AIBU to be completely on the fence? Straight men playing 'gay' roles

[Wheresmykimchi]

Article here - www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/showbiz-news/corrie-star-hits-back-after-19618647

Russell T Davies has decided to cast only gay men in roles for an AIDS drama.

Peter Ash , who is a straight man playing a gay man in Coronation Street , disagrees.

I'm usually a dog with a bone , irritating poster on topics I feel passionately about and LGBT is one but on this I just can't decide.

I can see Russell's point given the nature of the drama , and I'm never sure I agree with people playing 'gay' , in theory

But then I look at the gay characters in soaps in recent years , Peter's character being am excellent example along with Aaron Lindsay in Emmerdale , Kate Connor and Sophie Webster in Coronation Street , and see Peters point that the whole idea is that there is no such thing as acting 'gay', they are playing people.

I'm so on the fence I've got splinters. AIBU?

Russell Tovey plays primarily straight roles iirc.
It's called acting for a reason.

To add to the pp about Frasier, both actors playing Niles and Bulldog were gay playing straight.

Acting is acting. At this rate, people will only be allowed to play themselves.

I'm sure there are still plenty of gay men, and lesbians, who don't advertise their sexuality early in their careers for fear of being typecast.

Yes this is so true. There are some actors who have had rumours / people have seen them dating men but they never confirm either way.

@IslaMann

Russell Tovey plays primarily straight roles iirc. It's called acting for a reason.

Tovey who has himself been fairly homophobic at times, now he has finally shedded the internalised homophobia he tends to select gay roles.

I don't think there are many examples of actors playing characters born with disabilities

Cripping up is definitely a thing.

My Left Foot.
The Shape of Water
The Theory of Everything
Rain Man
The Cripple of Inishmaan
Skyscraper (OK, acquired disability)
Stronger (as above)
Me Before You
The Upside
Come as You Are
Outlander

Etc, etc, etc...

The wider problem is gay actors not getting enough work/high profile work because people think their sexuality will be off-putting.

Is it? In UK TV drama? I imagine this might still be an issue in some roles in Hollywood now but is there really strong evidence that gay men are underrepresented in acting in the UK?

Action movies aren't great but unless there are gay action characters, and Bond is a misogynistic shag monster of the straight variety, this policy won't get gay men into those roles.

Netflix has been good for making content that isn't all old white straight men boring the shite out of us. They actually cast black people and women in lead roles plus having a lot more diverse casting.

Davies is a buffoon, The logic behind his words is utterly ludicrous.. Some of my favourite actors have been gay. Not because they play gay roles, but because of their talent. I hope gay actors will call him to account for his moronic outbursts.

I think its ridiculous. Does a gay man have to be publicly out to get a gay role? Why are roles and people being defined by their sexuality? Is there something inherently different between a gay and a straight man? How would a man prove his homosexuality?? I think it's a regressive step.

Ok Russell you win

Wanted. Actor to play The Hulk. Must have a talent for smashing up things, have green skin and look like a giant condom filled with watermelons. Serious applications only please.

PS, Must be schizophrenic, able to largen up and shrink down at will and have a PhD in nuclear physics. Experience with gamma rays preferred.

Don't be shy I know you're out there....

@LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett

I've said this on another thread, but if I ever went for a job interview (audition) and someone asked me my sexuality to decide if I could get the job (part) then fire and brimstone does not even begin to describe the pain I would bring down on that organisation.

Acting is just a job like any other. You cannot ignore equalities law because you are favouring a minority. Russell T should really think about things like this before he opens his mouth.

Completely agree

@SimonJT but Tovey IS gay? What homophobia has he shown? Genuine question, as I'm unaware.

@Josette77

I think actors are paid to act. I don't see the issue. Can gay actors play "straight"?

Agree with this. ^^ Not all gay men are camp either.

I see that there's a difference between encouraging people to apply and saying flat-out you won't hire a person not in that minority group

One is lawful, the other not (except in specific situations).

If, as PP suggests and seems likely, gay men are overrepresented in UK acting then this is no different in law from a sign saying 'no blacks, no irish'.

