Growing up, Dustin Lance Black didn't think he'd be able to open up about his sexuality to his loved ones. His family was conservative – and Mormon. But when he was a teenager, a speech by the openly gay politician Harvey Milk allowed him to imagine a very different life for himself. Lance never forgot that speech, and years later, when he became a screenwriter, he decided to make a film about Milk. Lance went on to win an Oscar for that film. He told Outlook’s Emily Webb that a lot of his success is down to his mum.

(Photo: Anne and Dustin. Credit: Dustin Lance Black)