Stanley Tucci says he thks straight actors should be able to play gay characters | CNN

Contents:

• STANLEY TUCCI: IT’S OK FOR STRAIGHT ACTORS TO PLAY GAY ROL IF DONE ‘THE RIGHT WAY’
• STANLEY TUCCI IS PRETTY FE WH STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS
• STANLEY TUCCI SAYS HE THKS STRAIGHT ACTORS SHOULD BE ABLE TO PLAY GAY CHARACTERS
• STANLEY TUCCI ARGU STRAIGHT ACTORS CAN PLAY GAY CHARACTERS IF DONE ‘THE RIGHT WAY’
• SHOULD STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAY GAY ROL? A STAR TV WRER SAYS NO
• STANLEY TUCCI SAYS IT’S ‘FE’ FOR STRAIGHT ACTORS TO PLAY GAY ROL: ‘YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO PLAY DIFFERENT PEOPLE. THAT’S THE WHOLE POT OF IT’
• 20 GREAT ROL: OUR FAVORE STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO HAVE PLAYED GAY CHARACTERS

STANLEY TUCCI: IT’S OK FOR STRAIGHT ACTORS TO PLAY GAY ROL IF DONE ‘THE RIGHT WAY’

Although he's bt known for playg Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory, " Parsons also got touch wh LGBTQ history by playg a gay activist fightg to addrs the risg 1980s HIV-AIDs crisis the 2014 drama "The Normal Heart" (which is based on Larry Kramer's 1985 play of the same name). "I thk the thg that I feel very strongly about is that everybody that I've spoken to is really moved by ['Pri'], and for that reason I say 's not jt a gay film, " Stt told Entertament Weekly 2018.

STANLEY TUCCI IS PRETTY FE WH STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS

"I thk 's been embraced by the gay muny bee I thk people are very celebratory about the fact that gay people are not jt seen story l that are related to sex or sexualy, that their attribut of kdns and bravery and passn are the thgs that are celebrated the movie. Actrs and wrer-director DuVall has long played openly gay characters (recently on "The Handmaid's Tale" and her 2016 film "The Interventn") she me out, one of her most proment rol was playg rebell teenager Graham the 2000 satiril edy "But I'm a Cheerlear. His character, Gee, is close iends wh Julia Roberts' character, Julianne, who sets out to w over another old iend on the eve of his 2019, Everett told Entertament Weekly that, at the time, he thought his role the film was "gog to be the end, bee I was gay, and was a ty ltle gay role, and 'What was the pot?

Acclaimed veteran actor McKellen has been open about his sexualy sce 1988, and got the chance to play another celebrated gay film figure when he portrayed real-life director Jam Whale the 1998 bgraphil drama "Gods and Monsters.

STANLEY TUCCI SAYS HE THKS STRAIGHT ACTORS SHOULD BE ABLE TO PLAY GAY CHARACTERS

" One of his ls faiar rol was playg Patrick the HBO seri "Lookg, " which followed the liv and iendships of three gay men livg San show aired om 2014 to 2015, and a feature-length film wrapped up the story 2016. Js has a relatnship wh Kayla, a bright-eyed new Fox employee who is asslted by Ail and cis to speak Lnsgate's EPK soundb for the film, McKnon allud to her character beg spired by first-hand acunts after scribg her character as a "closet liberal and closet gay woman. "Roger Ebert wrote: "He plays the role not as a man pretendg to be a woman, and not as a woman trapped a man's body, and not as a parody of a woman, and not as a gay man, but as a drag queen, perd: Lola, a tall, athletic performer thigh-high red boots who l the stage of a drag club as if she were born there, and is a pretty good sger, too.

Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, both straight, were both Osr-nomated for their performanc (Ledger lead, Gyllenhaal supportg) this film about two men fallg love and ntug their affair for film sred 87% on Rotten Tomato, wh the se's cril nsens readg: "A betifully epic Wtern, 'Brokeback Mounta''s gay love story is imbued wh heartbreakg universaly, helped by the movg performanc of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. (Image cred: 20th Century Fox)Love, Simon - Keiynan Lonsdale As Bram GreenfeldReleased 2018, Love, Simon is a story about a closeted gay boy who stggl to balance his life amongst the blackmailer that is threateng to out him at school – while also tryg to intify the anonymo classmate that he has fallen love wh.

STANLEY TUCCI ARGU STRAIGHT ACTORS CAN PLAY GAY CHARACTERS IF DONE ‘THE RIGHT WAY’

The film beme so popular that a Hulu spoff, tled Love, Victor, premiered not that long after, but was nceled after Season 3In Love, Simon, Keiynan Lonsdale portrays Bram Greenfeld, one of Simon’s classmat and an openly gay stunt, and Keiynan himself me out 2017. That’s why his portrayal of Tommy Boatwright The Normal Heart felt even more pellg than any other role he has done, at least my Normal Heart, based on the Larry Kramer 1985 play of the same name, picts the HIV-AIDS crisis New York Cy durg the early eighti, and Parsons plays a gay activist fightg to addrs the issue. But one show that you may or may not remember him om was the HBO seri Lookg, where he portrayed Patrick seri follows the story of three gay men livg San Francis, and their liv and iendships.

