Should Straight Actors Play Gay Characters? Taron Egerton And Other Actors Chime In
In an interview with The Telegraph, actor Taron Egerton has spoken about the ongoing debate over whether gay characters should be reserved for gay actors. There are strong arguments on either side of the debate, but we’re curious to know how DNA readers feel.
Actors have their say
Egerton is a recent example of a big name discussing the topic. Once, gay roles were few and far between with very little character depth; we were grateful for any representation when it came along. Times have changed and the question now turns to whether LGBTQIA+ characters should be reserved solely for queer actors.
“I grew up in a very liberal town, and a couple of my close friends are gay,” says Egerton. “I feel an affinity with that community. I don’t particularly feel that there should be a blanket rule about whether straight actors should play gay roles. That’s very easy for me to say as a straight man, but I think that’s possibly a precedent not worth setting.”
On the one hand, Egerton has been praised for his portrayal of gay icon Elton John in Rocketman and he received rave reviews for his performance in the West End revival of Cock. Both roles required the young actor to step into the shoes of a gay character, and the reviews confirm that he did so brilliantly.
Other actors, like Luke Evans who identifies as gay, have also commented. “From my perspective: firstly, I wouldn’t have had a career if gay people played gay roles and straight people played straight roles,” says Evans, who has played many straight leading man roles and action roles.
Luke Macfarlane has spoken about being told not to come out publicly lest his career suffer – which ultimately it did. “When I mentioned [coming out] to my agent at the time, what I heard back was, ‘You know you don’t have to do that.’ And I was like, ‘Ah, wow. They don’t want me to do this.’ There were not a lot of people that had come out at that point,” he recalls.
Ricky Martin suspects he doesn’t receive complex roles because he is gay. “I don’t know if I’m not getting parts because I’m gay. But if that’s the case, it’s really sad. I’m going to keep working until life is different,” he says.
When queer actors have been historically punished for coming out, yet straight actors are praised for playing gay, it’s understandable why some feel passionate about representation. In a utopian world, the best actor for the role would get the job. Is this a fair way to cast for LGBTQIA+ roles or do we think Hollywood’s history with queer people needs to be considered?
