“I do think it’s dangerous, personally. I feel, like, in any of this sort of stuff you have to take each situation… We copped a bit of flak at the time [when I played a drag queen alongside fellow straight actors Hugo Weaving and Terence Stamp in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert], ‘Why are there three straight actors playing three gay roles?’ It’s a difficult subject to get into.
I think resilience is going out the window, which is a shame. People love to be offended, which is a really offensive thing to say. Somebody is going to be offended by me saying that.
Everybody has something in themselves they feel is fragile, delicate, misunderstood, not heard, and we want that part of ourselves to be heard. We’re not relating to each other, we’re just all going, ‘I need to be heard now and I’m going to be offended until I’m heard’.
And if you cast that person in that role, ‘I’m not heard, therefore I’m offended, therefore that’s wrong, end of conversation’.
How about we take this to the next level?
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What’s happening to us?
It’s like we’re all functioning in the world as if it’s road rage and these are our cars and we’re behind the safety glass of Twitter and all that stuff. There are a lot of people who are hideously offensive out there and that needs to be addressed, but there’s a whole gamut of stuff and [people jump] on bandwagons and it’s really hard for all of us to know what to say or do.”— Guy Pearce to The Guardian, discussing the casting backlash of cis, straight actors in queer roles — Scarlett Johansson as a transman and Jack Whitehall as a gay man.
thisisnotreal
Love it, love everything he said and how he said it. Society HAS become less resilient when it comes to offense and hurt, what happened to parents teaching their children that the world will not always agree with them or support them and that is an ok thing? Problem solving and communication are basic human interactions that every person has to learn at some point in life in order to survive and thrive in this world, and throwing your hands up and saying “I’m triggered make it go away” is not the right way to go about that.
DCguy
Translation: Now that straight people, or white people, etc… are being effected it’s time to complain?
Lacuevaman
DCGurl….. right on queue…. there you go again
NovaNardis
So it’s not just about being offended. It’s not even *mostly* about being offended.
Openly queer actors for like the entire history of Hollywood weren’t given straight roles because they weren’t supposed to be believably straight. Now that there are actually commercially successful queer roles, those same actors don’t get *those* roles either.
It’s not about being political correct. It’s about equal opportunity.
thisisnotreal
Maybe in recent history, but go back a few decades and try to make a list of openly queer actors who didn’t get straight parts. Or better yet make a list of openly queer actors form a few decades ago in history, bet it won’t be a long list. Rock Hudson was gay and a lot of people knew it and he was a major leading man in Hollywood during his time ( although officially he was still closeted). Marlon Brando admitted to being somewhat bisexual and look at his career. Robert Reed, Tab Hunter both gay (and closeted) but still had major roles. The problem isn’t that gay men can’t convincingly play straight, the problem is that once people know someone is gay, they THINK that person can’t convincingly play straight. But then there are people like Matt Bomer, Luke Evans, Neil Patrick Harris, Sir Ian Mckellan, who seem to do fine.
Donston
Being closeted doesn’t count. Hollywood doesn’t care if you’re closeted. And Brando said he hooked up with some guys in a couple interviews throughout the decades. But hardly anyone paid much attention at the time. And he was never known to be in a real relationship with a guy and never openly dated men.
Most of those dudes you list in the end aren’t doing “fine” compared to where they perhaps could be. Both Luke Evans and Matt Bomer were touted as the next leading men. Now, their careers have completely tailspinned and neither can get any lead roles in studio films and are clawing to stay relevant. Neil Patrick Harris gets bit roles here and there but is mostly doing stage work. And he is helped by being “adorable” and not particularly a sex symbol. Ian Mckellan wasn’t really out until he was already up in age and had secured his legacy. There aren’t any legitimately out leading men in film or even really American television.
Godabed
I enjoyed one of the most classic queer films Priscilla Queen of the Desert, I like To Wong Fu too. He’s the things that Guy is not addressing. A lot of the mainstream films that portray queer people are generally played by Straight men, Six Degrees of Separation, Anthony Michael Hall and Will Smith great actors and great movies. The issue is access and opportunity, Guy is a Straight white male in an industry that markets heterosexual european images. Gay men do not have the same access to roles as their heterosexual counterparts. What “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Black Panther” prove is that minorities can carry films, it debunks that old myst. Queer Stories are how straight actors win awards, on our stories yet not including us in them. At least Moonlight had LGBTQ writers, & directors and pansexual Janelle Monae in it. The Importance of shows like Pose also proves that our stories can be just as entertaining when we tell it. DTLA was a great series that deserved a second season while trash like “Looking” got all the publicity but that’s a different story.
