Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a re-watch.
The Overlooked: Six Degrees of Separation
Long before Will Smith landed himself in the hot seat for his behavior on an Oscar telecast, and long before he reigned as one of the most bankable stars in the world, the man known as the Fresh Prince had to prove himself as an actor.
Six Degrees of Separation aimed to move Smith beyond his rapper and sitcom roots. Based on the play of the same name, the movie cast Smith as Paul, a New York City rentboy with a knack for navigating high society. One night, he arrives on the doorstep of socialites Flan and Ouisa Kittredge (Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing) bleeding and crying for help. His appearance frightens the couple at first, but they welcome him to their home when he assures them he’s a friend of their kids. Flan and Ouisa find Paul’s manners and pedigree impressive, and quickly begin loaning him money and introducing him to friends. Then he vanishes, leaving the Kitteredges to track his trail.
And yes, the movie is also inspired by a true story.
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We don’t want to give away too much here, other than to say that Six Degrees of Separation offers a mediation on how lives intersect, connect and influence one another in unexpected ways. Much of the film involves Ouisa’s attempts to discover Paul’s true origins and how he managed to survive so long, and Stockard Channing throws herself into the role with all her charisma. No wonder she snagged an Oscar nomination for her work.
The rest of the cast–which also includes Ian McKellen, Anthony Michael Hall, and Anthony Rapp–delivers fine work as well. As for Mr. Smith, he has the screen presence to carry the role, though never seems comfortable. In the years since Six Degrees, the actor has spoken about his reluctance to perform the gay love scenes for fear of them damaging his career. (Smith and his male consorts never even kiss.) After all, the movie came out in 1993, the same year Philadelphia made a plea to middle America for empathy for the LGBTQ community with AIDS. Homophobia ran deep at the time, and actors perceived within the industry as queer could end up blackballed by the industry.
Even with Smith’s awkwardness, we still find a lot to love about Six Degrees of Separation, starting with Stockard Channing’s performance. It also includes rich dialogue from writer John Guare, who penned both the script and the original play. Flawed but still engrossing, we recommend the movie for its strengths and its historical context. If nothing else, it proves just how much Will Smith has grown as an actor.
Streams on HBO Max, Amazon, Hulu, iTunes & VUDU.
BLAKENOW
And? like that has changed? that jackass has always been right down the middle on the Kinsey scale bisexual for decades and so what? Really so what? He clearly has some serious issues with many things that he needs to let go of.. he apparently had to get some therapy after that movie was made to deal with his “feelings” I am talking bout the Six degrees film and not King Richard
He should take that vessel of love of his on one of those a rich persons retreat and go walk on some hot coals. maybe slap himself silly in front of a crown of people?
it’s ok Will love your rich entitled overrated talent self, love the men you are attracted to and love the women too , your crumbling marriage has been facade. Now I am not one to think everyone Hollywood is gay. but when rumors persist it pretty much means where there is smoke…. .
barryaksarben
MAN who wrote this crap. The director was furious that after and I mean after he signed to be in the movie of the play HE saw he very late in the process said he would NOT do the gay kiss which was an important part of the play. Very recently he gave this horrible interview where he stated that he had fallen in love with Stockard Channing and that she taught him so much about acting. Well, if he was in love with her she dodged a bullet. Before the oscars I was stating to a room full of people how terrible I thought he was and they all pooh poohed me UNTIL the slap. HIs speech was the absolute worst crap I have ever heard. This could have been a classic film as every REAL actor in it gave a tremendous performance esp Ms Channing. She was fantastic
moretruth
What a horrible take. Smith was horrible in this. He was afraid to be gay. It was acting malpractice. For this alone, he should be denied an Oscar for eternity.
Hillers
I recall him saying he didn’t want to do the kiss because his kids would see the movie. And there’s the quote about how his friends from Philly would see it as well.
Like, then don’t be an actor, bruh. And I guess smacking another man during the Oscars is something to be proud of? ‘Cause you’re standing up for your woman?
SDR94103
Six Degrees of Separation = It’s a known fact that Will Smith having learned he was going to kiss another guy in this film went to denzel (turd) washington and asked him what to do. denzel responder with, “if you kiss another guy, your career in Hollywood is over.” washington is an ahole.
barryaksarben
They both suck and both are egomaniacs. I truly felt that slap was him trying against hope to gain back some street cred which I was always surprised he had since he certainly didnt grow up on the streets. He is a phony and always has been. And is there a worse song ever than getting jiggy with it? That was also a blatant bid to make it happen like a mean girl
BoomerMyles
Yeah cause kissing another man on screen did so much damage to Daniel Day Lewis who has more Oscars than Denzel.
