Nathan Lane: Rob Williams Protected Me From Comg Out as Gay - Variety

Contents:

• LANE GAY
• NATHAN LANE: ROB WILLIAMS ‘PROTECTED ME’ FROM COMG OUT AS GAY ON ‘OPRAH’ 1996 BEE ‘HE WAS A SAT’
• NATHAN LANE WAS DATG HIS HBAND BEFORE HE PUBLICLY CAME OUT AS GAY
• NATHAN LANE RELLS TENSE MOMENT DECLG TO COME OUT TO OPRAHTHE GAY ACTOR SCRIB A MID-90S MEMORY ON A PODST.BY JORDAN HOFFMANFEBARY 8, 2020BY BCE GLIKAS/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGSAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVETO SOME THE 1990S FEEL LIKE YTERDAY, BUT STORI ABOUT SOCIAL CHANGE OFTEN SUCCCTLY MARK THE PASSAGE OF TIME. NATHAN LANE APPEARED ON THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’S PODST IT HAPPENED HOLLYWOOD TO DISCS THE STGGL OF G OUT AS A GAY ENTERTAER, AND SHARED A PARTICULARLY EMOTNAL EXPERIENCE PROMOTG HIS BREAKOUT ROLE THE BIRDGE ON THE OPRAH WEY SHOW 1996.DURG THE BROADST, OPRAH WEY ASKED LEADG QUTNS ABOUT HIS SEXUALY, BUT LANE DID NOT WANT TO MAKE A PUBLIC STATEMENT. “I'M NOT READY TO DISCS WHETHER I'M GAY OR NOT WH OPRAH. I N BARELY AL WH MEETG OPRAH, LET ALONE TELLG HER I'M GAY,” LANE RELLS DISCSG WH PUBLICISTS PRR TO THE SHOW.THE EPISO LED WH LANE’S -STAR ROB WILLIAMS, WHO PLAYED WILLIAMS’S PARTNER MIKE NICHOLS’ BLOCKBTER EDY BASED ON THE FRENCH FILM LA CAGE X FOLL. LANE, PREVLY MOSTLY KNOWN TO BROADWAY DIENC, JOED THEM ABOUT 15 MUT . ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, OPRAH ASKS IF LANE HAS WORRI ABOUT “BEG TYPEST” WHICH MIGHT LEAD TO QUTNS OF “IS HE? ISN’T HE?”AT THE TIME, LANE WAS OUT TO EVERYONE HIS PRIVATE AND PROFSNAL LIFE, BUT WILLIAMS, MOST LIKELY SENSG THAT HIS IEND NEED SAVG, JUMPED TO PROTECT HIM WH HIS TYPILLY MANIC CHAT SHOW MEANOR. WH HDSIGHT AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF LANE’S HATNS, ’S RATHER TOUCHG TO WATCH. (THE BELOW VIO IS CUED TO THE MOMENT.)ON THR’S PODST, LANE ALSO DISCS BEG THE ONLY GAY PERSON ON THE SET OF THE BIRDGE AND HOW HE DISAGREED WH DIRECTOR NICHOLS AND WRER ELAE MAY’S E OF THE WORD “FAG.”LANE ME OUT PUBLICLY 1999 WH A STORY THE ADVOTE THE SAME YEAR HE APPEARED WH ROSIE O’DONNELL AT THE TONY AWARDS WEARG SOME FACIAL HAIR TO DO A LTLE SCHTICK ABOUT BEARDS.MOST POPULARTHE ELVIS PRLEY WE DIDN’T SEE ELVISBY KATEY RICHRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHRED, WHE & ROYAL BLUE: THE 6 BIGGT CHANG FROM BOOK TO MOVIEBY SAVANNAH WALSHJORDAN HOFFMAN

LANE GAY

More Gay Pag. Nathan Lane revealed on “Sunday Today” that Rob Williams once protected him om g out as gay agast his will on natnal televisn. The year was 1996 and Lane and Williams were on their prs tour for Mike Nichols’ “The Birdge, ” which they play a gay uple tryg to marry off their son to a nservative uple’s dghter.

Lane was nervo about dog an terview on “The Oprah Wey Show” as “The Birdge” was one of his first major film rol, and he did not want to e out publicly as gay at the time. “And I certaly wasn’t ready to go om table-to-table and tell them all I was gay. Of urse, Lane knew that playg a gay character the film would make discsg his sexualy real life “sort of unavoidable, ” but he still wasn’t ready to do so.

I’m not prepared to discs that I’m gay on natnal televisn. “Now you have to make a public statement about — I was terrified… It’s great that everyone now feels fortable but homophobia is alive and well and there are plenty of gay people who are still hidg.

NATHAN LANE: ROB WILLIAMS ‘PROTECTED ME’ FROM COMG OUT AS GAY ON ‘OPRAH’ 1996 BEE ‘HE WAS A SAT’

Rogers was outed by the first gay person he ever met that lived openly gay, but Lane didn’t want to date him, which ma for an unfortable suatn. Who wants homophobic iends?

Any separatn om those two cuti mt be challengg, but beg a famo gay porn star will do that, unfortunately. Later, the hband was also seen workg televisn shows like Sabra the Teenage Wch and Lane Was Qutned If He was GayThe gay actor me out the late 1990s after gag worldwi fame wh his work the h edy flick The Birdge.

