Tom Burke is requesting media training from the BBC.
The 42-year-old actor asked for training to help him handle questions about J.K Rowling’s views on transgender rights.
The Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga star recently filmed Season 6 of the BBC/HBO series Strike, written by the Harry Potter author under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
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The Independent‘s Patrick Smith confirmed that Tom asked for media training ahead of an interview with the publication, writing: “Before our meeting, he made a special request to the BBC for media training on how to talk about Rowling. He got it.”
“I’ll preface all this by saying, what I want for that situation is for it to mend,” Tom said in the interview.
“I want those disparate groups to find resolution. I don’t want to say anything in the wrong context, or at the wrong time, which is going to make the situation worse, because it’s not nice, right? There’s so much antipathy going on.”
He added: “I hate this term ‘culture war’ … Maybe it’s naive of me to say that, but I don’t want to be part of it. I want to bring people together.”
He said his “integrity sits fine” with starring in Strike, despite the backlash to the author’s views.
Tom said he did not wish to take sides in the debate, but said he felt sympathy for anyone who has faced “any kind of anger” for expressing their views.
“My integrity is to step away. I ’m aware that might mean people think I’m on the fence; it’s just what sits well with me right now. I’m not saying I’ll never speak out; it’s not that I don’t feel part of it. It’s just that I want to say something that’s helpful to resolution.”
J.K. Rowling recently spoke out about Harry Potter actors supporting the trans community.
