Actor Rob James-Collier claims playing a gay butler on Downton Abbey has led to being typecast in Hollywood.
While the 41-year-old was a fan favorite for his portrayal of the scheming Thomas, he says that popularity hasn’t been parlayed into meaningful roles following the show’s conclusion.
Related: The Many Sins of Mr Barrow: Checking In On Downton Abbey’s Sexy Servant
Talking to Radio Times, the actor notes he hasn’t been offered the same opportunities as costars Michelle Dockery, Lily James, and Dan Stevens.
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While Dockery stars in TNT’s Good Behavior; Stevens is currently the lead in FX’s Legion; and James just made an appearance in the hit film Baby Driver.
“I think audiences in the U.S. can identify quite easily with the quintessential English gent and English lady, whereas a neurotic, dark, gay character like Thomas is a hard thing to put into the American market. It can lead to typecasting….
Because Thomas Barrow is gay and is, essentially, the bad guy for much of the show, a lot of people within the industry can only see you as that. They might not be in a rush to see you as a heterosexual love interest. That takes time.”
James-Collier claims he’s declined several stage roles “which happened to be gay characters” because he “really wanted to show something different.”
Since the show wrapped, the actor has starred in 2016’s The Attendant and will soon appear in a horror movie called The Ritual, in which a camping trip goes frightfully wrong.
“It’s a genre I have never done because there’s sometimes a stigma around these films.”
“There can be too much hack-slashing gore and nudity. This is different.”
DCguy
So he’s staring in a series, and none of the people he’s mentioned are doing that much more.
Texasholdem
Dan Stevens is the star of the #1 movie this year that has made $1.2 billion worldwide
whatsaywhat
Yeh but you’ve got to HAVE a career for your career to be “hurt”. And without Downton Abbey would he have a career? Would any of us know about or GAF about this bloke? hmmm…
Kieran
“Because Thomas Barrow is gay and is, essentially, the bad guy for much of the show,”
I’m really shocked. A gay portrayed as a villain? Whoever heard of such a thing?
ChrisK
I don’t know about you but I’m so angry right now. I’m totally ready to protest.
Dave in Northridge
The actor doth protest too much, methinks
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Charlie Hunnam.
Although to be fair he was so much younger and incrediblephysical transformation makes it hard to believe it’s the same actor.
jjose712
I’ m a little tired of these bombastic headlines. He didn’t say that playing gay hurted his career, what he said is that was his most known role and Hollywood tends to typecast so he needs to build a career playing different characters.
To be honest if i was an actor i will avoid gay roles. First, if the role is in a tv show there’s a 100% chance that people get angry at how you portray the role, how is written, if he is too femme or too butch or too whatever.
Of course now you have to talk about your own sexual orientation which unless you are smart enough and you are lucky with the interviewer there’s a good chance to come out as an homophobe (frankly the whole, the actor who idenfies as straight just out of the gate on an interview doesn’t sound good at all, it screams closet case or someone who is really uncomfortable to portray a gay character and i think in most cases that’s not true).
And of course you have to endure all this out of context headlines that get people riled (because nobody reads nothing more than the headline) so you probably will endure some insults on twitter (for something you didn’t really said).
So play gay roles on theatre is perfectly ok, and even on film, but on tv, better skip them
broadshoulder
Time to go back to Coronation Street
alfred
exactly, im not too sure what he is complaining about. He was essentially a commercial male model and then got a small break by being on a trashy soap like coronation street. As cruel as it seems (and as handsome as I think he is) he was never destined for greatness in the film world and actually was very lucky to have been part of the phenomenon that was Downtown.
Josh447
Dominant homo queer or any variation thereof is just as confusing and sounds like a dungeon master or a homo that is dominant over straights someone or something. How about Kinsey scale 2 or whatever number etc. If one is only attracted to the same sex after being bi, then the gay label seems to suffice. I’m only with men but have been with women in the past, both in great long term relationships. I have identified as gay for years now after leaving women behind sexually as I totally lost interest sexually, but technically I’m bi as I’ve been with both. I have a bi viewpoint in life as I intimately know both sides of the fence. I am gay with a bi history but have no need to have any hereto backup label. I think one just has to explain themselves in situations that call for it due to the variations that do exist. And when they want to without others projecting. It seems that bi gay straight covers the spectrum but many have stories to add. That’s been pretty much the norm. To each his own if you will.
Donston
I’m pretty certain this was meant to be a response to me.
