" I think I ’m an actor first before I ’m a jocund person . "
It’s been an ~interesting~ journey for queer people in the movie and television industry. Once upon a time, gay and lesbian actors, specifically, had to stay in the closet, and there were next-to-no gay parts on screen.
The idea that openly gay actors can play het characters is a relatively new phenomenon. Previously, out gay actors could only really work when roles for them a) existed, and b) weren’t being given to heterosexual actors.
Now it seems much more acceptable for an openly gay actor play a straight character. In fact, here are 18 times an actor has played a straight character on screen, despite being openly gay or queer in real life…
1.Jane Lynchas Sue Sylvester inGlee
2.Vincent Rodriguez III as Josh Chan inCrazy Ex-Girlfriend
3.Neil Patrick Harrisas Barney Stinson inHow I Met Your Mother
4.Andrew Scott as The Priest inFleabag
5.Amandla Stenberg as Ruby Daly inThe Darkest Minds
6.Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton inBridgerton
7.B.D. Wong as Wally Lin inAwkwafina Is Nora from Queens
8.Portia de Rossi as Lindsay Bluth Funke inArrested Development
9.Ben Platt as Evan Hansen in theDear Evan Hansenmovie
10.Justice Smith as Simon Aumar inDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
11.Luke Evans as Gaston inBeauty and the Beast
Here’s Luke’s full acceptance speech, in which he talks about his career and being gay in Hollywood:
12.Ben Whishaw as Michael Banks inMary Poppins Returns
13.Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana inSpencer
14.Tyler Alvarez as Dillon inCrush
15.Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp inImpeachment: American Crime Story
The debate around whether gay characters should be played by actors who share the same identity is ongoing, but it’s certainly true that casting gay people in ANY and ALL roles is sure to even the playing field of the entertainment industry, and lead to a future where it doesn’t matter who plays who!
You can check out more posts that celebrate National Coming Out Day and LGBTQ+ History Month over on ourLGBTQ+ page.
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