From William Hurt and Tom Hanks to The Whale's Brendan Fraser, here are six straight actors who won an Osr for playg gay.
Contents:
- OSRS 2023: THE AMY STILL LOV NOMATG STRAIGHT ACTORS FOR GAY ROL
- OSRS SO GAY: QUEER HIGHLIGHTS OM THE 2023 AMY AWARDS
- 6 STRAIGHT ACTORS HAVE WON OSRS FOR PLAYG GAY MEN
- A GROUNDBREAKG QUEER OSR WNER AND ITS VERY, VERY COMPLITED LEGACYIN 1986 WILLIAM HURT BEME THE FIRST ACTOR TO W AN OSR FOR PLAYG AN OPENLY QUEER CHARACTER. DID HE START ONE OF THE OSRS’ WORST TRENDS? BY KATEY RICHJUNE 8, 2023FROM ISLAND ALIVE PICTUR / EVERETT COLLECTNSAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEIT’S HARD TO TELL IF WILLIAM HURT FELT THE WEIGHT OF HISTORY WHEN HE TOOK THE OSR STAGE. AT THE BEGNG OF A STRG OF HS THAT WOULD MAKE HIM ONE OF THE FIVE STARS OF THE ’80S, HE WON THE BT-ACTOR OSR FOR HIS PERFORMANCE KISS OF THE SPIR WOMAN, AN UNLIKELY DIE H. IT MA HIM THE FIRST ACTOR TO W AN OSR FOR PLAYG AN OPENLY QUEER CHARACTER, TABLISHG A TEMPLATE THAT HAS NOW BEE SOMETHG OF A CLICHé: STRAIGHT ACTOR PLAYS GAY, WS OSR. A GUI TO HOLLYWOOD’S BIGGT RACARROWBUT 1986—THE SAME YEAR THAT RONALD REAGAN DARED TO SAY AIDS FOR THE FIRST TIME—KISS OF THE SPIR WOMAN WAS A UNIQUE PHENOMENON, AND HURT’S PERFORMANCE A E FOR GENUE CELEBRATN. “A [GAY] AND A MIE A JAIL CELL, WHAT A MARKETG NIGHTMARE” IS HOW PRODUCER DAVID WEISMAN FACETLY SCRIBED THE FILM’S PREMISE, ADAPTED OM ARGENTEAN THOR MANUEL PUIG’S NOVEL BY UP-AND-G BRAZILIAN DIRECTOR HéCTOR BABEN. WEISMAN TOLD INDIEWIRE 2010, AHEAD OF THE FILM’S ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATN AT THE CANN FILM FTIVAL, THAT “ WAS A PROJECT SIGNED TO EVERYONE’S REER.” WEISMAN AND BABEN SPENT YEARS GETTG THE FILM OFF THE GROUND, CLUDG A LONG PERD OF VELOPMENT WH ’50S AND ’60S IN BURT LANSTER. EVENTUALLY THEY WENT TO PRODUCTN WH HURT AS MOLA, A GAY MAN IMPRISONED ALONGSI LEFTIST REVOLUTNARY VALENTíN, PLAYED BY RL JULIA. THE FILM IS LARGELY A SERI OF NVERSATNS BETWEEN THE TWO, TERSPERSED WH CLIPS OM A FICTNAL NAZI PROPAGANDA MOVIE, WHICH MOLA RETELLS TO VALENTíN AS A WAY TO PASS THE TIME AND PE SOMEWHERE ELSE. AS JA MASL WROTE HER RAVE REVIEW, “WHAT STARTS OUT AS A MPY, FACET TALOGUE OF HOLLYWOOD TRIVIA BE AN EXTRAORDARILY MOVG FILM ABOUT MANHOOD, HEROISM AND LOVE.”THE DIE FILM WORLD WAS A PERD OF TRANSFORMATN THE MID-1980S, WH THE EXPLODG HOME VIO MARKET SPURRG MAND FOR ALMOST ANYTHG THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. SO UPSTART DISTRIBUTOR ISLAND ALIVE PICKED UP SPIR WOMAN AT CANN, WHERE HURT WON THE BT-ACTOR AWARD, AND RELEASED FOR AN EXCEPTNAL BOX OFFICE N THE SUMMER OF 1985, EVENTUALLY GROSSG $17 LN. (FOR NTEXT, THAT’S HOW MUCH THE WHALE AND THE FABELMANS HAVE MA DOMTILLY, WHOUT ADJTG FOR FLATN.) YEARS BEFORE MIRAMAX WOULD PERMANENTLY OPEN THE DOOR FOR DIE FILMS AT THE OSRS, SPIR WOMAN WAS THE UPSTART THE 1986 RACE, NOMATED FOR BT PICTURE ALONGSI MASSIVE STUD EFFORTS LIKE OUT OF AI AND THE COLOR PURPLE. HURT’S SPEECH, WHICH REX REED SNIPED WAS “MERCIFULLY” SHORTER THAN SOME OF THE MORE LONG-WD TERVIEWS HE’D GIVEN THAT SEASON, BEGAN WH A SIMPLE SENTENCE: “I SHARE THIS WH RL.” JULIA, WHO, LIKE HURT, HAD GOTTEN HIS START NEW YORK THEATER, SHARED A BT-ACTOR AWARD WH HIS STAR OM THE NATNAL BOARD OF REVIEW AND A GOLN GLOBE NOMATN, BUT WAS LEFT OUT AT THE OSRS. BUT