“Bi” alone has become too broad of a stroke, as people use it to cover areas as far ranging as attractions, romantic instincts, behaviors, desires, experimentation, long ago dismissed “lifestyles”, etc, and it forces you to identify with people you feel is not comparable to yourself in a multitude of ways. And sexual orientation in general is still often used to manipulate and to hide huge aspects of yourself than it is used to reveal. If you’re truly comfortable and confident in your skin and in your sense of self you use identify to represent exactly who you are, not as a social buffer.
I think once updated, more modern and specific orientations become the norm it won’t be difficult to comprehend these things. However, vague/can mean anything “identities” like fluid, flexible, queer (used by themselves most of the time) has equated to a step back. “Homo-dominant” is pretty much saying: I’m a gay-leaning person who is comfortable living a gay lifestyle. It’s simple stuff if you allow it to be. And no matter what you identify as there will always be a needed explanation.
Donston
Also, the combination of people who are desperate to keep “gay”, “straight”, “bi” as the only “real” identities and the only needed identities for political and social reasons, along with people who use identity for manipulation purposes, along with people who choose to identify with vague terms, along with people who use identity or “lifestyle” to hide their megalomaniac instincts, their vanity and narcissism, their self-hate or gay shame or obsession with retaining some sense of hetero-normalcy, having a pedo or hebephilia leaning orientation, being into extreme things like bestiality- this all adds to the current mess of things. That’s why a re-vamping of how we look as orientation and identities is necessary.
Donston
Also, also, there are some people who fear coming out or fear identifying as anything because there aren’t specific enough identities, at least popular identities, that they feel comfortable seeing themselves as (particularly hetero-dominant and “hetero-flexible” people). Updating and specifying orientations will help allow some of these people to gain more comfort, come out and also allow for less confusion about the dynamics of their orientation and “lifestyle”. Forcing people to check one of three boxes doesn’t allow that, and I said earlier, seems like something more driven by sociology and politics than it is about people truly coming out and being honest about themselves.
Donston
I’m not certain how much the two connect. Could it be that doors haven’t opened mostly because he’s middle-aged, played an unpopular and boring and unlikable supporting player, didn’t receive nearly as much attention and accolades as the rest of main cast during the show’s run and because he frankly doesn’t have “Hollywood” looks? And who says that playing another gay character would be “playing the same thing”? Are homos not as varied as straight people?
Plenty of actors become famous or had their breakthrough playing gay characters and went on to have solid careers. So, you can’t blame your lack of breaks on that alone.
Josh447
Dominant homo queer or any variation thereof is just as confusing and sounds like a dungeon master or a homo that is dominant over straights someone or something. How about Kinsey scale 2 or whatever number etc.
If one is only attracted to the same sex after being bi, then the gay label seems to suffice. I’m only with men but have been with women in the past, both in great long term relationships. I have identified as gay for years now after leaving women behind sexually as I totally lost interest, but technically I’m bi as I’ve been with both. I have a bi viewpoint in life as I intimately know both sides of the fence. I am gay with a bi history but have no need to have any hereto backup label. I think one just has to explain themselves in situations that call for it due to the variations that do exist. And when they want to without others projecting. It seems that bi gay straight covers the spectrum but many have stories to add. For me, gay nails it in present time, which is what matters to me so people get my present time desires. That’s been pretty much the norm I think. To each his own if you will.
Sam6969
If it is true (and I believe him), it is revolting! He is not the first one I read saying that. The problem is that to break the gay character typecasting (especially if it made you famous), you have to play straight characters and for that, you need to typecast as…a straight character in the eyes of Hollywood. So, it is vicious circle.
Donston
While he isn’t the first to say that there are also many actors who broke through playing gay characters and went on to have successful careers. The two super popular leads on the show and a transcendentally beautiful up and comer are the only ones from that series to continue having more than marginal success. Most people from popular television shows don’t go on to have much success after those shows end.
I’m sorry, but I just can’t feel bad for someone who was never going to be anywhere near A-list complaining that he doesn’t want to play gay dudes, especially since so many actual gay and homo-dominant actors stay closeted to maintain their career status. Also, there is no such thing as “straight typecast”.
Donston
I’m also not understanding why he has to work in Hollywood. He seems incredibly thirsty to be a star when it was never his destiny.
Josh447
There isn’t to my knowledge, anything called “homo-dominant”. What is that, you keep saying it and it’s not a reference to anything familiar?
Josh447
Maybe a S&M dungeon sex term?
Donston
I believe I’ve explained it to you specifically before (especially if you’re the person I think you are). “Homo-dominant” is under the very wide “bi spectrum”. It just means that your sexual attractions, your passions and your romantic instincts and comfort lean towards your same gender, and you’re settled into a “gay lifestyle”. It differs from “gay-leaning” and “homo-flexible” because it’s more specific but also because it means you’re not having sex or relationships with anyone outside your gender any longer. Or, to put it simply, it’s for very gay-leaning people not interested in hetero dynamics or hetero-normalcy or having any type of hetero image.
