Actor Lee Pace Says He's Dated Men And Women

Actor Lee Pace has said that he's dated men and women.

The 38-year-old Pace is best known for playing Thranduil in The Hobbit film trilogy and Ned in the ABC fantasy drama Pushing Daisies. He plays Joe Pitt, a closeted gay Mormon who struggles with his sexuality, in the Broadway revival of Tony Kushner's Angels in America.

When asked about his own sexuality by W magazine, Pace became flustered.

“I've dated men. I've dated women,” he explained. “I don't know why anyone would care. I'm an actor and I play roles. To be honest, I don't know what to say – I find your question intrusive.”

Pace has not previously spoken publicly about his sexuality. But in a 2012 interview with German website Brash.de, out British actor Ian McKellen, who also appeared in The Hobbit film trilogy, listed Pace as one of the six openly gay actors on the film's set.

“Just look only how many openly gay actors in The Hobbit [there] were: two of the dwarves, to Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Lee Pace,” he reportedly said. “In The Lord of the Rings, I was the only one, next to it there was my make-up artist and one from the wardrobe team. That's only progress, right?”