Ben Whishaw, gadget maker Daniel Craig in the James Bond film Skyfall and rumoured to take the same role in the upcoming "Bond 24", came out as gay and admitted being "married" in civil ceremony with Australian composer Mark Bradshaw.

Whishaw and Bradshaw met in 2009 at the set of Jane Campion's 2009 film Bright Star - a film which tackled John Keat's sad love story with neighbour Fanny Brawne before dying of TB.

Whishaw and Bradshaw entered into a civil partnership in Sydney in 2012.

In an interview with Daily Mail, a representative of Whishaw said that the actor never denied that he was gay; it was just that he did not want to discuss it openly.

"Ben has never hidden his sexuality, but like many actors he prefers not to discuss his family or life outside of his work. Due to speculation, I can confirm that Ben and Mark entered into a civil partnership in August 2012. They were proud to do so and are very happy," the representative said.

"Everyone's delighted for them. Mark's a lovely guy, very talented and very close to Jane Campion. There hasn't been a chance for a big celebration because of ben's schedule but I'm sure there will be one at some point," a close friend of the couple shared.

In 2012, as part of the promotion of the film Skyfall, Whishaw said that he really wanted for his private life to be kept from people.

"For me, it's important to keep a level of anonymity. As an actor, your job is to persuade people that you're someone else. So if you're constantly telling people about yourself, I think you're shooting yourself in the foot," Whishaw said.

Whishaw earned praises from the industry saying that he is the most naturally gifted actors of his generation. In fact, in 2004, Trevor Nunn cast him as the youngest ever Hamlet at the Old Vic.

"This is the kind of evening of which legends are made," one critic said.

From there, Whishaw made the quick transition from the stage, to television and later in films. He had played aristocrat in Sebastian Flyte in the remake of Brideshead Revisited and was also a cast in the BBC2 newsroom drama The Hour.

Bradshaw, on the other hand, had composed the score for Campion's BBC mini-series Top Of The Lake, The Lady Bug and The Water Diary. Impressively, Bradshaw was only 25 when he composed the score for Bright Star.

It was to be recalled that Whishaw hinted on his sexuality in a 2011 interview with Out as he promotes the off-Broadway play the Pride. In the play, he portrayed a gay role.

During the interview, Whishaw was asked if he felt it important for young gay people to have him as someone to look up to.

"I really agree with that, and I feel in my heart that it's important, but I don't quite know yet the way to go about that. Maybe that's the transitional thing I feel I'm in the middle of at the moment. It's something I think about, but it's important for me to do it at the time that's right for me. And I'm not there yet."