What's your view on Jack Whitehall playing a gay character?

[LyndorCake]

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/13/jack-whitehall-role-gay-disney-character-row-jungle-cruise

People have gone wild on twitter about it.
One argument says that as he is straight, he can't understand the role properly and is taking roles always from LGBTQ+ actors. The other side of that is he's an actor and therefore he is always pretending to be someone he isn't in any role, how is this different?

I can sort of see both sides but curious as to what you think?

Eric McCormack is straight and played a gay character (Will and Grace) for years. No one complained then.

Neil Patrick Harris is gay and played a serial womaniser (How I met your mother) No one complained then.

Why is everyone suddenly getting so offended now.

not to much the case in the UK, but in the U.S. gay men getting leading roles is pretty rare, as soon as an actor is out his chances of being cast as a leading straight man plummet. So I think that's where a lot of these comments are coming from, that leading gay characters are rare and gay actors getting leading roles is rare and do its a shame a gay actor can't get this role.

Other than that, of course, it's minsrnse and they're actors FFS.

Serious point is that sexuality does not define identity on its own. An actor who is gay can play more than gay roles, and to define one as a gay actor unfairly limits opportunity.

I bet that if a straight actor refused to play a gay character the social justice Warriors that are screeching about this would get irate.

Jack Whitehall is fantastic.. good luck to him

How does twitter even know he’s straight? He might identify as straight publicly, but who knows, he may have had gay experiences or thoughts. Can’t stand all these social justice wankers who enjoy getting outraged by anything and everything.

Seems a rather backward and outdated view to have - that an individual's sexuality should be relevant to, and restrict, his/her employment opportunities.

How does twitter even know he’s straight?

What! You mean it's not on his CV??

As an LGBT person, I can see why this is disappointing. Truth is there are so few big gay roles in stuff that yes, from our community's point of view, it would be great to see a gay person getting that role. Doing so is no threat to straight actors, who have 90% of roles as straight characters to choose from.

Yes, I know that gay actors play straight roles too - but it wasn't too long ago that actors (Male and female) wouldn't dream of coming out as it would actively damage their careers and believability in straight roles. It's great they can now, but the shadow of it still hangs over it all. For example, Jim Parsons wasn't out for years, well into playing Sheldon.

I think it's hard for straight people, who see themselves reflected on tv and film every day, being played by people with the same sexuality as them to understand fully why gay people would be disappointed by it. But it's like Scarlett Johansson playing both Asian and trans roles as a white cis woman - I wouldn't automatically see the big deal, but that's because I'm white and cis so it doesn't effect the visibility of my community. But I have to recognise that's my unconscious privilege making me blind to the struggles of other communities as it doesn't directly affect me.

Representation really does matter.

Umm he's an actor. That's the whole point isn't it. Actors .... act. What a strange argument.

Should Matt Smith not play Prince Phillip in The Crown as he isn't Greek? Claire Foy not play the Queen as she isn't Royal?

Taking the argument the other way round should gay actors never play straight characters? Neil Patrick Harris was superb as Barney in HIMYM should he not have been given that role?

Are we suggesting this is sexuality appropriation?! I don't think gay actors should stick to playing gay characters and vice versa.

But it's like Scarlett Johansson playing both Asian and trans roles as a white cis woman - I wouldn't automatically see the big deal, but that's because I'm white and cis so it doesn't effect the visibility of my community.

I'll leave aside the fact that the role Johansson was going to play wasn't trans, but will give you a heads-up that the word "cis" is unacceptable on this forum.

bonquiqui Scarlett Johanssen is a white woman no cis required.

I thought almost everyone in Hollywood was gay anyway so it would somewhat limit the pool of actors if only straight men could play straight men!

Openly gay actors rarely get to play leading characters in Hollywood. Of course, if a straight actor plays a gay man he’ll probably get an Oscar .

So can actors only play murderers if they have murdered someone?

What if they are bisexual but in a het relationship now, are they allowed to ‘play gay’?

isnt that an actors entire job?! do people get outraged when a gay person plays someone straight? he probably wont have much input into the character anyway.

He's an actor.

Twitter appears to fan up miserable tiny thoughts creating problems. Participating must be as nerve wracking as being a villager in Salem.

Trans people are allowed to play women

So why no stright playing gay

Scarlett Johansson quit a role as a 'transgender man' though the transgender is disputed.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-44829766

'US actor Scarlett Johansson has dropped out of a role in which she was going to play a transgender man following a backlash from the LGBT community.

The Avengers star was set to play 1970s Pittsburgh crime boss Dante "Tex" Gill, who was born Jean Gill, in Rub & Tug.'

www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/02/rub-and-tug-scarlett-johansson-to-play-mob-connected-massage-parlour-owner

Born a woman.

Neil Patrick Harris was superb as Barney

and he's not purple or a dinosaur

So what do we think about women who haven't had children, taking roles as mothers? Surely it's about playing a part?

Whilst I understand the frustration you express bonquiqui surely that's an incredibly short-sighted view that will backfire? Positive discrimmination will inevitably result in yet more negative discrimmination.

An actor's sexual orientation should be irrelevant. Making it relevant in certain circumstances leaves actors vulnerable to discrimmination in other situations.
At this rate, there will be no 'acting' going on at all. People will be chosen for a role that is as close as identical to who they as possible .

It’s acting. Pretending to be stuff.

As Tail says, straight actors have been playing gay roles for years. In fact, when it first started happening (e.g. Tom Hanks in Philadelphia) the actors were praised for their "bravery", because taking a gay role was thought to be the kiss of death.

And then think of Rock Hudson and all those closet gay actors who played leading men roles for years.

It seems crazy to me. People are more than their sexuality. Nobody says only an accountant should be able to play an accountant.