The Debate About Straight Actors Playg Gay Characters Miss the Pot

Contents:

• STANLEY TUCCI: IT’S OK FOR STRAIGHT ACTORS TO PLAY GAY ROL IF DONE ‘THE RIGHT WAY’
• 17 WELL-KNOWN STRAIGHT CHARACTERS THAT ARE PLAYED BY GAY ACTORS
• STANLEY TUCCI SAYS IT'S 'FE' FOR STRAIGHT ACTORS TO PLAY GAY CHARACTERS
• STANLEY TUCCI IS PRETTY FE WH STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS
• THE BATE ABOUT STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS MISS THE POT
• BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH OPENS UP ABOUT STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS
• SHOULD STRAIGHT ACTORS STILL PLAY GAY CHARACTERS? 'IT'S PLITED'
• RANDOM GAY ACTORS WHO PLAY STRAIGHT CHARACTERS (31 EMS)
• STANLEY TUCCI SAYS HE HAS 'DIFFICULTY' WH ARGUMENT THAT GAY CHARACTERS SHOULD ONLY BE PLAYED BY LGBTQ ACTORS
• LET’S SETTLE THIS: CAN STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAY GAY ROL?
• KRISTEN STEWART ON ‘HAPPIT SEASON’ AND THE ‘GRAY AREA’ OF ONLY GAY ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS

STANLEY TUCCI: IT’S OK FOR STRAIGHT ACTORS TO PLAY GAY ROL IF DONE ‘THE RIGHT WAY’

"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.

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.

17 WELL-KNOWN STRAIGHT CHARACTERS THAT ARE PLAYED BY GAY ACTORS

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. “And I’m always very flattered when gay men e up to me and talk about ‘The Devil Wears Prada, ’ when they talk about ‘Supernova, ’ and they say that was ‘jt so betiful. ” “It’s important that gay characters are portrayed as well-round and pletely human dividuals, ” add Parsons, who noted that “there are plenty of straight actors who have played gay characters brilliantly.

STANLEY TUCCI SAYS IT'S 'FE' FOR STRAIGHT ACTORS TO PLAY GAY CHARACTERS

”And “Glee” alum Darren Criss ma headl 2018 for sayg that he might stop playg gay characters, tellg Btle, “I want to make sure I won’t be another straight boy takg a gay man’s role.

We mean, several gay actors played straight characters film and on televisn and they jt nailed, some of the most famo gay actor who has played straight characters?

Comg out 2006, the actor said "I am happy to dispel any mors or misnceptns and am 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. The Searchg for Italy host has played gay characters the 2006 edy The Devil Wears Prada and 2020 drama Supernova, which his love tert was portrayed by longtime iend Col Firth.

STANLEY TUCCI IS PRETTY FE WH STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS

“I am always very flattered when gay men e up to me and talk about [my role ] The Devil Wears Prada or they talk about Supernova, and they say that, ‘It was jt so betiful, ’ you know, ‘You did the right way, " he said. While there may not be a simple answer, Stanley Tucci—who has played gay rol The Devil Wears Prada and 2020's Supernova (not to mentn Emma Stone’s father who was inilly gay once Easy A)—recently weighed , sayg that he believ ’s perfectly acceptable as long as ’s done “the right way.

“I am always very flattered when gay men e up to me and talk to me about The Devil Wears Prada or they talk about Supernova, and they say that, ‘It was jt so betiful, ’ you know, ‘You did the right way. ”While Tucci didn’t elaborate on this particular form of bad-fah actg, ’s pretty easy to assume that he was referrg to the myriad of films which LGBTQ+ people have been rced to harmful, homophobic stereotyp over the years. ) Or perhaps he was referencg the super ol clatn of, erm, certa actors to fensively claim that the gay films they star are not jt “a gay story about the guys beg gay.