I think it's fine to say actually this is a story about Something that disproportionally affected gay men and so that's who I'm casting, but it would be ridiculous to say in general that only gay people can ever play gay characters. It will just lead to fewer gay characters in stuff. You do a general casting call for a character who incidentally is gay, the only guy you get does fit or is a bad actor etc, so it's easier to just change him to straight. But to mention that number of characters in shows who change sexual orientation several years in IE Aaron

i think wentworth miller has said he will now only play gay roles in the future.

Alan cummings has played Gay (Instinct about a professor who solves crimes) and straight (most other roles).

I don't think only gay actors should play gay characters. Probably best off that trans people play trans roles as generally you can tell the actor is trans anyway so it may as well work in their favour (ie Greys anatomy and also Discovery, with Grey who ALSO played a trans character in Last of us 2).

Often in films with disabilities, the character isn't disabled at some point and if they want to have the same actor playing throughout, they can't be disabled and doing the earlier years. but that's more biopics. Lots of shows have disabled actors in who are just themselves (McGuiver, Silent Witness etc)

I mean acting is a funny profession, why can't unattractive women get more roles? why do we get gorgeous ones wearing a bad pair of glasses to "play ugly".

I think it's fine to say actually this is a story about Something that disproportionally affected gay men and so that's who I'm casting

Why?

Where is the line? If I sell fake tan can I refuse to employ people with dark skin?

Is the play about "good Aids" or "bad Aids"? This would determine my opinion.

Special thanks to Brasseye for this one!

[quote IslaMann]@SimonJT but Tovey IS gay? What homophobia has he shown? Genuine question, as I'm unaware. [/quote]
Lots of gay people are homophobic. Internalised homophobia is a common thing and a huge problem.

My splinters are caused by the disparity between this and other casting issues. We’re supposed to suspend disbelief for colourblind casting - an Asian David Copperfield, anyone? - yet be completely literal when it comes to gay men. What next? Only real parents can play them? We can’t age actors and only old people can play older people? What about gender reversed casting with women playing Lear and Hamlet?

@donquixotedelamancha

The wider problem is gay actors not getting enough work/high profile work because people think their sexuality will be off-putting.

Is it? In UK TV drama? I imagine this might still be an issue in some roles in Hollywood now but is there really strong evidence that gay men are underrepresented in acting in the UK?

I don't know, but I tend to assume if anyone knows about it, it'd be Davies. Wouldn't you think?

Probably best off that trans people play trans roles as generally you can tell the actor is trans anyway so it may as well work in their favour (ie Greys anatomy and also Discovery

This makes no sense to me. The lass in GA would be fine playing a bloke (albeit not a meathead) but the one in discovery looks like a girl- all she's done is describe herself as non-binary after getting a role as a NB character.

Things like sexuality and personal feelings of identity should have no bearing on any roles.

Even physical characteristics are irrelevant to lots of characters.

I’m an actor/actress/whatever. I think this is for publicity as a pp said. I can’t imagine my agent getting rung up and asked details about my private life and home set up or to provide a list of their out gay clients. Or being asked at audition if I’d had experience of snogging an older man/younger man/woman/or being murdered with a cricket bat. It’s none of their business. Presumably RTD did approach agents with that question and if he wants to seek out gay actors only that’s up to him in the sense that the casting is entirely up to him anyway. There aren’t enough roles to go around by any means and all actors are used to missing out on jobs whether they’re gay or straight. I’d say there were more jobs for white men than any other category but their sexuality is irrelevant.

Before I had children I played plenty of mothers. I’ve worked with gay men playing all sorts of different roles. I’m probably better at acting being a parent now that I am one and that’s probably the same for a gay man playing gay - he’ll have a lot of it for free. But any decently-written character ought to have more qualities that one can embody than just who they fancy.

I think it’s a bit silly. I don’t think being gay stops you playing a straight character and vice versa.

Charlie Hunnam and Aidan Gillen managed it in Queer As Folk so he obviously wasn’t against casting straight men then. I suppose it’s possible he wanted gay actors in the roles then but didn’t have the power to get it made the way he wanted.

It’s not really equality if only gay people can play gay roles but straight roles are available to everybody.