TBH
Back in the early 90s i saw the play performed in live. There is a scene in it where Paul kisses the Kitteredge’s son (played by Anthony Michael-Hall in the movie) It was an excellent play.The kiss was short and sweet. The actors had no problem with the kiss. Then when the movie came out i remember reading an article in a gay magazine that said Smith refused to kiss Anthony Michael Hall So the director had to fake the kiss by filming from an angle that obscured it. When i saw the movie i could tell it was faked. Since then i have never gone out of my way to see one of his films and i am not going to start now.
teague884
I don’t know about in the play but in the movie the person that Paul kisses is a character called Trent Conway played by Anthony Michael Hall. I think the son, Ben, was played by Anthony Rapp.
Spunk Junkie
I’m not gonna exert a bunch of keystrokes explaining why I believe Will Smith is a piece of sh*t other than to say that he is, in fact, a piece of sh*t. Period. Was then. Is now. End of story.
Fname Optional Lname
Why are you promoting the work for a person who prefers violence and has deep rooted homophobic issues? All because he played a “gay for pay” role in a movie where he allowed another actor to convince him if he did an on screen kiss his career would be over with>? ??? Stop fawning over people who are toxic to the community
white-queer-african
HE MUST BE CANCELLED! FULL STOP!
And this is not leftist woke culture.
This is purely based on his unacceptable behavior. What a POS!
On a side note. We have not had comments for several days from Fake Tits M*ntalMarcy, SamB et al which confirms to all of us that they are trolls from a Russian troll farm. Here’s hoping the stay the f*ck away!
Life is tough in Russia at the moment. Sad for innocent Russians but they must get rid of F?rher Putin.
Bosch
Sure is peculiar how they all disappear at once.
barryaksarben
Most of them are one guy and when his mom upstairs needs help he has to sign off
Toofie
Yeah, it’s been noticeable they’ve all been MIA at the same time.
miller2900
DAM, the amount of bitchy commentary by individuals that more than likely “don’t know sh*t” about Will Smith other than what they’ve seen on a few movies or television is rampant! Sure as hell, are little or no individuals here that know him personally to even begin to criticize him or any other actor/actress until you’ve walked in the same shoes both personally AND career wise! Let me be clear, I’m not supporting him one way or another! I’ve got no room to talk about situations I don’t know anything about… and remember, he didn’t kill someone or permanently damaging their career except his own. Queerty has become nothing but a negative “bitch and complain” site. Mr. Smith will “get his” to repay the only other person that really matters and that he needs to …… the human that ended up on the other end of his slap! Last I heard there are no “alive and kicking” Saints roaming the planet so, NOBODY HERE has any room to be damming Mr. Smith cause if anyone had the balls to offer up their own personal lives for review and criticism (instead of hiding behind a website) they would fail miserably like all of us would. Seems a lot of commentators forgot the old saying about people living in glass houses!
Bosch
“Seems a lot of commentators forgot the old saying about people living in glass houses!”
Are you implying we all go around slapping people when our feewings are hurted?
barryaksarben
As a celeb – he did this on purpose and so he is fair game. He has insulted the gay community on so many occasions and Karma is a bitchy queen, myself included
MISTERJETT
there was a time when i would say “love him, hate her(Jada). now, thanks to the slap, i’m not crazy about him either one of them. CHRIS, YOU ROCK!!!!!!!
wiggie
Wow! Queerty reached back almost 30 years for this?? Even before the movie was released, it was already known the he refused to do the kiss and why.
bsg1967
Refused to do gay kiss thanks to consulting homophobic JUBUS zealot Denzel Washington and claimed also his kids might see it. Guy is walking hypocrisy although Stockyard Channing and Sutherland were great in it.
Altaclipper
Ac
Joshooeerr
It’s good to see that Queerty readers have a better take on “Six Degrees” than David Reddish. WS is a long way from “very gay” in the movie; in fact, his refusal to embrace the sexuality of his character damn nearly derails the movie. And, as others have pointed out, the director (and critics at the time) were furious with him. Since it was his pitch to be seen as a serious actor, it did his career serious harm. Though nothing compared to the harm he’s just done himself.