THE BATE ABOUT STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS MISS THE POT

To be clear, I’m not sayg that a straight actor n never play gay – although I agree wh Natasha Lyonne and thk that, all-too-often, the discsn around volv to how shockg and darg is for a straight man to have to kiss another du for a role, and how difficult that mt have been. 6, 2021, 9:15 PM UTC / Source: TODAYIt’s a topic on which Hollywood has yet to reach a nsens: whether or not ’s appropriate for straight actors to portray gay characters film and ’s also a topic that Benedict Cumberbatch is faiar wh, havg been nomated for an Amy Award for his performance as mathematician Alan Turg, a man both prosecuted and persecuted for his sexual orientatn, 2014’s “The Imatn Game. In early December, Netflix's "The Prom" was lambasted for stg Jam Corn, who is straight, as what crics lled an “aggrsively flamboyant” riture of a gay his 2016 Emmy acceptance speech for his portrayal of a transgenr woman Amazon seri “Transparent, " actor Jefey Tambor said he "would not be unhappy were I the last cisgenr male to play a transgenr character on televisn.

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH OPENS UP ABOUT STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS

"In 2018, "Glee" alum Darren Criss told Btle he would no longer take rol portrayg LGBTQ+ characters to make sure he's not "another straight boy takg a gay man’s role. But to actually be lockg ey wh Ellen and hold her, shakg hands as she said, "I'm gay, " on natnal televisn and for the first time, as she has shared outloud that way publicly, was such a profoundly extraordary and timate gift to that moment that I will forever be grateful for. In early December, Netflix dropped s highly anticipated mil edy “The Prom, ” starrg Meryl Streep, Nile Kidman, Andrew Rannells and Jam Corn as fadg Broadway stars who set out to help a lbian teen take her girliend to the film, helmed by out director Ryan Murphy, got mixed reviews, but some lambasted as “homophobic” and “offensive” bee of the stg of Corn, a straight actor, what they saw as an “aggrsively flamboyant” riture of a gay character, Barry Glickman, is a narcissistic theater actor who dons sparklg tuxedo jackets, talks wh a stereotypil gay lisp while flailg his hands around and scrib himself as “gay as a bucket of wigs.

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

"Melda Sue Gordon / NetflixErik Anrson, who ns the film se Awards Watch, lled “The Prom” a “geo and vibrant productn” but tweeted that Corn’s “performance is gross and offensive, the worst gayface a long, long time.

” It was the first time an openly gay actor played a gay character a leadg role a TV part “helped fluence a whole generatn of people who beme wrers and actors and ntent creators, who wanted to see more people like Ricky, more LGBTQ people of lor, and I thk we're seeg the benef of that today, ” said Cz, who served as executive producer of Apple TV’s "Visible: Out on Televisn, ” a 2020 doceri about the history of the LGBTQ movement through the lens of Amerin Cz ma his but “My So Called Life, ” televisn has been creasgly hirg LGBTQ actors to play LGBTQ characters. In 2020 alone, queer actor Kristen Stewart played a lbian Hulu’s Christmas rom- “Happit Season, ” out actors Sarah Plson and Cynthia Nixon played love terts Ryan Murphy’s Netflix seri “Ratched, ” gay actor Dan Levy played a queer character the Emmy-wng Canadian show “Scht’s Creek"and several openly gay actors starred the Netflix adaptn of the Tony Award-wng queer play “The Boys the Band.

Straight and cisgenr ‘privilege’While straight and cisgenr actors are given many opportuni to play rol outsi their own genr and sexualy, many gay and trans actors say they are given far ls leeway. He said the movie bs is “a very heterosexual bs” that’s “n mostly by heterosexual men” and lamented that straight actors takg gay rol has a stiflg effect on gay actors who, like him, are no longer nsired for heterosexual parts. Most notably, perhaps, Tom Hanks, who won an Amy Award for his portrayal of a gay man dyg of AIDS the 1993 film “Philalphia, ” and Hilary Swank, who won the Osr for her performance as transgenr man Brandon Teena the 1999 film “Boys Don’t Cry.

RANDOM GAY ACTORS WHO PLAY STRAIGHT CHARACTERS (31 EMS)

” The amy also nomated actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal for their rol the 2005 gay wboy film “Brokeback Mounta, ” Jared Leto for his portrayal of a trans woman the 2013 film “Dallas Buyers Club, ” actor Cate Blanchett for her role the 2015 lbian romantic drama “Carol” and Eddie Redmayne for his portrayal of a trans woman the 2015 film “The Danish Girl. “To have quote-unquote ‘straight’ actors sayg now, ‘Hey, I won't take that part, bee 's gay, and you should give to a gay person, ’ feels like another way to stigmatize our stori, " Babb said. “Hontly, a transgenr person playg a gay role would be a really good possibily, and we would unrstand really well, bee we've had to all grapple wh sexualy as an issue.