HIS PERFORMANCE MAY BE THE BIGGT REVELATN TO A MORN DIENCE. SIMMERG WH RAGE AND TRATN AS VALENTíN WATCH OTHER MEMBERS OF HIS LEFTIST MOVEMENT BROUGHT TO THE PRISON, JULIA REFULLY TRACKS VALENTíN’S GRADUAL SOFTENG, NOT JT WILLG TO PE TO MOLA’S STORYTELLG BUT FD FORT—AND MAYBE A SPARK OF ROMANCE— HIS CELLMATE’S PRENCE. AND FOR MORN VIEWERS BRACG FOR IMPACT WATCHG HURT—WHOSE REPUTATN FOR TENSY AND DAMAGG BEHAVR ONLY GREW MORE PRONOUNCED AFTER THIS—HIS PERFORMANCE MAY BE A SURPRISE AS WELL. MOLA IS A FLAMBOYANT CHARACTER, SPIRED BY THE ’40S SCREEN SIRENS WHOSE PHOTOS ARE PASTED ON HIS WALL, A MAN WHO SOMEHOW HAS A LLECTN OF SILK ROB SI A PRISON. YOU MIGHT FD, AS SOME OF THE HOSTS ON THIS WEEK’S LTLE GOLD MEN DID, THAT HURT ERRS ON THE SI OF UNRPLAYG MOLA. BUT THERE’S A REASON THAT HIS PERFORMANCE SO PTIVATED DIENC AND OSR VOTERS; MOV PAST MOLA’S THEATRILY TO FD A MAN LOOKG FOR LOVE AND PURPOSE, AND RIGHT ON THE BRK OF FDG . IN AN ERA WH SO, SO LTLE QUEER REPRENTATN EVEN DIE FILMS, MOLA RONATED. AS WEISMAN TOLD INDIEWIRE OF HURT’S PERFORMANCE, “IF HE AND THE FILM HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO PULL OFF TO GAY DIENC, THEN WOULD HAVE CERTALY DIED.”MOST POPULARSARA RAMIREZ ISSU STHG RPONSE TO ANTI–CHE DIAZ PROFILEBY SAVANNAH WALSHHOW MADONNA TURNED THE LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN SET INTO A THREE-RG CIRCBY ER CARLSON2023 FALL PREVIEW: 46 FILMS TO WATCH OUT FORBY REBEC FORDON THIS WEEK’S LTLE GOLD MEN PODST, CHRIS MURPHY JOS TO DISCS KISS OF THE SPIR WOMAN, WHICH MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT FILM TO SHOW A GROUP A FIRE ISLAND RENTAL HOE—WHICH IS WHAT CHRIS ACTUALLY DID!—BUT HAS SURPRIS STORE NEARLY 40 YEARS SCE S RELEASE. THE SUPERSIZE EPISO ALSO CLUS A NVERSATN WH CHRIS, RICHARD LAWSON, AND GUTS ESTHER ZUCKERMAN AND JACKSON MCHENRY TAKG A LOOK AT THIS YEAR’S TONY NOMATNS, AND MAKG THEIR PREDICTNS ABOUT WHO WILL PREVAIL AT SUNDAY’S AWARDS. LISTEN TO VANY FAIR’S LTLE GOLD MEN PODST NOW.MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIRHOW FOUR BILLNAIRE TECHNO-OLIGARCHS ARE CREATG AN ALTERNATE REALYEXCLIVE NEW DETAILS ABOUT MEGHAN MARKLE’S WEDDG DRSA BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF EVERYTHG HAPPENG AT THIS FALL’S FILM FTIVALS—WHOUT THE STARSA SER SETBACK FOR TMP’S PLAN TO GET REELECTED AND PARDON HIMSELFMEET KYLE DCHANEL, THE PRETEND PLAYBOY WHO SEEMS TO HAVE FOOLED HALF OF MANHATTANTHE ULTIMATE GUI TO FALL MOVIFROM THE ARCHIVE: A FATHER’S ACUNT OF THE TRIAL OF HIS DGHTER’S KILLEREND-OF-SUMMER SALE! TAKE 25% OFF AT THE VF SHOPKATEY RICH
- OSR’S GAY AMY AWARD WNERS
OSRS 2023: THE AMY STILL LOV NOMATG STRAIGHT ACTORS FOR GAY ROL
* oscar 2023 gay *
A mon theme wh this year's LGBTQ films is how sad they are, which is one of the most proment takeaways om The Whale, Darren Aronofsky's drama about a 600-pound gay man gog through severe prsn. Instead Fraser’s Charlie, a fat su and layers of prosthetic makp, feels overe by the baggage of a world doubly homophobic and tyrannilly favorg th body shap, renrg the actual lived realy of a fat gay man somewhat sketchy and unnvcg, his nscns wrten by belief systems that seek to stroy him. The film als wh a heavy amount of ser them, pecially homophobia and suici, makg this one of the sadr films of the year any tegory.
