Benedict Cumberbatch opens up about straight actors playg gay characters followg the but of his new film, “The Power of The Dog,” at the Telluri Film Ftival.
Contents:
- 20 GREAT ROL: OUR FAVORE STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO HAVE PLAYED GAY CHARACTERS
- BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH OPENS UP ABOUT STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS
- STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO HAVE PLAYED GAY CHARACTERS
- SHOULD STRAIGHT ACTORS STILL PLAY GAY CHARACTERS? 'IT'S PLITED'
20 GREAT ROL: OUR FAVORE STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO HAVE PLAYED GAY CHARACTERS
Jam Corn's performance as a gay man "The Prom" was lambasted, but Ewan McGregor's turn "Halston" has been acclaimed. * celebrities who played gay roles *
"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. Bros, which marks the first-ever gay rom- om a major stud and featur a prcipal LGBTQ+ st, follows the dysfunctnal relatnship between podster and rad show host Bobby Lieber (Billy Eichner) and real tate lawyer slash jock Aaron Shepard (Le Macfarlane).
The former GAY TIMES ver star has ntuoly ed his platform to advote for LGBTQ+ rights on social media and through his mic; his song Gay Street Fighter celebrat the LGBTQ+ muny and clar war on homophobia. Starrg the Billy on the Street alum as Bobby Lieber, the host of a New York podst and rad show lled The Eleventh Brick at Stonewall, Bros follows the character as he accepts a posn as a curator for Manhattan’s upg Natnal LGBTQ+ History Mm and and falls for Aaron Shepard (Le Macfarlane), a handsome “Tom Brady”-que gay. In an terview wh GAY TIMES earlier this year, Eichner said of the historic film: “We are jt so hungry as LGBTQ+ people, as gay men, to see accurate, multi-dimensnal and genuely funny and genuely smart pictns of ourselv that we don’t get.
” He also explaed that was ccial for the dialogue Bros to reflect how he and his queer circle teract everyday life by pictg gay people as “funny, sad, lonely, extremely nfint, msy, brave, horny and hypocril adult human begs.
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH OPENS UP ABOUT STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS
The bate over whether or not straight actors should play gay rol isn’t gog to die down any time soon. * celebrities who played gay roles *
In his 2020 digal ver story wh GAY TIMES, Silva paid homage to the pneers who “harvted the us” long before him and ma possible for queer love to be mastream on televisn. The actor, who was recently nfirmed to make his Marvel Cematic Universe but Wandavisn sp-off Agatha: Coven of Chaos, is openly gay. Scht’s Creek won rave reviews throughout s six-season n for s plete absence of homophobia the storyle and portrayal of David Rose – played by -creator Dan Levy – and his sexualy, due to the lack of openly pansexual characters on televisn.
Levy, who is gay and has been out to his loved on sce he was 18, ma history when the sixth and fal season of the Canadian edy swept all seven major tegori at the Primetime Emmy Awards – the first time for a edy or drama. Wily nsired as Pose’s breakout character, Elektra Wtour has been ducted to Gay Twter’s Hall of Gif Fame thanks to her snappy ebacks and legendary reads, particularly for her takedown of the pdish, transphobic whe woman season two.
STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO HAVE PLAYED GAY CHARACTERS
* celebrities who played gay roles *
The inic episo, tled The Puppy Episo, was a smash h the ratgs – garnerg over 42 ln viewers – and was hailed as the “most hyped, anticipated, and possibly fluential gay moment on televisn”. Yang, who also appeared a meo role Bros, has been a featured player on Saturday Night Live sce 2019; beg the long-nng sketch show’s first Che-Amerin, first Atrasian-Amerin, third openly gay male and fourth-ever st member of Asian scent. Although Will & Grace’s Jack McFarland has received mixed reviews over the years for beg a ‘stereotypil’ gay due to his flamboyancy (bee for some reason, that’s bad), ’s important to note his impact as one of televisn’s first long-nng and openly gay characters.
Like her character, Reign is a proud member of the trans muny and told GAY TIMES earlier this year that the rom- – and s thentic stg – is proof that the “world is changg”. The same year Chris Colfer tapulted to superstardom wh his performance as Kurt Hummel, a fashnable untertenor on Ryan Murphy’s Glee, the star spoke openly about his homosexualy an terview wh Chelsea Handler, which ma him one of the only out teenagers Hollywood. The entire st of The Sex Liv of College Girls were praised when the HBO Max show premiered 2021, but was Renee Rapp’s portrayal of Leighton Murray, an affluent closeted lbian wh quick w that stole the hearts of Gay Twter and queer women around the world.
Like Will & Grace, Morn Fay has been creded wh helpg change the perceptn of gay characters the Uned Stat and popular culture. Followg a group of gay iends who travel to Fire Island for a week-long vatn, Booster’s character Noah is the -facto lear of the group.
SHOULD STRAIGHT ACTORS STILL PLAY GAY CHARACTERS? 'IT'S PLITED'
In his ver terview for GAY TIMES, Booster – who is gay – says the film stemmed om his need to reassure queer people of their worth.
Wiley received praise for her pictn as gay prison mate Posey Washgton, whose ath season four sparked outrage amongst the fandom.
Billy Porter marked a first for the LGBTQ+ muny 2019 when he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstandg Lead Actor a Drama Seri for his performance on Pose, beg the first openly gay Black man to be nomated and w any leadg tegory. Speakg wh Men’s Health 2020, Burnsi scribed his inty as “queer, not gay” and said he’d had “relatnships — romantic and sexual — wh women as well as men. ” The star also said, for him personally, queerns is “about unrstandg that I exist outsi of the sexual bary of jt gay or straight”.