Josh447
I’m not the person you explained it to. It is a confusing term the way you explain it, it doesn’t sound like how you are defining it. Bi-homo-dominant would be more in line with what you are trying to say. Then it might have a rational and relational context. Homo-dominant has no reference to bi people, hence not applicable. It basically sounds like you are talking about a dominant homo.
Donston
Homo-dominant-queer would probably be the best description.
I sorta feel like if you know the majority of your orientation is with a particular gender and you’re comfortable living a life reflective of that then it’s your duty and just plain common sense to align yourself with those people. It’s especially important for men who have majority orientations that are gay or with trans-people. Otherwise, it looks like you’re desperately trying to hold on to hetero-normalcy or contending with gay-shame or trans-shame and that trying to separate yourself from the people that represent most of your orientation and lifestyle or that you’re a sexual megalomaniac. And that of course is what a lot of bi, queer, fluid, I-don’t-believe-in-labels etc identifying men contend with and try to do. I just think it’s lame, and I don’t want to fall into that bubble.
Jaxton
Women are very negative to the existence of homosexuality in the men they romanticize on the screen.
Much of the homophobia you see within the general public stems from these negative attitudes of women.
There are some stunning statistics out there that prove it.
They are stunning because they prove the existence of the bisexual double standard, and that women are to blame.
dean089
One has to wonder how many post-Downton opportunities HAVE come his way that he’s turned down as not being worthy of his talent (or, at least, his perception of his talent). Waa waa waa.
Of course, the flip side is that maybe this will discourage straight actors from playing gay characters and we’ll get some actual gay people portraying gay people on screen. Imagine that! Yes, I know, that didn’t work for Rupert Everett but somewhere along the way he forgot the magic words: don’t be a dick.
inbama
Dan Stevens now shows far more range than his role on “Downton” ever allowed.
He’s wonderful in Marvel Comics’ “Legion,” and come November, he’ll be Charles Dickens opposite Christopher Plummer’s Scrooge.
In 2006, he played a gay character with AIDS in the three part miniseries “The Line of Beauty.”
Luna1979
I don’t think gay is the first thing that comes to mind when recalling Thomas. Manipulative, vengeful, hateful, coward all work though. If anything, it’s hard to cast yourself in different rolls when you’ve played the villain for so long. I can’t imagine a sincere sweet character coming from him.
Luna1979
Roles*. Autocorrect must be hungry.
JamJewel
1) Personally, I am more bothered by foreign actors taking jobs from Americans. 2) Sounds so familiar to what the actual gay British actor has complained about for years. 3) So the ‘genre’ is the most important thing when deciding on roles? 4) If Oscar winners often have problems finding employment, what make him special?
broadshoulder
Downton is a British soap. Why would it affect Americans?
Donston
I think they’re talking about him moving to Hollywood and trying to get work there.
Josh447
Dominant homo queer or any variation thereof is just as confusing and sounds like a dungeon master or a homo that is dominant over straights someone or something. How about Kinsey scale 2 or whatever number etc?
If one is only attracted to the same sex after being bi, then the gay label seems to suffice. I’m only with men but have been with women in the past, both in great long term relationships. I have identified as gay for years now after leaving women behind sexually as I totally lost interest, but technically I’m bi as I’ve been with both. I have a bi viewpoint in life as I intimately know both sides of the fence. I am gay with a bi history but have no need to have any hereto backup label. I think one just has to explain themselves in situations that call for it due to the variations that do exist. And when they want to without others projecting.
It seems that bi gay straight covers the spectrum but many have stories to add and more labels just add confusion. Like the recently coined term “cis-gender” I find to be pure puke. Very confusing and sounds like someone’s being called a sissy. Labeling straight people that way is psychotic demeaning and inciting. It’s like, try calling a str8 red-kneck that and watch where you land.
For me, gay nails it in present time, which is what matters so people get my present time orientation. That’s been pretty much the norm I think. To each his own if you will.
alexisowens444
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bobbyjoe
Yeah, other than Daniel Day-Lewis, Billy Crystal, Ryan Phillipe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Steve Buscemi, Michael C. Hall, and about a zillion others, it’s really tough to get your career off the ground when you’re associated with playing a gay character early in your career.
Give me a freakin’ break.
Condor221
IT’s called acting. Now go and act a straight part of if the powers to be won’t let that happen, because you played gay, well you have two choices…prove you can act in another role, or accept the gay roles that come your way. It sucks mate, but dems the choices.