STANLEY TUCCI SAYS HE HAS 'DIFFICULTY' WH ARGUMENT THAT GAY CHARACTERS SHOULD ONLY BE PLAYED BY LGBTQ ACTORS

On Clorox's Young Changemaker Live Panel, Darren Criss — who rose to fame as Blae Anrson, who's gay, on Glee, then later won a Goln Globe, SAG Award, Crics Choice Award, and Emmy for playg Andrew Cunanan, a gay man, The Assassatn Of Gianni Versace: Amerin Crime Story — said, "There are certa [queer] rol that I'll see that are jt wonrful, but I want to make sure I won't be another straight boy takg a gay man's role.

Benedict Cumberbatch received an Osr nomatn for his portrayal of Alan Turg, a gay man, The Imatn Game, and he more recently received another nom for playg Phil Burbank, whose sexualy is purposefully ambiguo, The Power of the Dog. Wilson Cz, whose role as Ricky My So Called Life ma him the first openly gay actor to play a leadg gay role on TV, told NBC News that LGBTQ+ actors "should be prrized when to tellg our own stori.

Guy Pearce, who played Adam Whely/Felicia Jollygoodfellow, a gay man and drag queen The Adventur of Priscilla, Queen of the Dert, told The Guardian, "I do thk 's dangero, personally [to say only LGBTQ+ actors should play LGBTQ+ rol]... Hugo Weavg, who played Anthony "Tick" Belrose/Mzi Del Bra, a gay man and drag queen The Adventur of Priscilla, Queen of the Dert, told Stellar, "The nonsense surroundg [the stg of three straight men as two gay men and a trans woman] was extraordary.

LET’S SETTLE THIS: CAN STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAY GAY ROL?

Sean Hay — who was not publicly out as gay when he played Jack McFarland, a gay man on Will and Grace — told Playbill, "I didn't feel prsure to hi [my sexualy] as much as I thought was the thg I was supposed to do... But Hollywood don't work that way, and dienc don't work that way bee there's a stipulatn that go wh dienc where if they see a gay person playg straight, they go, 'Yeah right.

And the reactn om the majory of the gay muny when the movie me out, I got this sort of — we both did, everyone the movie — we got this overwhelmg sense of open-heartedns and gratu. And fally, Michael Urie, who was one of three openly queer actors to play gay leads Sgle All the Way, told Pk News, "I don't have any real power, but I was very clear that we need to make sure the other guys are really gay. And first of all, you look for actors who are gay or who are trans, pendg on the role, if you have that md and you go lookg for them but then you fd a straight actor or a cis actor that will play that part, who mak sense for that part, I thk 's okay.

KRISTEN STEWART ON ‘HAPPIT SEASON’ AND THE ‘GRAY AREA’ OF ONLY GAY ACTORS PLAYG GAY CHARACTERS

"I don't even thk about but, my films, lookg back, out of about 16 or 17 gay rol, I thk all but twice I st gay men, bee when they me to dn they were better, " Wtmoreland told Insir. "They brought wh them so much knowledge about what that character was experiencg and had a greater accs to the emotns of the story, so naturally my work, I have st gay people to play gay rol. Penn won an Osr for his straight actors should be 'appld' for takg on queer rolSeveral of the people Insir spoke to, cludg Stt, also acknowledged that n be hard for straight actors — particularly men — to take on queer rol as uld lead to them damagg their reers, so they should be mend for dog such actors who are straight but played gay characters are Gordon Warnecke, who starred as Omar oppose Daniel Day-Lewis 1985's "My Betiful Lndrette, " and Jam Wilby, who starred as the tular Mrice oppose Hugh Grant Jam Ivory's 1985 were both well-reviewed movi ma Thatchere Bra, a time where beg gay or queer wasn't exactly popular.

"Effectively 's a love story, I don't re whether 's gay or not gay, 's about a forbidn love story, so as long as you n unrstand that ncept, I don't see what the difference is. Both actors said that they would happily play another gay character, but both did say that they regnize the climate has changed enormoly recent years, which Wilby said uld be a negative thg.

Dog rearch and unrstandg thgs our culture and thgs that are alive and well gay people — if you immerse yourself that and you rpect and honor what those thgs are, I'm okay wh .