Miriam Margolyes is celebrating her pride.
On a new cover story for the British fashion Pride July issue, 82 years old Harry Potter The actress started out as a lesbian in 1966 and became a part of the LGBTQ community.
“I think gays are very lucky because we’re not traditional, we’re a bit of a separate group,” he told the magazine. “This gives us an advantage. We are good artists, we are good musicians.”
“And I love being gay. I wouldn’t want to be straight for anything,” added Margolyes.
Don’t miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best PEOPLE has to offer, from compelling celebrity news to compelling stories that engage people.
BAFTA Award winner told Brits too demand He said he was “never ashamed of being gay or anything really.”
“I knew he wasn’t guilty because it was me. I can’t be guilty,” Margolyes explained.
He also loved his parents, despite his belief that he would never admit to his sexuality, according to the magazine, and his mother even forced him to swear on the Torah that he would never have sex with a woman again.
“He hurt them and I don’t want to hurt people,” Margolyes told the British. demand Noting that he regretted ever coming to them.
While Margolyes and her partner, Heather Sutherland, had been together for 54 years after they first met, Margolyes was trying to break into the bigger acting scene after her college graduation.
As for the pride parades, the actress, who attended her first Pride parade last year, told the magazine she was glad to see “limitless youth having fun.”
As for her own civil partnership with Sutherland, Margolyes said, “Gays have a chance to shape whatever relationship they want. It’s much more flexible for us.”
“I think we have more freedom than we do. [straight people] To do. Especially gay men, they always fuck everything. This is great. I don’t know how to get rid of this,” he mocked.
See the full text of Margolyes in the July issue of British demanddownloadable digitally and on newsstands June 20.