Should straight actors still play gay characters? 'It's plited'

Contents:

• 8 GAY ACTORS WHO PLAYED STRAIGHT CHARACTERS
• TOM HOLLAND’S GAY SEX SCENE THE CROWD ROOM DEFEND BY FANS
• 20 GREAT ROL: OUR FAVORE STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO HAVE PLAYED GAY CHARACTERS
• SHOULD STRAIGHT ACTORS STILL PLAY GAY CHARACTERS? 'IT'S PLITED'
• STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO HAVE PLAYED GAY CHARACTERS
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN MAK HISTORY AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY
• SHOULD STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAY GAY ROL? A STAR TV WRER SAYS NO
• 10 STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO REFE TO PLAY GAY ROL (AND 10 WHO DON'T MD)

8 GAY ACTORS WHO PLAYED STRAIGHT CHARACTERS

"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.

TOM HOLLAND’S GAY SEX SCENE THE CROWD ROOM DEFEND BY FANS

” 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.

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. 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.

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

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.

SHOULD STRAIGHT ACTORS STILL PLAY GAY CHARACTERS? 'IT'S PLITED'

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.

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. After wng at the 2020 Brish LGBT Awards for BBC documentary Growg Up Gay, Alexanr spoke for all of when he vowed: “I want to make you proud and ntue beg very gay whatever suatn I fd myself . Speakg wh Entertament Weekly prr to the send season premiere, O’Connell said his aim as a storyteller is to tackle “anythg that still has a stigma attached to ” such as gay sex, addg: “I’ve had to suffer through so many straight sex scen and now everyone else has to pay.

STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO HAVE PLAYED GAY CHARACTERS

Although Ts Burgs’ character Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is as boistero as they e, the actor sisted an terview last year that he’s “probably the most borg of the rabow gay men” and when he meets people who expect him to be like T Andromedon, he apologis. 9-1-1-: Lone Star’s Ronen Rubste, who plays gay firefighter Tyler Kennedy “TK” Strand, me out as bisexual an terview wh Variety and creded the procral drama wh helpg him e to terms wh his sexualy.

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.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN MAK HISTORY AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY

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. We have some of the most pellg liv, so 's not surprisg that everyone wants to tell our s gotten better recent years, throughout history, most great gay rol have gone to straight actors, wh over a dozen wng Osrs for playg LGBTQ+ characters.

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

Sometim n be tirome seeg straight actors get all of this praise for brgg gay people to life, but other tim s tly are our ten favore performanc by straight actors playg queer characters movi and TV om 2022. While she spends most of her time at work yellg at men who flirt wh the sk clerk she's cshg on and ly tellg guts that she n't help them, Victoria is secretly holdg a ep secret: she's gay, but has never been wh a woman. She has been gay on Amerin Horror Story: Asylum and Carol however, one of the rol she has was Harriet Hay Stud 60 on The Sunset Strip, a character based on Amerin actrs and sger Krist Chenoweth.

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. In The Crowd Room, Holland, who plays Spir-Man the Marvel Cematic Universe, plays a troubled young man named Danny Sullivan, who ms some heo crim, but also has gay sex.

10 STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO REFE TO PLAY GAY ROL (AND 10 WHO DON'T MD)

Fans of Brish actor Tom Holland have e to his fense after some social media ers were seemgly upset that the latt episo of his Apple TV+ seri The Crowd Room featured gay the scene, Holland’s character go to a club wh heavy black eyeler and all black. ”A lot of other ers, however, seemed very nfed over the backlash, pecially sce Spir-Man actors Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield have also played gay person wrote, “Watchg agile cishet men have breakdowns over the reason Tom Holland is trendg is sweet we to me. While we fely prefer that most gay rol go to gay actors, and we love the thenticy they brg to the rol and the projects they’re , we n’t help but have a special soft spot for a few straight stars, like Brendan Fraser, are great people and great at playg gay, but aren't really known for .