“I don’t want to be limited as a gay man or a gay actor. I don’t want to be limited to only playing gay roles. But at the same time, to be told I might be endangering my career by choosing to play more than one of them? That just didn’t seem true or accurate of the times. I’m a part of a shift happening where, yes, I’m a gay actor who’s taking on gay roles, but there are so many more queer people stepping into positions of power, whether that is as producers or writers or directors. Suddenly, the queer narratives that become available are complicated and different from one another. As more representation becomes available, the breadth of queer experience and human experience becomes available to play. And those are stories that I am just interested in and want to tell. Because I think that they are impactful for a wide audience, not just a queer audience, and they’re stories that haven’t been told.”–Actor Charlie Carver, telling DigitialSpy how coming out as gay affected his career. The actor is currently having an explosion of work with roles in Ratched, The Boys in the Band and The Batman
DarkZephyr
He’s so adorable.
MacAdvisor
Smart kid.
4of14
I’d be happy just watching him butter bread.
Consider This
Slowly. Using his…uh, index finger.
Catholicslutbox
Gay roles are better than no roles. just saying.
I don’t think his straight brother has been getting any roles.
Rock Star
He does resemble a young Matt Damon, so when Matt gets older Charlie could take over the franchise. Nice looking chap.
1967Man
Isn’t it hypocritical to say “only trans people can play trans roles” and “only gay people can play gay roles” but then say “trans and gay people can play straight roles”? I mean, if we claim a straight can’t know what it means to be gay and so can’t play a gay role, then why can’t the straights claim the opposite?
Donston
Only a small percentage of people have this perspective. For most, it’s about wanting greater fairness and less bias in the casting process. It’s about wanting people’s career to not die or be greatly limited if they “come out”. It’s about trying to snuff out the industry’s promotion of the closet, hetero pressures and homo shaming.
Here and there, I see some people saying what you’re saying. But most of the complaints are not about believability. It’s about the industry’s biases and off-putting patterns.
Cam
Let me know when we have massive numbers of straight people being denied jobs in Hollywood. For the entirety of Hollywood’s existence LGBTQ actors were blocked from working if there was a hint about their sexuality.
And now the excuse for not hiring them is “Well we need somebody famous for this role” . So they blocked out actors from getting jobs and becoming famous, then use the excuse that there aren’t any out actors famous enough to hire.
So no, it isn’t a problem. When it becomes a problem, that will mean we’ve finally reached some semblance of equality.
inbama
That is a trans position.
I have never heard sour grapes from gays and lesbians over established stars giving often brilliant performances like Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Righjt” and Sean Penn in “Milk” which helped these important films reach a wider audience.
balttymore
So he didn’t get on Ryan Murphys radar because he came out? He does have a straight twin brother that I don’t see getting cast in anything that ryan murphy is doing
Donston
It’s not really Ryan Murphy’s responsibility to give jobs to every out “queer” in Hollywood.
BaltoSteve
@balttymore, Your comment is a little jumbled. Are you alluding that the only reason his is in two of Murphy’s projects and on Murphy’s radar is because Charlie came out? And that his brother, Max, isn’t finding the roles because he is straight?
Cam
@Donston
Just like it wasn’t most directors job before Murphy to block every LGBTQ actor from getting hired. But they did it.
It may not be Murphy’s job, but I’m really glad he’s doing it and hope that his success will so others in Hollywood that they can be successful and hire people that represent the wide diversity that exists.
Mister P
Hopefully we don’t get to the point where only murderers can play murderers.
Bengali
We do have a criminal playing president though.
AxelDC
This is why gay roles shouldn’t be limited to straight actors. When you create a gay acting ghetto, gay actors will be afraid to come out to be limited from straight roles.
rray63
Yeah, we are doing great as a community. Scarlett Johansson was set to make Mishandled a transgendered role. Our community screamed so loudly that she wasn’t trans so was unsuitable for the role. She backed out and guess where the movie is on the studios schedules to make. Let me know, who, when, where, etc.? It’s in movie purgatory. WE doomed the film.
nm4047
with the exception of his minor role in desperate housewives, my question to him. If the ‘acting’ skills are up there, why does he only seem to known as the gay character in every other show he has been a bit part in? Teen wolf, Boys in the Band. Equally, what is wrong with being cast as the gay character? It still pays the bills.
Gadfeal
Have he and his identical brother ever been interviewed for insight on their differences and similarities, and if Charlie’s homosexuality led to more divergence than would be seen in twin of the same orientation?