The phenomenon of straight actors playing gay roles is not brand new. But over the years, more and more actors who identify as hetero have been comfortable with roles portraying GLBT characters.
This issue was highlighted with the recent Gus Van Sant film, Milk, which chronicles the life and death of the first openly gay politician, Harvey Milk.
Straight actor, Sean Penn plays the title role while fellow hetero, James Franco plays his lover.
After Milk, Franco will appear in the movie Howl, about the gay beat poet, Alan Ginsburg.
These are just some examples. In recent years, women like Charlize Theron, Chloe Sevigny, Penelope Cruz and Kate Winslet have played lesbian or bisexual characters, while leading hetero lives. And straight identified men including Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhal River Phoenix and Robin Williams have also tackled gay roles.
This shouldn’t be taken lightly. There was a time when playing a gay role would have been seen as a career killer. But these days that doesn't seem to be as large an issue.
What is an issue for some people, is that certain roles are still closed to gay men and lesbians. Also, many people feel that once a GLBT actor has been typecast, he or she is much less likely to be offered a non-gay role. Additionally, some worry that Hollywood is establishing a tradition of heterosexual actors playing gay characters, when gay actors could also do the job.
Still, many see hetero actors’ comfort with gay roles as a sign of growing tolerance. And, in a world where the phrase "No Homo" can still be heard from straight men afraid that their actions will label them gay, these actors artistic choices are a needed reminder for the general public that it really is okay to be (or in the case of these actors, play) gay.
