Downton Abbey's Thomas Barrow and the Future of the Gay Past

is guy dexter gay downton abbey

Downton Abbey: A New Era, spe the name, giv fans the same silly yet fortg drama they know and love wh an add gay happy endg.

Contents:

‘DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA’: JULIAN FELLOW MOLED THOMAS BARROW AND GUY DEXTER AFTER SEVERAL REAL-LIFE GAY CELEBRI

The gay butler fally fds a perd-appropriate arrangement the send film, rrectg a misstep om the first movie. * is guy dexter gay downton abbey *

He played gay rights activist Jonathan Blake Pri.

DOWNTON ABBEY'S THOMAS BARROW AND THE FUTURE OF THE GAY PAST

The new Downton Abbey movie explor Tom's sexualy, but what was life really like for gay men 1920s Bra? Here's whether or not the movie portrayed accurately. * is guy dexter gay downton abbey *

One of the films that began to turn the ti was 2014's "Pri, " which foced on the real-life story of a group of lbian and gay London activists helpg out the 1984 Brish mers' strike and tablishg an unlikely bond of mutual support.

(via Pk News), wh gay men as the targets of particular social and polil stigma.

A seasoned, eply lovg uple, they play a major part showg the small town of Onllwyn that gay men are people like everybody else, wh the livels and optimism of Blake — a real-life legend Brish LGBT activism (via OX Magaze) — provg particularly key that tearg down of walls. One example of society movg forward is a burgeong gay relatnship hidn pla sight.

DOWNTON ABBEY ACTOR SAYS GAY ROLE HURT HIS CAREER — BUT IS HE RIGHT?

* is guy dexter gay downton abbey *

The storyle is le wh the secret double liv required of gay people orr to stay safe durg this era.

‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’ shows how gay men found ways to be themselv wh the rtrictns of the time. One of the sendary storyl explor how gay men found ways to pursue romantic feelgs wh the era’s rtrictns. There’s a reason there are still relatively few movie stars who are openly gay.

“One of the terts of wrg perd drama is that you have the challeng earlier societi for people who were gay, for women, for the black muny, all sorts [of mographics] where obstacl were nstantly beg placed their way. He prevly lived wh openly gay stume signer Orry-Kelly and allegedly had affairs wh men while married.

‘DOWNTON ABBEY’ ACTOR SAYS PLAYG A GAY CHARACTER HAS LEFT HIM “TYPEST”

Downton Abbey star Rob Jam-Collier says he's rejected other gay rol bee he "really wanted to show somethg different" * is guy dexter gay downton abbey *

An acclaimed actor for three s, was an open secret the dtry that Hudson was gay. Hollywood to Downton (Cred: Foc)And the arrival of the glamouro guts may spark more than jt excement for the rints of Downton, as the trailer seems to ht at romance for butler Thomas first film saw Barrow e to terms wh his sexualy – a ground-breakg plot for Downton, as beg gay the early 1900s was a crimal offence – and seems he may be for a passnate flg wh film star Guy Dexter (played by Domic Wt). Over the seasons, the seri revealed that Thomas’ schem were motivated by his stggle as a closeted gay man livg early 20th century England.

Thomas Barrow (Rob Jam-Collier)—former footman, would-be blackmailer, and early morn homosexual everyman—is now head butler on staff, givg him ample opportuny to teract wh the visg stars, and particular, wh the bonair Guy Dexter (Domic Wt). Is Thomas an accurate unveilg of historil homosexualy, hidn but fully formed, jt wag for to notice his existence?

Hello to the future of the gay past. In the film, dienc will see Barrow the ntext of a wir gay world for the first time: visg a secret gay bar, dodgg police harassment, and possibly even fdg love. "I thk one of the thgs that Downton Abbey don’t get right is that actually a great al more of those young men who were service were homosexual.

JULIAN FELLOW MOLED THOMAS BARROW AND GUY DEXTER AFTER SEVERAL REAL-LIFE GAY CELEBRI

'Downton Abbey: A New Era' fally gave gay butler Thomas Barrow (Robert Jam-Collier) a happy endg and wasn't even Pri month. * is guy dexter gay downton abbey *

Barrow is stantly regnizable as a morn gay man, even if he never que those words. Gooch//Getty ImagOn the one hand, this feels like an elaboratn of that famo gay liberatn slogan “we are everywhere, ” expandg to be “we were everywhere” also.