We know minority stories sell. It’s very selfish of Guy as someone who got his break from a Queer film to say something so ignorant.
thisisnotreal
Why do I feel like the only person who believes that acting is about ACTING? it’s about pretending and convincingly playing a part that doesn’t always align with your real life story. I don’t need to be a woman to try and understand the hardships they go through just being women, so why can’t straight men (who are also in the majority of the population mind you) be allowed to research and play the role of a gay person? THe personal life of the actor playing the part should be irrelevant, they just need to be able to suspend the belief of the audience and take them on a journey and make them feel that their character is a real person with real feelings and struggles. If they can do that then it doesn’t matter who they sleep with as if that’s a box that needs to be checked off during casting. I’m not bipolar or homicidal or a bunch of other things, that doesn’t mean I should be any less qualified to portray that type of character over a person with those actual issues.
Chrisk
Depends on the role. Movies that require a certain amount of sex appeal are never going to be offered to gay men. That goes Way beyond just acting. I think it’s all stupid and they’re all overpaid way too much but it is what it is. Bored Housewives and teen girls got to have their fantasies. Comedies and of course dramas are a different matter.
Vince
Priscilla and Too Wong Foo were such amazing movies in their own ways. Although Priscilla was the stand out classic.
Godabed
I don’t think you read what I wrote, because i list several movies which star straight men in gay roles, which I even admitted to liking. Since it doesn’t seem you read it, i’ll recap.
The issue isn’t whether straight men can play gay roles, but why don’t gay men don’t have the same opportunity when it comes to being hired as actors. Whether the roles are straight or gay, or trans. Representation is important, so if gays must only play certain types of roles, they should be then allowed to play roles within their communities and tell their stories the way they should be told.
There easier for you to digest.
Godabed
That was for @thisisnotreal
leecee
Barry Jenkins, the director of “Moonlight”, is heterosexual.
Paco
Gay actors should be demanding more roles that aren’t just gay roles. They also need to hone their craft so they are capable of playing whatever character they are asked to play. A lot of the gay films are filled with really bad acting.
My point is, you should need to be more than just gay for a gay role. No one will want to watch if your acting is bad.
Crystix
I’d think that has more to do with funding. Most gay movies are a labor of love because Big Hollywood can’t see it turning a profit. And maybe it won’t. We’re only 10% of the population. But “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Get Out” seem to be turning points showcasing how Diversity can outperform expectations.
Casinoguy
Bravo Paco… acting is about the quality of the craft… not about you sleep with.
PinkoOfTheGange
Actually Guy talks more about pearl clutching outrage that the casting creates.
Crystix
If a huge hollywood studio is going to take our lives and our stories to the big screen, they have an obligation to make sure we are included. So what if the lead “gay” characters are straight. Scarlet Johansen will prolly be playing a Lesbian soon with her record. But you can’t “Straight-Wash” the entire movie. Supporting and Minor roles need to be inclusive. Gay and Trans actors have a hard time in the boys club that is hollywood. These studios need to pay our community back by including us as actors, or grips, or assistants. Let US get our foot in the door, so that down the road there CAN BE GAY AND TRANS ACTORS that bring in the big bucks like Scarlet used to.
The time of letting others use us, making $millions$ off us, with no reciprocation is over. We deserve to be a part of the game. And those USING us need to INCLUDE us in their Reindeer games.
PinkoOfTheGange
You did a much better job at this then the schlock I deleted.
Crystix
Thanks 😀
Hussain-TheCanadian
WOW……Guy Pearce is a scholar, wise words, im impressed.
I’m happy that many actors are coming out, and standing firm in their stances against some of the bigotry and homophobia that plagues many studios in Hollywood.
radiooutmike
I dissent here.
Sorry, a handsome, rich, white, heterosexual cis-male tells the under-represented people that they’re pearl-clutchers and should be more resilient? Say what?
I get what he’s **trying** to say. But once again, a privileged male is mansplaining something that is more nuanced than he thinks it is.
Who IS complaining? Is it straight, white men complaining they’re not getting enough of those lucrative gay roles? Also, why is this only a gay man thing? No one ever really complains when a heterosexual plays a lesbian?
Ari
So let me get this straight. Special consideration should be given to gay actors for gay roles? Why? Acting is about acting.. transforming into something completely different. Any type of role should be given to an amazing gay actor. And maybe directors should make an extra effort to cast gay actors… but not for gay roles.