The seri was all about misfs g together a high school glee club orr to fd pannship when felt there was no one there for them, and one of those characters that stuck around om the very first season was Kurt Hummel, a closeted gay stunt (at first) at William McKley High School.

Chris Colfer played the character, and over time, Kurt beme more sure of himself not only as a gay man but as a voice for his muny, and showg that jt bee someone might not like your sparkle, that don’t mean you need to dim for anyone else. The story not only has some great mic but ptur what ’s like as a young gay teenager to try and velop a te relatnship wh their fay when some of them don’t que unrstand what you’re gog through. The animated movie featur the character Specter (played by openly gay actrs Lena Wahe) durg a scene which the brothers get pulled scene is brief pared to the rt of the movie, but important nohels, as was the first openly LGBTQ animated character a Disney Pixar film, wh the character referencg her girliend.

SHOULD STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAY GAY ROL? A STAR TV WRER SAYS NO

And my opn, David Rose was one of the funnit characters that Scht's Creek had, and I am gog to miss him terribly now that the show is Levy, who is gay, recently did an terview wh Entertament Weekly about David's pansexualy, and how s impact affected Scht's Creek as a you break down a character, certa thgs jt appear. In 2006, NPH me out sayg that he was “happy to dispel any mors or misnceptns, ” that he is “que proud to say that I am a very ntent gay man livg my life to the fullt and feel most fortunate to be workg wh wonrful people the bs I love.

Before g out as gay 2014, his heartwarmg speech livered at the Time to Thrive nference which aims to promote LGBT youth welfare, and later as a transgenr man 2020, Ellt Page was st as the tular role of the edy classic Juno. He believ that “livg a gay life whout publicly acknowledgg is simply not enough to make any signifint ntributn to the immense work that li ahead on the road to plete equaly. In his acceptance speech, Jonathan Bailey prais the productn for beg “a lovely and celebratory snapshot of gay love” what he scribed as “a time where acknowledgg the very existence of LGBT people our schools is beg qutned.

While homophob are by gettg mad at Tom Holland for havg a gay scene his current show The Crowd Room, they’re missg somethg important: he’s not the first Spir-Man actor to play gay. In fact, Holland is followg a long and proud tradn of Spir-Man actors playg are some prev tim that actors who have played Peter Parker have crossed over to the other si and played gay characters movi, TV, and on stage.

STANLEY TUCCI SAYS IT’S ‘FE’ FOR STRAIGHT ACTORS TO PLAY GAY ROL: ‘YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO PLAY DIFFERENT PEOPLE. THAT’S THE WHOLE POT OF IT’

” “It’s important that gay characters are portrayed as well-round and pletely human dividuals, ” add Parsons, who noted that “there are plenty of straight actors who have played gay characters brilliantly. ”And “Glee” alum Darren Criss ma headl 2018 for sayg that he might stop playg gay characters, tellg Btle, “I want to make sure I won’t be another straight boy takg a gay man’s role. While there may not be a simple answer, Stanley Tucci—who has played gay rol The Devil Wears Prada and 2020's Supernova (not to mentn Emma Stone’s father who was inilly gay once Easy A)—recently weighed , sayg that he believ ’s perfectly acceptable as long as ’s done “the right way.

“I am always very flattered when gay men e up to me and talk to me about The Devil Wears Prada or they talk about Supernova, and they say that, ‘It was jt so betiful, ’ you know, ‘You did the right way.

”While Tucci didn’t elaborate on this particular form of bad-fah actg, ’s pretty easy to assume that he was referrg to the myriad of films which LGBTQ+ people have been rced to harmful, homophobic stereotyp over the years.

20 GREAT ROL: OUR FAVORE STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO HAVE PLAYED GAY CHARACTERS

Shows and movi that st queer actors queer rol have been celebrated by fans, cludg Jasm Savoy Brown’s stg as a queer teen on Yellowjackets and as the Scream anchise’s first openly gay character.

”The aforementned 2020 holiday rom- Happit Season, for example, was directed by openly gay multi-hyphenate Clea DuVall and also featured out actrs Kristen Stewart one of the leadg rol. This go to show that the issue is nuanced and plex: Jt bee a project do st some queer actors queer rol and has a queer person at the helm (Murphy is openly gay), that don’t mean ’s exempt om cricism or there to be staed and staable change, ’s sential to have LGBTQ+ people cisn-makg posns. Bee of that, she utns speakg absolut about straight people not playg queer rol, which might give journalists license to ask actors if they’re gay and put prsure on someone to e out before they’re ready.

“I am always very flattered when gay men e up to me and talk to me about ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ or they talk about ‘Supernova, ’ and they say that, ‘It was jt so betiful, ’ you know, ‘You did the right way, ’” he said. Straight actors playg gay rol, however, isn’t nsired to be as “brave” recent years as ’s been the past, acrdg to cric Guy Lodge, who told The Guardian a 2021 terview: “The ia of beg ‘brave’ for playg gay is gog away.