[Ammi]

...I was just reading this earlier so I thought I’d share it because it’s relevant to the topic and some thoughts from It’s A Sin Creator, Russell T Davies...


...I won’t post the whole article but I’ll pos5 the link if anyone wants to read the whole thing...



“My take is to cast gay as gay. Absolutely. I believe that profoundly. I think you not only get authenticity; you get revenge for 100 years of straight-washing”


NL: What’s your take on straight actors playing gay characters?

RT My take is to cast gay as gay. Absolutely. I believe that profoundly. I think you not only get authenticity; you get revenge for 100 years of straight-washing. I believe we have 40 or 50 gay speaking parts in It’s A Sin and they’re all played by gay actors. And actually, that’s very hard to do because you’re not allowed in an audition to ask someone whether they’re gay or not. And that’s a great rule: just as the head of Tesco can’t ask someone who wants to work on the shop floor whether they’re gay or not. Nonetheless, you can make it clear that you’re very open to openly gay actors coming in to audition. And then some smart voice will inevitably chime in with, ‘Well, you don’t mind gay actors playing straight.’ And I’ll tell you what, no, I don’t mind a gay actor playing straight. Because from the age of eight, gay people learn to fit in with the straight world and act straight. That’s something we know very profoundly in our hearts. So if you want a great performance, cast a gay actor as a straight man because he’s been studying how straight men behave for an awful long time.



https://www.anothermag.com/design-li...view-interview

[Elliot]

A lot of the time it feels like a caricature. Honestly I don’t care but there are a surplus of lgbtq actors to give roles to if directors really wanted representation

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Ammi

...I was just reading this earlier so I thought I’d share it because it’s relevant to the topic and some thoughts from It’s A Sin Creator, Russell T Davies...


...I won’t post the whole article but I’ll pos5 the link if anyone wants to read the whole thing...



“My take is to cast gay as gay. Absolutely. I believe that profoundly. I think you not only get authenticity; you get revenge for 100 years of straight-washing”


NL: What’s your take on straight actors playing gay characters?

RT My take is to cast gay as gay. Absolutely. I believe that profoundly. I think you not only get authenticity; you get revenge for 100 years of straight-washing. I believe we have 40 or 50 gay speaking parts in It’s A Sin and they’re all played by gay actors. And actually, that’s very hard to do because you’re not allowed in an audition to ask someone whether they’re gay or not. And that’s a great rule: just as the head of Tesco can’t ask someone who wants to work on the shop floor whether they’re gay or not. Nonetheless, you can make it clear that you’re very open to openly gay actors coming in to audition. And then some smart voice will inevitably chime in with, ‘Well, you don’t mind gay actors playing straight.’ And I’ll tell you what, no, I don’t mind a gay actor playing straight. Because from the age of eight, gay people learn to fit in with the straight world and act straight. That’s something we know very profoundly in our hearts. So if you want a great performance, cast a gay actor as a straight man because he’s been studying how straight men behave for an awful long time.



https://www.anothermag.com/design-li...view-interview

It's not a "straight world", it's everyone's world

[Tom4784]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

It's not a "straight world", it's everyone's world

Tell that to the people who get abused and/or killed for not being straight.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

Tell that to the people who get abused and/or killed for not being straight.

Okay, apart from places like Iran where they amputate gay men's genitals or elsewhere where gays get thrown off roofs etc...

It's everyone's world in the west!

[Tom4784]

Tell that to Eastern Europe in general, or basically everywhere, really, because hate crime is still a thing.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

It's not a "straight world", it's everyone's world

I feel this is very glass-half-full. It's no one's world but a tiny select few and that becomes increasingly obvious year-on-year.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

I feel this is very glass-half-full. It's no one's world but a tiny select few and that becomes increasingly obvious year-on-year.

Okay comrade

[Marsh.]

you get revenge for 100 years of straight-washing

This is an issue with a lot of "minority issues" in that it's all extremes now where nobody's fighting for equality, they want revenge and one extreme or another.

It doesn't lead anywhere good.

[GoldHeart]

Straight people should still be allowed to play LGBTQ roles, it just depends how they portray them.

I've cringed at some roles , because the characters are either too annoyingly camp and ott flamboyant/ stereotypical to be laughed at basically and not taken seriously . Also there's not always a character development , it's either sexual or just bitchy and sassy cliché .

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

I feel this is very glass-half-full. It's no one's world but a tiny select few and that becomes increasingly obvious year-on-year.

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

Okay comrade

Right that was low grade trolling on my part, I'm actually on your page there. I'm all for sticking it to The Man(tm). I'm not one of the Eat The Rich nutters, because everyone who happens to have money isn't quite The Man, but I'm still somewhat anti-authoritarian.

ALL THAT BEING SAID! It's my world as much as it is the straight guy's next door In fact I have one more bedroom than him, so it's technically more my world than his!

[Livia]

If only gay actors can play gay roles then only heteros can play heterosexuals, surely. Otherwise it's highly unfair.

[Babayaro.]

I say yes, they should be allowed. But I wouldn’t say that the issue around it doesn’t matter.

[Babayaro.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

We did this thread recently . I can't remember what I said at the time. My current thoughts are that sexuality is complicated so I don't think sexuality should be a barrier to which actors get which parts - after all, I imagine many (most?) gay actors would be pretty hacked off if they were told they could no longer play straight characters.

However I do think people casting roles should be wary of "immitating personality traits". Not all gay people are camp, so I don't think it's an issue for a straight actor to be playing a character whose personality matches their own but just happens to have a different sexual preference, but I *do* think it's an issue for straight actors to... umm... "camp face"(?) and immitate stereotypically "gay character traits" that are not actually part of their own personality. Just find an actor that better matches the character.

pretty much this

[Nicky91]

we got a gay actor portraying a heterosexual male on our soap series here in my country

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Babayaro.

I say yes, they should be allowed. But I wouldn’t say that the issue around it doesn’t matter.

I think that's a fair comment too; it shouldn't be "not allowed" but it also shouldn't be a "whatever" - there should be a level of awareness in making these casting decisions and the reasons for why someone is the best choice for the role...

My thinking I guess is that someone isn't defined by their sexuality so, for example, if someone is playing a character who is gay but the story is about a mental health struggle, then the best person for the role is someone who can accurately, sensitively and with understanding convey that mental health issue regardless of their sexuality.

On the other hand if (excuse the blunt term but) "gayness" or gay rights issues etc. are at the HEART of the story then it is probably approporiate to only cast gay actors who have that central to them - e.g. I would say "It's A Sin" for example clearly falls into that category.

So yeah overall I think it's not a "whatever, it doesn't matter" but at the same time, it's not a blanket "no" either - just something for casting directors to make sure they consider their reasoning on before casting.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Nicky91

we got a gay actor portraying a heterosexual male on our soap series here in my country

That's not unusual though, plenty of well known gay actors have played straight characters.