Paul Bettany's father forced back into the closet after his longtime lover died

Paul Bettany's father was forced to conceal his sexuality at the age of 83 after his lover of 20 years passed away.

The Avengers: Endgame star revealed his dad Thane, who was a strict Catholic, feared for his "place in heaven" and insisted his homosexuality was "a big misunderstanding."

The 49-year-old shared that his new film Uncle Frank, in which he plays a closeted gay professor dating a Saudi Arabian immigrant, brought his father's plight home to him.

"I had a gay father who died a couple of years ago," Bettany told Total Film.

"He came out of the closet at 63. He then had a 20-year relationship with a man called Andy Clark. It was a joyous relief for everybody, actually," he went on.

After Andy died, Bettany's dad went back into the closet.

"He was in his 80s at that point and my dad decided to go back inside the closet and say that it had all been a big misunderstanding, because he was a Catholic and concerned about getting past Peter through the pearly gates," Bettany explained.

And the U.K. native can't imagine the grief his late dad experienced.

"The shame he felt for his sexual identity was devastating," he added, lamenting: "He was unable to mourn the person who I think was the love of his life."

Thane, an actor, dancer and teacher, hooked up with his lover, Andy, after his divorce from Bettany's theatre teacher mother.