Kevan1
Sorry if this has already been mentioned. Will Smith at the time would not do gay a kiss in the movie. Later in life he did say he regretted not doing it because it was the right thing to do for the part. As far as him slapping Chris rock, maybe he should’ve handled it differently, and behind the scenes. I must say I lost all respect for Chris rock for using such a hanging fruit to make fun of a woman who has let people know the pain of her alopecia. It is tacky when people make fun of men who have hair loss, and it is even tacky here for them to attack a woman. A real comedian could’ve done something else without having to bring someone else down. I only gained respect for Will Smith and lost respect for Chris rock.
inbama
Oh, please.
They’re awful people.
Even their skirt-wearing child applauded the violence.
Kangol2
I have to say I do think Will Smith has been decent in some of his roles over the years and terrible in others, but I was and am not a fan of his performance in Six Degrees of Separation. I really wish the filmmakers had gone with either James McDaniel, who originated the off-Broadway role of Paul, or Courtney B. Vance, who played it when it went to Broadway in 1990. Smith got a lot of praise despite his overt comments about not wanting to appear gay or to harm his career, but there were so many other actors who would have embraced the role and done a better job. As other have said, Stockard Channing was particularly good in her performance as Ouisa Kittredge.
Me2
This movie was filmed during a time when a gay role could extinguish an actor’s career, if the character showed too much affection towards the same sex. In Philadelphia, Tom Hanks and his love interest never went beyond the caressing of the hand. Why was everyone expecting Will to go above and beyond? The movie was just as effective without the kiss & Will’s star power is the only reason why anyone is still talking about it in 2022. So yes, concessions were made on both sides. When considering the context of the era, it’s not a bad thing and Will shouldn’t be persecuted for his decision.
inbama
Nor should he be praised for his cowardice then and disgusting behavior now.
Me2
Actually, it was very brave of him to take the role. And many people enjoyed his performance.
teague884
Thank you, Me2. I wanted to post a similar comment but now i can just give an “amen” to your comment.
Jim
Gay was quite homophobic about this movie, but at that time in his career he thought being in a movie with real actors would be good for him and tried to down play the gay aspect as much as he could.
Yeah, he won the Oscar, but remember the Oscar’s are about promoting the industry NOT rewarding excellence.
Cam
This article seems to be trying to rewrite history.
Smith and another guy’s characters were supposed to kiss. After signing on suddenly Smith said he wouldn’t kiss another guy onscreen so they had to film it from the back with a body double.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
I am not surprised at all there is no mention that the person depicted in Six Degrees of Separation was real and had a 20/20 segment about his life where he threw a glass of champagne in the face of the interviewer and walked out knowing what he had done would be televised world wide. Numerous producers and actors had to get restraining orders against him because he hounded everyone for money and in the end didn’t get a dime. He died of HIV but even after this play and movie came to be he continued conning whomever it was he ran across.
As for Smith he, Denzel Washington, Nicholas Cage, The Rock, Kevin Hart, Ben Affleck are amongst the most overhyped actors on the planet. Will Smith, just like LLcoolJ, knew how to manipulated their rear ends into ticket sales and did so. As for their acting skills a lot remains to be learned by both.
weket38653
hello America
weket38653
good thing gone bad .
Me2
Actually, it was very brave of him to take the role. And many people enjoyed his performance.
ladron
Will Smith NEVER once got very gay. He’s a terrible actor (period). Apparently, he consulted with Denzel back when filming “6 degrees,” as well.
Funny, he didn’t slap Regina Hall for making fun of his open (sham?) marriage … or didn’t slap the young dude pounding Jada during their “separation.”
Queerty should be ashamed of running this article and headline.
teague884
In my view Paul was a straight acting, macho person that would never want anyone to know he had sex with men. One would only discover the truth if he caught him in flagrante. Not a role I would describe as “very gay”. Paul was a person from an underprivileged background trying to pass himself off as someone from a privileged background. And also someone who was gay or bisexual trying to pass himself off as someone who was straight. I thought Will Smith was a pretty good fit for the role.
The problem with the movie, if there is one, is that the material is better suited to being a play than a movie. The playgoing audience has different expectations than the moviegoing audience.
johncp56
Fact check me he was not so very gay story goes he refused to kiss in the movie, and how gay he would act, F that keep your F!@#$%^&King Gay out your Mouth