“There’s a big problem with masculinity and homosexuality that they can’t somehow go hand in hand.
That we can’t have someone in a Marvel movie who’s gay in real life and plays some superhero. I mean, when is that going to happen?”— Kit Harington at the Toronto International Film Festival, in an interview promoting his new film, The Death and Life of John F Donovan.
queerty02
You guys, don’t feel the need to go so far with the word count. This isn’t the New Yorker.
Josh447
? LoL Boom.
Josh447
?
Josh447
Teaching moment…smileys translate to question mark here.
CarrieV
LOL, Josh447. I have long wondered why QUEERTY’s readers were so ‘question-marky’.
Thanks for the teaching moment, as you call it. It actually cleared something up!
Analog smiley 🙂
CarrieV
D’oh! *Accidental* learning moment:
I typed in the colon, the hyphen, and the end parenthesis to make an analog smiley and da bit¢h turned into a regular smiley all on its own.
gaimingfoxer
Someone being gay in real life but plays a striaght superhero?
You mean like Ezra Miller being the Flash in the DC movies?
You mean like Wentworth Miller playing straight Captain Cold in the DC TV Shows?
You mean like Ellen Paige playing straight character Blink in the Xmen movie?
(Although she might not have been out at the time? Not sure about that)
Donston
Ezra identifies as “queer”. He also doesn’t seem all that interested in dudes besides kissing some here and there for an audience and has only openly dated women. Wentworth merely has a small role popping up on couple TV shows. And no, Ellen was not out when she was cast in the X-Men movies. I’m pretty sure Harrington is talking about a legit out male actor in a major action/adventure film role or even a main role in an action/adventure TV show.
I don’t understand is why a superhero has to be masculine or the actor playing him has to be masculine. What Kit was really going at but was kind of afraid to say is that being an openly gay, homosexual, homo-dominant and/or homo-leaning actor in Hollywood automatically puts a ceiling on your career potential and limits the type of roles you’ll likely be able to get, especially if you’re a new face.
QueerTruth
Exactly. I understand where he was going with this… but the actual quote doesn’t make any sense since it’s not true.
gaimingfoxer
@Donston
Why a superhero in particular?
Well, because a couple of years ago, when they were talking about the casting of Superman for Man of Steel, Matt Bomber was considered for the role but was ruled out because they didn’t want an out actor to be picked.
When Sony’s email leaked, one of the noted things they said is no gay Spiderman.
So yes, the issue was prominent in Superhero movies in the past. But things moved on since then.
Also in general, Superheroes are often enough major buff guys. Marvel has the mandatory shirtless scene in every movie. Heck Chris Pratt had to do the entire makeover for Guardians in the first place.
Sure some exceptions exist, but there’s a reason why almost all Superheroes in the MCU, DCEU, XMEN etc look like they just came out of the cast of baywatch.
Donston
Many superheroes are not super buff or macho. In fact, about half of them aren’t. So, I don’t see why being hyper masculine is something someone definitely needs. It just made me uncomfortable that he chose to solely focus on masculinity.
There hasn’t been a male actor who is openly and unashamedly gay/homo-dominant/homo-leaning that has been given a major role in one of these big tentpole films. Quinto and Luke Evans were at least semi closeted when they were cast. (And both have had careers that have suffered probably due to being out). While we can go back to Ian McKellan, who had already been working for many decades, built up a legacy, plenty of awards and isn’t much of a conventional sex symbol.
Being a guy who is unafraid to let people know that your romantic/relationship preferences are homo definitely hurts you in Hollywood, especially when it comes to being eye candy and especially when it comes to trying to be a part of big productions.
Greg
@Donston What you don’t understand is, the major superheroes are masculine. They try to make them like the comic book character. Some minor characters might be a little bit fem like Loki, or Nightcrawler. It is true about being an openly gay actor in Hollywood though. But if someone was homosexual, homo-dominant and/or homo leaning actor, how would anybody know unless they were out?
Greg
@gaimingfoxer “the cast of Baywatch”?
Donston
What I meant by “masculine” is overtly macho. There are plenty of superhero characters who are awkward, nerdy, introverted, decidedly un-manly. Not being “masculine” isn’t the same as being feminine. Though there are some characters who are borerline fem.
This feeling that openly gay/homo-dominant/homo-leaning men have to “prove” just how masculine they can be is an overall problem as is the idea that masculinity and not being “obvious” is a highly treasured trait among gay men. I just wish Kit had approached this topic at a different angle. And as others have mentioned, Hollywood seems to embrace that homosexuality/being gay/being homo-leaning and masculinity can go hand-in-hand. They just have an issue of embracing legitimately out of the closet actors, especially in major films.