"The actor thought he'd already e out, but apparently, that wasn't the se the public 1999, the actor fally revealed to the world that he was gay by dog an exclive terview wh The his bemement, people felt annoyed after learng his sexual actor said there was no wng as they red ls, however, he was terrified bee of the experience. Nathan Lane appeared on The Hollywood Reporter’s podst It Happened Hollywood to discs the stggl of g out as a gay entertaer, and shared a particularly emotnal experience promotg his breakout role The Birdge on The Oprah Wey Show the broadst, Oprah Wey asked leadg qutns about his sexualy, but Lane did not want to make a public statement. “I'm not ready to discs whether I'm gay or not wh Oprah.

NATHAN LANE WAS DATG HIS HBAND BEFORE HE PUBLICLY CAME OUT AS GAY

I n barely al wh meetg Oprah, let alone tellg her I'm gay, ” Lane rells discsg wh publicists prr to the episo led wh Lane’s -star Rob Williams, who played Williams’s partner Mike Nichols’ blockbter edy based on the French film La Cage x Foll. )On THR’s podst, Lane also discs beg the only gay person on the set of The Birdge and how he disagreed wh director Nichols and wrer Elae May’s e of the word “fag.

Nathan Lane is openg up about the difficult path to g out as gay, somethg he did the late 1990s after achievg worldwi fame the blockbter h The Birdge. Says Lane: “We had to discs this beforehand and I said, ‘I’m not ready to discs whether I’m gay or not wh Oprah. I n barely al wh meetg Oprah, let alone tellg her I’m gay.

When he was later asked by Us magaze, ‘Are you gay? But for a major motn picture that centers on a same-sex relatnship, Lane often found himself to be the only gay person on the set. I said to Mike, ‘As the only gay person the scene, I feel a ltle unfortable sayg this and I don’t know why the character would be g that term.

NATHAN LANE RELLS TENSE MOMENT DECLG TO COME OUT TO OPRAHTHE GAY ACTOR SCRIB A MID-90S MEMORY ON A PODST.BY JORDAN HOFFMANFEBARY 8, 2020BY BCE GLIKAS/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGSAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVETO SOME THE 1990S FEEL LIKE YTERDAY, BUT STORI ABOUT SOCIAL CHANGE OFTEN SUCCCTLY MARK THE PASSAGE OF TIME. NATHAN LANE APPEARED ON THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’S PODST IT HAPPENED HOLLYWOOD TO DISCS THE STGGL OF G OUT AS A GAY ENTERTAER, AND SHARED A PARTICULARLY EMOTNAL EXPERIENCE PROMOTG HIS BREAKOUT ROLE THE BIRDGE ON THE OPRAH WEY SHOW 1996.DURG THE BROADST, OPRAH WEY ASKED LEADG QUTNS ABOUT HIS SEXUALY, BUT LANE DID NOT WANT TO MAKE A PUBLIC STATEMENT. “I'M NOT READY TO DISCS WHETHER I'M GAY OR NOT WH OPRAH. I N BARELY AL WH MEETG OPRAH, LET ALONE TELLG HER I'M GAY,” LANE RELLS DISCSG WH PUBLICISTS PRR TO THE SHOW.THE EPISO LED WH LANE’S -STAR ROB WILLIAMS, WHO PLAYED WILLIAMS’S PARTNER MIKE NICHOLS’ BLOCKBTER EDY BASED ON THE FRENCH FILM LA CAGE X FOLL. LANE, PREVLY MOSTLY KNOWN TO BROADWAY DIENC, JOED THEM ABOUT 15 MUT . ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, OPRAH ASKS IF LANE HAS WORRI ABOUT “BEG TYPEST” WHICH MIGHT LEAD TO QUTNS OF “IS HE? ISN’T HE?”AT THE TIME, LANE WAS OUT TO EVERYONE HIS PRIVATE AND PROFSNAL LIFE, BUT WILLIAMS, MOST LIKELY SENSG THAT HIS IEND NEED SAVG, JUMPED TO PROTECT HIM WH HIS TYPILLY MANIC CHAT SHOW MEANOR. WH HDSIGHT AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF LANE’S HATNS, ’S RATHER TOUCHG TO WATCH. (THE BELOW VIO IS CUED TO THE MOMENT.)ON THR’S PODST, LANE ALSO DISCS BEG THE ONLY GAY PERSON ON THE SET OF THE BIRDGE AND HOW HE DISAGREED WH DIRECTOR NICHOLS AND WRER ELAE MAY’S E OF THE WORD “FAG.”LANE ME OUT PUBLICLY 1999 WH A STORY THE ADVOTE THE SAME YEAR HE APPEARED WH ROSIE O’DONNELL AT THE TONY AWARDS WEARG SOME FACIAL HAIR TO DO A LTLE SCHTICK ABOUT BEARDS.MOST POPULARTHE ELVIS PRLEY WE DIDN’T SEE ELVISBY KATEY RICHRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHRED, WHE & ROYAL BLUE: THE 6 BIGGT CHANG FROM BOOK TO MOVIEBY SAVANNAH WALSHJORDAN HOFFMAN

Asked if he thought homophobia played a part that, he rponds, “I’m sure was a ltle b of that.

’ He was gay. Lane is gay and proud and here are his thoughts on homosexualy.

| Photo: Getty ImagTHOUGHTS ON BEING GAYAway om his profsnal life, Lane is also well achieved his personal life. His mom said she preferred him ad to beg gay. Although was somewhat easy to e out to his fay, was very difficult for Lane to reveal his sexualy to the once talked about how media mogul Oprah Wey tried to get him to e out durg an terview, even though he wasn't terview was to talk about the movie "The Birdge" which starred Lane as Albert, a drag queen, and Rob Williams as Almand, a gay owner of a drag club.