We will forever thank Kniv Out for givg an evil Chris Evans an amazg sweater, but the sequel proved even gayer than the first outg.
OSRS SO GAY: QUEER HIGHLIGHTS OM THE 2023 AMY AWARDS
Queer queen Janelle Monáe joed Daniel Craig's Detective Beno Blanc, who was revealed not only to be gay but to be married to Hugh Grant! Fraser plays Charlie, a gay profsor the thro of a mental health crisis. Daniel Craig returns to star as Detective Beno Blanc, only now he has been nfirmed by director Rian Johnson to be gay (and married to Hugh Grant!
Close is a Belgian g-of-age drama that studi the effects of homophobia on the liv of two teen boys.
The Whale, which featur a gay male llege profsor protagonist played by Brendan Fraser, won for Makp and Hairstylg. Read our review of The Whale here om an obe gay man.
6 STRAIGHT ACTORS HAVE WON OSRS FOR PLAYG GAY MEN
” The ment may or may not have been a dig at gay anchor Don Lemon’s sistence that a woman is past her prime when she reach her forti. Host Jimmy Kimmel got a dig about gay Republin ngrsman Gee Santos and Nile Kidman’s mpy AMC mercials, while Daniel Scheert said drsg drag was “a threat to nobody” while acceptg the prize for directg Everythg Everywhere All at Once.
It’s largely been overlooked that director Sarah Polley’s Women Talkg featured a transgenr character, and gay actor Ben Whishaw plays a non-toxic and possibly queer-d male. Stephanie Hsu is fally up for bt actrs a supportg role, as is honorary gay Jamie Lee Curtis for her chaotic role as Deirdre Bebeirdre. ” On LGBTQ+ Natn, the headle reads: “The Amy Still Lov Nomatg Straight Actors for Gay Rol.
That’s why the “straight actors gay rol” crique, while still an overarchg ncern I have, don’t still que the same fire me that I thk ed to.
A GROUNDBREAKG QUEER OSR WNER AND ITS VERY, VERY COMPLITED LEGACYIN 1986 WILLIAM HURT BEME THE FIRST ACTOR TO W AN OSR FOR PLAYG AN OPENLY QUEER CHARACTER. DID HE START ONE OF THE OSRS’ WORST TRENDS? BY KATEY RICHJUNE 8, 2023FROM ISLAND ALIVE PICTUR / EVERETT COLLECTNSAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEIT’S HARD TO TELL IF WILLIAM HURT FELT THE WEIGHT OF HISTORY WHEN HE TOOK THE OSR STAGE. AT THE BEGNG OF A STRG OF HS THAT WOULD MAKE HIM ONE OF THE FIVE STARS OF THE ’80S, HE WON THE BT-ACTOR OSR FOR HIS PERFORMANCE KISS OF THE SPIR WOMAN, AN UNLIKELY DIE H. IT MA HIM THE FIRST ACTOR TO W AN OSR FOR PLAYG AN OPENLY QUEER CHARACTER, TABLISHG A TEMPLATE THAT HAS NOW BEE SOMETHG OF A CLICHé: STRAIGHT ACTOR PLAYS GAY, WS OSR. A GUI TO HOLLYWOOD’S BIGGT RACARROWBUT 1986—THE SAME YEAR THAT RONALD REAGAN DARED TO SAY AIDS FOR THE FIRST TIME—KISS OF THE SPIR WOMAN WAS A UNIQUE PHENOMENON, AND HURT’S PERFORMANCE A E FOR GENUE CELEBRATN. “A [GAY] AND A MIE A JAIL CELL, WHAT A MARKETG NIGHTMARE” IS HOW PRODUCER DAVID WEISMAN FACETLY SCRIBED THE FILM’S PREMISE, ADAPTED OM ARGENTEAN THOR MANUEL PUIG’S NOVEL BY UP-AND-G BRAZILIAN DIRECTOR HéCTOR BABEN. WEISMAN