The problem is most gay actors are not out and the pool of actors is very small to choose from. And there are very few gay leading man types out there. There are only a handful of Luke Evans’ out there.
Start demanding better roles for black people, gays, Asians, etc. Stop demanding gay actors for gay roles. It just makes us look silly.
CanadianGuy62
Please, God…no! I cannot handle any more Neil Patrick Harris or George Takei!!!
jpcolter
If all things were equal for actors, then there would be no issue casting any actor in any role which is how it ought to be. But all things are not equal yet – gay actors are still actively discriminated against for straight roles so when there are gay roles there should be more of an effort to cast gay actors..
paul dorian lord fredine
sorry, but i thought that’s why it’s called ‘acting’. if you end up saying only gay actors can portray gay characters, wouldn’t that be crossing the line into stereotyping, even caricature? as long as everyone is given an equal chance to play a role, the best ACTOR should get the part, regardless of sexual preference/identity/orientation.
johnnymcmxxx
I agree with him. It’s called “acting”. Don’t blame the actors if you have a problem with casting issues. Blame the producers, the director, the studio but leave the actors alone. They are lucky to be selected for any role.
Donston
Some of what he’s saying makes sense. Acting is acting. The problem is “queer” stories are constantly being told to make money and primarily to win awards. But “queer” actors (and by “queer” I mean people who live gay or mostly gay lifestyles and trans people) are constantly being shoved aside. While being out in Hollywood is still something that people are told not to be. People who come out in the industry are constantly saying they were shamed into staying closeted and warned that being out would stiffle/limit their careers. That’s especially the case if you’re a male.
If you’re going to address one angle of the issue you have to address it all. The fact that he’s speaking from a one dimensional and not particularly sympathetic or understanding standpoint is the problem with his statement.
Goddess24
Uh…Hugo Weaving is openly gay. Just sayin’!
Donston
No, he is not.
DCguy
These comments would be relevant if LGBT actors had ever been given a shot and there was a pool of LGBT actors to choose from.
But right now, because of Hollywood bigotry, there isn’t a pool of LGBT actors to pick from, therefore all the roles would go to straight actors. Sorry Guy, but let’s wait until there are one or two major studio films that actually have LGBT leads before we complain that they are being given too much.
Based on this, will we be seeing Scarlett Johanson staring in the “Whitney Houston Story”?
Lacuevaman
it’s called acting. queers have been doing it since day one
Mike
Is everybody here under age 20? Don’t any of you remember when there was NEVER a gay role in a movie unless the character:
(a) Was disgraced, ridiculed and used only for comic relief,
(b) Was murdered or committed suicide by the end of the picture,
(c) Was utterly self-loathing.
For generations, these were the only things that Hollywood ever used gay roles for. Now there are heroic gay roles on the screen and you’re complaining that too many straight people want to play them? Some people just live to be outraged. You should get out more.
Donston
Once again, you’re kind of minimizing the “debate”. Hollywood is still known for being homophobic and for pressing gay/homo-leaning actors to keep things “private” or lowkey. That hasn’t changed. Also, where are these “gay heroes” you speak of? In small indy movies or as fourth or fifth string supporting characters? We’ve yet to have a legit gay character lead or even co-lead a halfway decent buget Hollywood picture. And honestly, I found gay characters in most films more interesting 30 or 40 years ago. Too many movies now are merely placating demographics rather than trying to present interesting individual characters.
So, while there’s been some advancements, I definitely understand why some are asking for more.
natosio
I’m not sure why some of us are so ready to dismiss an ally, be he straight or gay, out or closeted, trans- or cis-gender.
Agreed, it is frustrating to see yet another gay role go to yet another straight actor, and it is tempting to insist that Hollywood should view this as yet another missed opportunity to employ a gay actor who most likely struggles to find any kind of work—especially if he or she has chosen to come out publicly.
But in the end, I must agree with Pearce, primarily because the next logical step from consistently awarding gay roles only to gay actors would then be to award straight roles only to straight actors. No actors, gay, straight, or otherwise, would benefit from from such a restrictive attitude towards casting.
However, I think the larger problem addressed by Pearce is the lack of what he calls “resilience,” and that public discussion of any issue seems to be plagued by a kind of knee-jerk intolerance if one does does come into perfect alignment with someone else’s views. I wonder if the prevalence of social media is partly to blame, with its limited division between “like” and “dislike.” Such simplistic, either/or reactions are usually too reductive, and require no real critical thought. Critical thinking is much more difficult; it requires you to step away from your own convictions and analyze your opponent’s arguments in order to discover where they might actually have a valid point.
