Straight Actors: Last News

Smile 2 star, who came out publicly in 2023, noted how he experienced a backlash in 2021 from viewers of The White Lotus, who mistakenly believed that Gage was a straight actor taking a gay role.“When I did [come out], my friends and family knew I wanted to keep [it] sacred for myself. I felt like I didn’t need to prove anything to anyone,” Gage told Attitude magazine.

Heartstopper, says he doesn’t believe it’s “fair” to prevent straight actors from playing LGBTQ characters.Defending the idea of casting roles regardless of the actors’ sexual orientations, Locke told The Guardian that he believes the focus should be on how actors approach their roles in an effort to portray a character’s experience as authentically as possible.“I wouldn’t want to not be able to play a straight character, so I don’t think it’s fair to stop someone straight — who can do all the research — from playing a gay character,” he said. “As long as you’re playing a part authentically and with the best intentions — you’re not just playing a stereotype — then go for it.”Reflecting on his Heartstopper casting experience Locke said, “[t]here’s no way they would have been able to say, ‘Are you gay, otherwise you can’t audition for this part?’ to a 16-year-old.

Rebel Wilson is the latest star to defend straight actors playing gay roles.

Will & Grace star Eric McCormack has defended straight actors playing LGBTQ+ roles.McCormack, who is best known for playing Will Truman on NBC sitcom Will & Grace, spoke recently about his casting as a gay character, and how straight actors should still be able to play LGBTQ+ roles.Speaking on Good Morning Britain earlier this week, the actor said: “There’s no part I’ve ever played where I wasn’t playing something I’m not. It’s part of the gig.

Eric McCormack identifies as heterosexual and played the role of a gay man on Will & Grace across 11 seasons, eight in its original run and three in its revival.

Eric McCormack is the latest star to weigh in on the debate on whether or not straight actors should play gay characters.

Paul Mescal has spoken out about whether straight actors should play queer roles.The actor is due to star in All Of Us Strangers with Andrew Scott (Fleabag, Sherlock), where the pair will engage in an on-screen romance. It is set to be directed by Andrew Haigh (Looking, 45 Years).In a new interview with The Sunday Times, Mescal opened up about playing a gay character as a straight man.

Stanley Tucci is opening up about being a straight actor who has played gay roles on screen and why he thinks it’s “fine.”

BBC Radio 4’s “Desert Island Discs” show and said, “I am always very flattered when gay men come up to me and talk to me about ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ or they talk about ‘Supernova.’ ” He continued: “They say that, ‘It was just so beautiful,’ you know, ‘You did it the right way.’ Because often, it’s not done the right way.“An actor is an actor is an actor. You’re supposed to play different people.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Stanley Tucci appeared on BBC Radio 4’s “Desert Island Discs” show and weighed in on the debate over straight actors playing gay characters. The Oscar nominee, whose been married to Emily Blunt’s sister since 2012, played gay roles in “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006) and “Supernova” (2020) and received critical acclaim for both performances. “Obviously I believe that’s fine,” Tucci said about straight actors taking gay roles. “I am always very flattered when gay men come up to me and talk to me about ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ or they talk about ‘Supernova,’ and they say that, ‘It was just so beautiful,’ you know, ‘You did it the right way.’ Because often, it’s not done the right way.”

BBC‘s Desert Island Discs (via The Guardian), Tucci said that he considers being on stage or on screen as a safe place where you can inhabit different types of characters.“I feel much safer on stage than I do in real life,” he said. “Sometimes, walking into a cocktail or dinner party, I get very nervous.”Discussing being criticised for playing a gay character in Supernova, he added: “Obviously, I believe that’s fine, and I am always very flattered when gay men come up to me and talk about my role in The Devil Wears Prada or Supernova, and say I did it the right way.“Because often it is not done the right way, and I really do believe as an actor that you are supposed to play different people.

The Whale in something of a mixed bag for representation and storytelling.Here’s a look at the six straight men who have won Best Actor for playing gay men.William HurtHollywood heartthrob William Hurt made history when he won the Best Actor Oscar in 1986 for portraying “effeminate” gay man Luis Molina, who forges a relationship with his cellmate in a Brazilian prison.The film focuses on much more than just Molina’s sexuality, but it is certainly a big part of his character, and Hurt’s performance was groundbreaking at the time.Hurt would claim the prize on his first attempt, and though he was nominated three more times throughout his career, he didn’t snag a second trophy.​​Tom HanksJust a few years later, Tom Hanks became the second person to win the Best Actor Oscar for playing a gay male character.In 1994, the star – who was still just beginning what would go on to become one of the most celebrated careers in Hollywood – took home his first Academy Award for his role in Philadelphia, which tells the story of a lawyer dying of AIDS who sues his employer for wrongful termination and wins.In his speech, Hanks thanked people from his past who clearly helped make him the actor–and the person–he was when he won.“I would not be standing here if it weren’t for two very important men in my life, so… two that I haven’t spoken with in awhile, but I had the pleasure of just the other evening,” the star began. “Mr.

Zack Sharf Tom Hanks won his first Oscar for best actor thanks to Jonathan Demme’s 1993 legal drama “Philadelphia,” in which he plays a gay man with HIV who is discriminated against at work. Cut forward almost 30 years later, and Hanks says he or any fellow straight actor would no longer be able to play the openly gay character at the heart of “Philadelphia.” Not that at Hanks sees a problem with that change in mentality in Hollywood.“Let’s address ‘could a straight man do what I did in “Philadelphia” now?’ No, and rightly so,” Hanks recently told The New York Times Magazine.

As an openly gay actor, Ben Whishaw has some opinions about straight actors playing gay roles.

The Guardian, Whishaw said he “[understood] the questions” surrounding straight actors playing gay characters, adding that “discussion” and “listening to each other” about the issues was important rather than disagreement.“I think Eddie did a beautiful job,” he said of Eddie Redmayne’s performance in The Danish Girl as trans pioneer Lili Elbe. Whishaw had a supporting role in the film.He continued: “And it’s done. Going forward, there will be other films in which the role is given to someone who lived that experience.

Glee, before going on to win an Emmy for his portrayal of gay spree killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace.When the ongoing debate over whether straight, cisgender actors should take LGBTQ roles erupted in Hollywood a few years ago, Criss became a target of criticism.

There has been an ongoing debate for years on whether straight actors should be playing gay roles and now Neil Patrick Harris is sharing his thoughts.

Why not? Neil Patrick Harris responded to showrunner Russel T. Davies‘ recent comments to Radio Times claiming straight actors shouldn’t play gay roles.

direct to your inboxCorrie actor Peter Ash has hit back after Russell T Davis claimed only gay actors should play gay roles. Russell, the TV creator, producer and writer behind the Manchester-based series Queer as Folk, Doctor Who and Years and Years, which was also set in Manchester, explained why he only casts gay actors in the role of gay characters in an interview with the Radio Times.

Russell T Davies says straight actors should never play gay roles.

Netflix remake of The Boys in the Band said spoke of “this spectrum” and nodded to Brokeback Mountain as a good example.“There’s definitely this spectrum: I think the fight, as it were, is not about having only gay people play the gay parts but to ensure that all parts are open to all actors,” Parsons said in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times.“It’s important that gay characters are portrayed as well-rounded and completely human individuals,” he added.“And there are plenty of straight actors who have played gay characters brilliantly.