On the other hand, seems to remove sexualy om the doma of history entirely, suggtg that the experience of beg gay has always been the same, no matter the place or perd. While everyone else the show be, Barrow already qutn for queer Downton Abbey fans, then, is this: Is Thomas an accurate unveilg of historil homosexualy, hidn but fully formed, jt wag for to notice his existence?

Or is he a backward projectn of our current ia of what means to be gay, an anachronism disguised as a revelatn? Like Thomas Barrow, Alec Scudr seems preternaturally gay, fully aware of his sexual sir, that they are exclively for men, and that they mark him, irrevobly, as a different sort of person.

THE ‘DOWNTON ABBEY’ MOVIE’S GAY STORYLE ALMOST HAD A DARKER ENDG

In the post-Edwardian perd, upper class men were more likely to already unrstand the world terms of heterosexuals and homosexuals, wh a bright and absolute le dividg the two. But whereas Scudr and Barrow seemed to thk of themselv as gay, el-Adl experienced his sire for men differently. Increasgly, sexologists, policians, and wrers began to promulgate the ia that the behavrs were signifiers of homosexualy, to be surveilled and curtailed.

Compton Mackenzie, pictured send om the left the ont row, wrote several works about gay men. BettmannA workg class man like Thomas Barrow, livg the untrysi, was unlikely to have accs to this kd of rmatn about gay inty. As s passed, the neat fictn of bary sexualy beme broadly acknowledged “tth, ” leavg ls and ls space for middle-dwellg, workg-class men like Buckgham and an earlier and earlier age, people would be tght— streets as much as schools—that homosexuals existed, that they were unlike other men, and that any apparent “middle ground” was actually a slippery slope head straight to hell.

THOMAS BARROW, INIC CHAOTIC GAY, GETS BLAND BUT HAPPY ENDG ‘DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA’—HAPPY PRI MONTH

Barrow might have been an implsible outlier at the begng of the show 1912, but by the 1950s, workg class men who intified as homosexual were throngg the streets of London. Robert Jam-Collier is known ternatnally for his role as Thomas Barrow, the v gay unrbutler who brought trigue to the halls of Downton the perd drama, Barrow hid his sexual orientatn for fear would hurt his reer.

DOWNTON ABBEY'S THOMAS BARROW AND THE FUTURE OF THE GAY PAST

And the straight actor who portrays him, Jam-Collier, believ this character's inty may have had nsequenc the morn-day real world as, an terview wh Rad Tim, said his renown for playg a gay role hred his chanc Hollywood. N intify que easily wh the qutsential English gent and English lady, whereas a nrotic, dark, gay character like Thomas is a hard thg to put to the Amerin market. "Bee Thomas Barrow is gay and is, sentially, the bad guy for much of the show, a lot of people wh the dtry n only see you as that.

He received offers for gay rol the theater world, which he refed bee he "really wanted to show somethg different. " He is now set to appear the upg horror movie The Rual, one of his first major parts sce Jam-Collier did enunter hurdl Hollywood for playg a gay role, his experience would be an exceptn -- at least morn tim. There are straight actors who have turned down gay rol for var reasons, cludg a fear would lim future opportuni.

Will Smh said he limed the physily of his gay role Six Degre of Separatn, on a warng om Denzel Washgton, who said, "You n act all you want, but don't do any physil scen.... "But overall, Hollywood is full of straight actors who have won acclaim, awards, and a uful reer after playg gay rol. Among those volved the productn is Guy Dexter, a closeted gay movie star played by Domic Guy drops hts about his sexual inty, mostly through exchang wh gay butler Thomas Barrow (Robert Jam-Collier, both pictured above), the portrayal ntu the tradn of queer cln projects om Downton creator and wrer Julian Fellow, wh exampl such as Barrow, The Gild Age's Osr van Rhijn, and several characters Gosford Park.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* IS GUY DEXTER GAY DOWNTON ABBEY

The 'Downton Abbey' Movie's Gay Storyle Almost Had A Darker Endg - Towleroad Gay News .

TOP