Luckily, Queerty’s comment section encourages that kind of exchange, in spite of some of our more inflexible readers…
Donston
We really need to stop hyping this “allies” stuff. People give tons of passes because someone is a supposed “ally”. Just because someone played a drag queen thirty years ago doesn’t mean that they know what they’re talking about. It doesn’t even mean they’re a genuine “ally”. He was just an actor (a very unknown actor at the time) playing a part. There have been plenty of actors that have taken on certain roles that reflect them being an “ally” to whatever demo but later said or did some very troubling or hateful things. And there are plenty of people who latch on to certain demos or “movements” for their own benefit or ego or social pressures. This “ally” praising is getting way out of hand.
I do agree that seeing things in black and white is a terrible instinct many have. Saying only “queer” actors should play “queers” is limited and frankly not realistic. But not acknowlegding the entire struggle and the nuances of the frustrations is what makes Guy’s comments easy to dismiss.
OzJosh
What is presented here as one quote from Guy Pearce is actually a conflation of two completely separate sections of an interview. His remarks about people taking offence were completely unconnected to his comments on gay roles, not an extension of them, as the re-purposed quote suggests.
He’s also absolutely right about “dangerous” notions that gay roles must be played by gay actors. The direct corollary of that is that straight roles must be played by straight actors, which essentially leaves all gay actors without a career – just a hobby playing the occasional gay role. There isn’t a professional gay actor anywhere in the world who would be happy with that.
dwes09
A person of color once articulated that what would constitute real equitable casting would be when roles where race or gender or physical characteristics went to people of color or women or fat people or disabled people based on ability not on the default being white and slim and hetero.
In our case, when gay roles go to gay and hetero people and when straight roles go to both as well, that will constitute progress. When crowd scenes or diners in restaurant scenes include recognizable gay and lesbian couples, and when fey men or butch women are not played for laughs, that will constitute progress.
I object more to comments from the director and actor that imply gay folks generally are “over the top” and amusing than objecting to the sexual orientation of the actor who got the part. It’s acting, it’s a craft. All too many today forget that art is artifice. Not all songwriters write about themselves, not all first person novels are autobiography. There is a long history of creating art from the point of view of somebody else.
dwes09
Whoops, left out a few words somehow:
Where roles in which race, gender, or physical characteristics were not specified went to people of color…etc.
Another example, if the script calls for middle aged man, the default is almost always going to be white and not disabled. If the script calls for a woman but is otherwise left unspecified, most often she will be young slim and white. Where casting calls for a group of couples out together, they are very unlikely to include a same sex couple. And so on.
In casting a male lead, if race is not specified you know he is going to be white and stereotypically masculine.
dwes09
Whoa!
Moderators did their job and deleted the comment I was posting about.
Good Job!!
billnyc555
Well, yeah, NOW I’m “offended” too. The LGBT community has survived and overcome massive disinterest in our survival during the AIDS crisis. Now, we are a thriving community of support for one another, not just our straight allies. We are survivors who won’t take no for an answer. We want Gay roles, especially major roles in Film, Television and on Broadway played by OUT GAY ACTORS. (Frequently, producers resist this movement in EVERY medium because they worry that they can’t get projects produced without big stars.) It is our duty to insist. Gay actors playing gay roles. That’s what we want and thats what we should pay for. Only. Equal treatment in the Entertainment industry is a MUST.
Birdbrain1963
FU Guy Pierce. You have a job. I would like to see more gay roles for gays so that maybe they could show how to be real in the roles given. Your fake queen role in Priscilla was shit.
AxelDC
By demanding identity casting, you risk ghettoizing gay actors. You also risk forcing gay actors to remain in the closet.
If straight actors cannot play gay roles, then by logic gay actors cannot play straight roles. Since there are very few gay roles, it meats coming out is a limiting act. Actors coming out made the public much more aware of our existence in society and more accepting of our rights. Forcing them back into the closet is a huge setback for gay rights.
Many straight actors have done wonderful jobs playing gay: Dustin Hoffman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchette, etc. Many gay actors have had vibrant careers playing mostly straight roles: Neil Patrick Harris, Roddy McDowell, Rock Hudson, Ian McKellen etc.
Acting is pretending you are someone else. You don’t have to be a wizard to play one in a film, so why should your sexuality matter?
nitejonboy
As an actor, I don’t want to be cast for a gay role because I’m gay, I want to be cast because the casting director sees something in me and thinks I’m right for the role. We’re actors, not puzzle pieces.
Dymension
My sentiments exactly!