Actor Jeremy Irons wonders whether legalising gay marriage may lead to its manipulation in order for fathers to pass on their estate to their sons without being taxed.

Speaking to the Huffington Post, he said: "Could a father not marry his son?" 

The Borgias star said he "doesn't have a strong feeling either way" about gay marriage, saying he wished "everybody who's living with one other person the best of luck in the world because it's fantastic".

"Living with another animal, whether it be a husband or a dog, is great," he said.

"It's lovely to have someone to love.  I don't think sex matters at all.  What it's called doesn't matter at all." 

However, the married actor said of the debate on whether to legalise marriage: "It seems to me that now they're fighting for the name.  I worry that it means somehow we debase, or we change, what marriage is.  I just worry about that." 

Gay lobby group Stonewall called his comments "bizarre".