31, and Paul, 49, whose characters Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) and Vision enjoyed a brief and epic romance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have reprised their roles in the new Disney+ series

Yay: Elizabeth, 31, and Paul, 49, whose characters Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) and Vision enjoyed a brief and epic romance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have reprised their roles in the new Disney+ series

A mortified Paul then added: ‘It was Elizabeth who was the real perpetrator!’ 

Discussing the filming of show before the COVID-19 pandemic, she said:’It was probably too much fun to make. 

‘Getting to film in front of a live studio audience, pretending you’re in a Dick Van Dyke show but you’re a superhero character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a magical joyful thing.

‘We had such a rush getting to do this together as an ensemble.’

Awkward: Appearing with Paul via webcam, the Avengers star spoke about the awkward moment Paul's runny nose dripped onto her face during a passionate kiss scene

Awkward: Appearing with Paul via webcam, the Avengers star spoke about the awkward moment Paul’s runny nose dripped onto her face during a passionate kiss scene

While Paul is in New York City, Elizabeth is in lockdown just outside of London, after filming was suspended on her latest film, Doctor Strange And The Multitude Of Madness.

She is set to star in the Doctor Strange sequel alongside lead star Benedict Cumberbatch. 

She said: ‘I’m good, I’m being employed here, and we’re waiting until we can go back to work

Mortifying: 'And it was the first time in our relationship that Paul was genuinely mad at me'

Mortifying: ‘And it was the first time in our relationship that Paul was genuinely mad at me’

‘I love England and I will jump to any opportunity to be locked down here instead of LA. I love taking walks and getting outside.’  

WandaVision, which premieres January 15 will see Kat Dennings returns to play Darcy Lewis from Thor and Thor: The Dark World, and Randall Park comes back as Agent Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and The Wasp.

The cast also features Kathryn Hahn as their friendly neighbor, as well as Teyonah Parris, playing an adult version of Monica Rambeau, who was previously introduced in Captain Marvel.

TV spin-off: Olsen and Bettany revive their MCU roles in the studio's first foray into television

TV spin-off: Olsen and Bettany revive their MCU roles in the studio’s first foray into television