Let's take a look at the logic -- or lack thereof -- a recent argument that gay actors n't play straight characters.
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GAY ACTORS, STRAIGHT ROL: A LSON IN MAKG SURE YOUR ARGUMENT IS LOGIL
Jam Corn's performance as a gay man "The Prom" was lambasted, but Ewan McGregor's turn "Halston" has been acclaimed. * gay actor playing straight role *
"Clive is a gay man who tri to supprs his homosexualy Edwardian-era England. "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. Sean Penn played gay activist Harvey Milk 2008's 'Milk. Harvey Milk is one of the most important gay activists history, and straight actor Sean Penn won an Osr for playg him.
Recently, Stanley Tucci, a straight actor who played gay characters on several ocsns, said, "Obvly, I believe that's fe. I am always very flattered when gay men e up to me and talk to me about <i>The Devil Wears Prada</i> or they talk about <i>Supernova</i>, and they say that 'It was jt so betiful,' you know, 'You did the right way.'" * gay actor playing straight role *
Col Firth played a gay profsor 'A Sgle Man' 2009. While straight actors have been known to play gay characters, the same is also te for gay actors playg straight rol. Le Evans is an openly gay Welsh actor and sger.
About beg a gay man playg straight characters, Le Evans once said an terview that “you n be happy wh yourself and you n also be whoever you want.” He adds that “you n have any reer you want and nothg should dictate what you do bee of your 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.”.
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.”. Heather Matarazzo was the keynote speaker at the 15th annual Gay, Lbian, and Straight Edutn Network of Boston’s nference 2005.
The bate over whether or not straight actors should play gay rol isn’t gog to die down any time soon. * gay actor playing straight role *
Like, for example, how Isaiah Washgton was fired om the show after g a homophobic slur directed at T.R. 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.” He also add that the LGBT muny are “not that different, we are jt as anx, and we are jt as flawed and sperate to fall love as everyone else.”.
Tom Hanks, who won an Osr for his portrayal of a gay character Philalphia, told The New York Tim Magaze, "Could a straight man do what I did Philalphia now? One of the reasons people weren't aaid of that movie is that I was playg a gay man. We're beyond that now, and I don't thk people would accept the thenticy of a straight guy playg a gay guy.