Sam6969
I read recently people commenting on Youtube about Ezra miller’s character as Flash in the last Justice League movie. About a hundred and half agreed with the OP’s original statement that he looked too gay, not masculine and mature enough. They complained another superhero was ruined. Many people defended him, but not as much —it was just a thread not necessarily representative though. I loved Ezra Miller’s Flash in this movie, precisely because he is where you do not expect him to be (in every sense of the word). He shows a different kind of masculinity we are not used to watching in such movies.
Tranceboi1
I can’t wait for the day that going to the movies is not like going to a theme park. So sick of action hero films. They are so stupid . I think the times we live in so many people are reliving there child hood. Hollywood can’t crank out any decent movies anymore. Hopefully that will change soon. I have talked to so many people that are sick of them. Thank GOD for horror movies and independent film. They are the only thing worth seeing anymore. The rest all suck.
crowebobby
You mean you wouldn’t rush to see “Micky Mouse meets the Lone Ranger in the Valley of the Brontosaurus”?
gaimingfoxer
You’re really wrong about that. The reason why movies heavily skew into action is… The international market.
Today, the international audience is more valuable than just the american one. In particular the far east.
It’s far easier to sell a movie that’s universal with good guys beating up bad guys with one line zingers and explosions than it is selling stuff like Rom-Coms and such.
unreligious
Try watching some Bollywood movies not the song and dance ones but ones like PK or Gangoobai or My name is Khan.
Greg
Nobody makes you go see the superhero movies. What do you mean “Hollywood”? It’s only Marvel that’s cranking out the superhero movies, with a few from Warner Bros/DC and even less from Fox. I don’t get how watching a movie based on a comic book character is reliving one’s childhood. If people are sick of them, they don’t have to go see them. If they aren’t going to see them, how can they be sick of them? I think people just like to complain.
GayEGO
Meh, my husband is a butch and as time moves on, more butchies will come out!
john.k
A surprising comment from an actor!
dean089
I think a big part of it has to do with which side of the Atlantic you’re on. English actors tend to focus more on the acting aspect than their Hollywood counterparts. So while Hollywood actors debate the repercussions of being straight and playing a gay character, or being gay and playing a straight character, English actors are more like “I’m an actor” and don’t waste much time agonizing about it.
Donston
European based movies and TV shows with little to no Hollywood connections don’t often have as much money and potential success at stake. That’s why we’ve seen a few actors over the years be out when they’re overseas but then attempt to at least semi hop back in the closet once they’re working in Hollywood. We’re talking about potential billions of dollars for a movie franchise, millions and millions for the actor and a career that could be set for life. Also, there’s just a lot of lowkey internalized homophobia and hetero-worship in Hollywood. That’s a problem everywhere, but it seems particularly concentrated there.
daver01
I’m not sure whether this is homophobic or not but I can assure Mr. Harrington that I know several gay men who are as “masculine”, if not more, than he is. In any case, what does he mean by “masculinity”?
Donston
I don’t think the entirety of his quote is that difficult to comprehend.
capitalchorister
This is news to me. From my perspective, homosexuality is hyper-masculinized in movies and TV. Popular gay characters, unless they do drag, are expected to be SUPER DUPER butch. I can easily imagine a gay, masculine superhero, but what about a nelly queen providing anything but comic relief?
Donston
That was kind of the point I was trying to make earlier. However, I see your scenario as more likely to happen sooner, because although gay/homo-leaning men are frequently presented as “butch” those men are most often presented as humorless, trauma-filled and not very sexual. And those elements don’t really work in most action/superhero movies.
Paco
Heterosexual induced identity crisis.
Greg
You know nothing Jon Snow.
Lacuevaman
most of you queens would not know masculinity if it turned you down in a roadside tea room
djmcgamester
I don’t know if the problem is just with movies. I can sometimes feel a bit out-of-place for not being on the effeminate side. I know there are plenty of “masculine” gays out there but I don’t know them. I’m not hyper-masculine or anything but generally speaking people don’t know unless it comes up in conversation regarding dating or some reference to a hot guy.
To be clear, I don’t care if guys are effeminate, but I feel so out of place for not really understanding “gay culture” or knowing anything about the latest pop stars or celebrities or fashion. Again, I know I’m not unique, but I don’t come across many (any?) of these guys.
TomG
It’s only in the eyes of homophobes that masculinity and gayness don’t go together. They expect guys to be “swishy”.
bitchforeal
why is comment section closed n certain post. I just got an account and I really wanted to comment on something that was closed.