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

Contents:

• IAN MCKELLEN: ‘HALF OF HOLLYWOOD IS GAY,’ ONLY RECENTLY ‘DISVERED THAT THERE WERE BLACK PEOPLE’
• WHAT PERCENTAGE OF HOLLYWOOD IS ACTUALLY GAY?
• WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY [UPDATED MAY 2023]
• SHOULD STRAIGHT ACTORS STILL PLAY GAY CHARACTERS? 'IT'S PLITED'
• SHOULD STRAIGHT ACTORS PLAY GAY ROL? A STAR TV WRER SAYS NO
• GAY AND STRAIGHT MEN PREFER MASCULE-PRENTG GAY MEN FOR A HIGH-STAT ROLE: EVINCE FROM AN ELOGILLY VALID EXPERIMENT

IAN MCKELLEN: ‘HALF OF HOLLYWOOD IS GAY,’ ONLY RECENTLY ‘DISVERED THAT THERE WERE BLACK PEOPLE’

However, the Tony and Emmy-nomated gay actor has also played Victor Strand on several seasons of "Fear the Walkg Dead," and appeared films like "If Beale Street Could Talk," "Selma," and "Zola." He met his hband Raúl Domgo 2014, via a Craigslist ad. English actor Ben Whishaw is also known for playg the villao Q the Daniel Craig "Jam Bond" films, as well as his Emmy-wng role the miseri "A Very English Sndal." He discsed g out as gay 2014, after enterg a civil partnership wh poser Mark Bradshaw, llg public reactns "surprisgly lovely.".

Gay actor Matt Bomer won a Goln Globe for playg a closeted journalist the TV film adaptatn of Larry Kramer's AIDS epimic-foced play "The Normal Heart." He's also known for projects like "Doom Patrol" and the "Magic Mike" films. After wng a Tony for his role the mil "Kky Boots," Billy Porter achieved a new level of regnn by playg New York ball scene emcee Pray Tell on the celebrated LGBTQ+ drama seri "Pose." He also beme the first openly gay Black man to w bt lead actor a drama at the Emmys for the role.

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF HOLLYWOOD IS ACTUALLY GAY?

Andrew Rannells first beme well-known as a Broadway actor, receivg Tony nomatns for his rol "The Book of Mormon" and "Falsettos." He pivoted to TV and film the 2010s, notably appearg on "Big Mouth" and "Girls." Rannells has said he's known he was gay sce high school. "When we get to the pot where a gay pro athlete is no longer forced to live fear that he'll be shunned by teammat or outed by tabloids … then g out won't be such a big al," Colls wrote, but ultimately nced that we're "not there yet.". Actor Victor Garber has starred films like "Tanic" and "Argo," along wh TV shows like "Alias" and "The Flash." In 2013, he nfirmed that he is gay, though he hadn't exactly been hidg his LGBTQ+ stat—or his more than 20-year relatnship wh Raer Andreen, for that matter.

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY [UPDATED MAY 2023]

Later, the actor claimed he ma the cisn part bee he was "ready to take on that nversatn a more public fom." Carver has sce been vol about Hollywood's tenncy to perpetuate negative LGBTQ+ stereotyp, as well as pigeonholg openly gay actors to playg specific typ of rol. (He first spoke publicly about his sexualy an terview wh The Inpennt 2013.) What got the media's attentn was his distaste at beg referred to as, "openly gay." He told GQ durg an terview, "You're never scribed as openly gay at a party...'This is my openly gay iend Darren.' 'She's openly Irish.' It impli a fiance I don't feel.". "When I fally told my iends and fay I was gay after beg sred the closet for 18 years, and all they said was 'we know,'" Schnapp wrote of his g-out story, addg, "I gus I'm more siar to will than I thought.".

I really don't re for anyone enough to wish they are gay when they're Hanks - straightKev Costner - straightDenzel Washgton - straightTom Cise - aceBrad Pt - biGee Clooney - gay/biJohnny Depp - straightKeanu Reev - biMatthew McConghey - formerly bi, now exclively straightLeonardo DiCapr - probably gayWill Smh - gay/biMatt Damon - straightBen Affleck - straightMark Wahlberg - straightBradley Cooper - gayJake Gyllenhaal - gayJam Fran - biCol Farrell - biJared Leto - biChris Pratt - straightChris Evans - straightChris Hemsworth - straightChris Pe - gay/biMark Ruffalo - straightZac Eon - gayShia Lebaoef - straightMichael B.

It is felt that the current belief of greater homosexualy actors, as pared to the general populatn, is a product of our Puran herage, the actor's unnventnaly, and of public flntg of the homoerotic behavr of that portn of actors that are homosexual. “So, ’s imperative LGBTQ people see characters that fully look like every aspect of their humany so they n image what is possible for their liv, and you have to wonr how accurate, fair and nuanced that storytellg n tly be when ’s mostly told by a handful of creators — two of whom are whe, gay men. " "This is not somethg that I'm ashamed of, and 's not somethg that anyone should have to be ashamed of, " he followed he ndid vio wh a "Part 2" 2015 and now, as a pop star and actor, Sivan has ntued to openly discs his experienc as a gay man.

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

“Orange Is the New Black” and “GLOW” are jt two of the many Netflix programs wh LGBTQ-clive lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer characters are beg more monplace on TV, GLAAD is still urgg the dtry to do better. Kane said she has worked wh some patients who felt nfed bee they intified as gay but didn't act like the gay characters they saw on problem here, she said, is that some of the actors lean to stereotyp, perpetuatg them. She remembers when Matt Bomer – a cisgenr man who intifi as gay — was st the small budget film "Anythg" as a transgenr woman 2017, replacg a trans actrs who was origally st the role before the stud wanted a bigger name.

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

"It's almost rctive to say straight actors n't play gay characters bee that impli an 'otherg' of gay people, or that gay people are so fundamentally different than straight people that one uld never play the other. However, there needs to be a distctn between actors who put effort to takg the LGBTQ rol serly, and the actors — like Corn "The Prom" — who perhaps jt relied heavily on stereotyp to portray a gay character. 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.

"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. 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.

GAY AND STRAIGHT MEN PREFER MASCULE-PRENTG GAY MEN FOR A HIGH-STAT ROLE: EVINCE FROM AN ELOGILLY VALID EXPERIMENT

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. ” 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.

“I’m gog to war, ” he Ben Blackall/HBO Max“It’s a S, ” about 20-somethgs nontg the AIDS crisis the 1980s, broke new ground for s creator, Rsell T Davi, bee he had never wrten about the epimic there was somethg else that ma this HBO Max seri different om the other gay-themed programs Davi had wrten, om the origal “Queer as Folk” to “A Very English Sndal”: “It’s a S” is the first show he has ma which nearly all the gay parts are played by gay the ever-eager pugilist is stirrg ntroversy by argug terviews that, om now on, only gay actors should be allowed gay rol.