TOLD INDIEWIRE 2010, AHEAD OF THE FILM’S ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATN AT THE CANN FILM FTIVAL, THAT “ WAS A PROJECT SIGNED TO EVERYONE’S REER.” WEISMAN AND BABEN SPENT YEARS GETTG THE FILM OFF THE GROUND, CLUDG A LONG PERD OF VELOPMENT WH ’50S AND ’60S IN BURT LANSTER. EVENTUALLY THEY WENT TO PRODUCTN WH HURT AS MOLA, A GAY MAN IMPRISONED ALONGSI LEFTIST REVOLUTNARY VALENTíN, PLAYED BY RL JULIA. THE FILM IS LARGELY A SERI OF NVERSATNS BETWEEN THE TWO, TERSPERSED WH CLIPS OM A FICTNAL NAZI PROPAGANDA MOVIE, WHICH MOLA RETELLS TO VALENTíN AS A WAY TO PASS THE TIME AND PE SOMEWHERE ELSE. AS JA MASL WROTE HER RAVE REVIEW, “WHAT STARTS OUT AS A MPY, FACET TALOGUE OF HOLLYWOOD TRIVIA BE AN EXTRAORDARILY MOVG FILM ABOUT MANHOOD, HEROISM AND LOVE.”THE DIE FILM WORLD WAS A PERD OF TRANSFORMATN THE MID-1980S, WH THE EXPLODG HOME VIO MARKET SPURRG MAND FOR ALMOST ANYTHG THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. SO UPSTART DISTRIBUTOR ISLAND ALIVE PICKED UP SPIR WOMAN AT CANN, WHERE HURT WON THE BT-ACTOR AWARD, AND RELEASED FOR AN EXCEPTNAL BOX OFFICE N THE SUMMER OF 1985, EVENTUALLY GROSSG $17 LN. (FOR NTEXT, THAT’S HOW MUCH THE WHALE AND THE FABELMANS HAVE MA DOMTILLY, WHOUT ADJTG FOR FLATN.) YEARS BEFORE MIRAMAX WOULD PERMANENTLY OPEN THE DOOR FOR DIE FILMS AT THE OSRS, SPIR WOMAN WAS THE UPSTART THE 1986 RACE, NOMATED FOR BT PICTURE ALONGSI MASSIVE STUD EFFORTS LIKE OUT OF AI AND THE COLOR PURPLE. HURT’S SPEECH, WHICH REX REED SNIPED WAS “MERCIFULLY” SHORTER THAN SOME OF THE MORE LONG-WD TERVIEWS HE’D GIVEN THAT SEASON, BEGAN WH A SIMPLE SENTENCE: “I SHARE THIS WH RL.” JULIA, WHO, LIKE HURT, HAD GOTTEN HIS START NEW YORK THEATER, SHARED A BT-ACTOR AWARD WH HIS STAR OM THE NATNAL BOARD OF REVIEW AND A GOLN GLOBE NOMATN, BUT WAS LEFT OUT AT THE OSRS. BUT HIS PERFORMANCE MAY BE THE BIGGT REVELATN TO A MORN DIENCE. SIMMERG WH RAGE AND TRATN AS VALENTíN WATCH OTHER MEMBERS OF HIS LEFTIST MOVEMENT BROUGHT TO THE PRISON, JULIA REFULLY TRACKS VALENTíN’S GRADUAL SOFTENG, NOT JT WILLG TO PE TO MOLA’S STORYTELLG BUT FD FORT—AND MAYBE A SPARK OF ROMANCE— HIS CELLMATE’S PRENCE. AND FOR MORN VIEWERS BRACG FOR IMPACT WATCHG HURT—WHOSE REPUTATN FOR TENSY AND DAMAGG BEHAVR ONLY GREW MORE PRONOUNCED AFTER THIS—HIS PERFORMANCE MAY BE A SURPRISE AS WELL. MOLA IS A FLAMBOYANT CHARACTER, SPIRED BY THE ’40S SCREEN SIRENS WHOSE PHOTOS ARE PASTED ON HIS WALL, A MAN WHO SOMEHOW HAS A LLECTN OF SILK ROB SI A PRISON. YOU MIGHT FD, AS SOME OF THE HOSTS ON THIS WEEK’S LTLE GOLD MEN DID, THAT HURT ERRS ON THE SI OF UNRPLAYG MOLA. BUT THERE’S A REASON THAT HIS PERFORMANCE SO PTIVATED DIENC AND OSR VOTERS; MOV PAST MOLA’S THEATRILY TO FD A MAN LOOKG FOR LOVE AND PURPOSE, AND RIGHT ON THE BRK OF FDG . IN AN ERA WH SO, SO LTLE QUEER REPRENTATN EVEN DIE FILMS, MOLA RONATED. AS WEISMAN TOLD INDIEWIRE OF HURT’S PERFORMANCE, “IF HE AND THE FILM HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO PULL OFF TO GAY DIENC, THEN WOULD HAVE CERTALY DIED.”MOST POPULARSARA RAMIREZ ISSU STHG RPONSE TO ANTI–CHE DIAZ PROFILEBY SAVANNAH WALSHHOW MADONNA TURNED THE LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN SET INTO A THREE-RG CIRCBY ER CARLSON2023 FALL PREVIEW: 46 FILMS TO WATCH OUT FORBY REBEC FORDON THIS WEEK’S LTLE GOLD MEN PODST, CHRIS MURPHY JOS TO DISCS KISS OF THE SPIR WOMAN, WHICH MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT FILM TO SHOW A GROUP A FIRE ISLAND RENTAL HOE—WHICH IS WHAT CHRIS ACTUALLY DID!—BUT HAS SURPRIS STORE NEARLY 40 YEARS SCE S RELEASE. THE SUPERSIZE EPISO ALSO CLUS A NVERSATN WH CHRIS, RICHARD LAWSON, AND GUTS ESTHER ZUCKERMAN AND JACKSON MCHENRY TAKG A LOOK AT THIS YEAR’S TONY NOMATNS, AND MAKG THEIR PREDICTNS ABOUT WHO WILL PREVAIL AT SUNDAY’S AWARDS. LISTEN TO VANY FAIR’S LTLE GOLD MEN PODST NOW.MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIRHOW FOUR BILLNAIRE TECHNO-OLIGARCHS ARE CREATG AN ALTERNATE REALYEXCLIVE NEW DETAILS ABOUT MEGHAN MARKLE’S WEDDG DRSA BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF EVERYTHG HAPPENG AT THIS FALL’S FILM FTIVALS—WHOUT THE STARSA SER SETBACK FOR TMP’S PLAN TO GET REELECTED AND PARDON HIMSELFMEET KYLE DCHANEL, THE PRETEND PLAYBOY WHO SEEMS TO HAVE FOOLED HALF OF MANHATTANTHE ULTIMATE GUI TO FALL MOVIFROM THE ARCHIVE: A FATHER’S ACUNT OF THE TRIAL OF HIS DGHTER’S KILLEREND-OF-SUMMER SALE! TAKE 25% OFF AT THE VF SHOPKATEY RICH
Who am I to clare who’s a straight actor a gay role? Michael Cuby: The qutn of when — or if — ’s okay for “straight” actors to play gay is a plited, ever-evolvg one. At least for now, I feel rather different that the ostensibly straight Cate Blanchett is nomated for playg a power lbian; dto for Brendan Fraser’s nomatn for playg a eply prsed gay man.
But I Rodriguez: Of urse, at the oppose end, I gus we have to talk about Brendan Fraser The Whale, a role I thk is ultimately very very bad for gay people, even though the film, and the play 's based on, are wrten by a gay man. I’m not the biggt on “you gotta be gay to play gay rol” but I do thk you have to approach cross-cultural rol wh rpect and I thk The Whale’s lead role is not jt bad gay reprentatn, but really awful fat person reprentatn, somethg that que a few fat actors said out loud around the time of the film’s release. Brendan Fraser plays a gay man wh a weight problem who stggl wh self-image, anxiety and fay issu.
OSR’S GAY AMY AWARD WNERS
Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is an openly gay character and wish to troduce her girliend, Becky, to her sickly grandfather, but her mom Evelyn (Yeoh) is reluctant to acknowledge her dghter’s queerns. Unfortunately, this eply movg gay romance didn't get any Osr attentn.
Jeremy Pope was unniable as a gay mare facg scty for his sexualy this drama.
Speakg of The Inspectn, Elegance Bratton wrote the film based on his own real-life experienc as a gay mare.