An article on the BBC News website about the difficulty faced by gay actors in coming out: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7377852.stm Really sad! I think I can count on one hand the openly gay actors I know...and I know if even fewer openly lesbian women. Although it's interesting what he says about it mostly being the media that makes a big deal, and that audiences probably don't mind - I think this is probably true.
Similar comments from Stephen Fry, about gay actors being pigeon-holed, which the above story links to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7176436.stm
I've always imagined there to be a difficulty in such things. Actors have to worry about their image. For example, Johnny Depp - despite being the most talented actor of his generation - could wreck his career by doing something controversial; supporting a extreme-right-wing cause, committing an assault, or suchlike. I don't believe he's the type, but it technically could happen. If he were to do such a thing, there wouldn't be a studio on the planet that would hire him at least for a few years, even if he is excellent. It's pretty much the same here. It really doesn't matter about your skills, more about your image. Ever noticed how all the old guys look distinguished, and the young leading roles in everything but comedies always look really fit and in shape? That's because people who aren't are unwanted in the industry. I think it'll be this way for a while, and we need a few trailblazers. The gay community needs its own Sidney Poitier, and we need our own Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, or whatever. We need people, gay people, who can be perfect. We need them to be faultless so the media can't take them apart, and moreover, we need them to actively promote good things. They can't have any chink in their armour, no tarnishing in their image. Eventually, if this happens, the media will stop associating being gay with being controversial or 'bad' in any way, because any gay celebrity to come out can simply point at that gay man, and say "Look at him. He's a perfect example of a human being, but he's gay. Who are you to judge what's right or wrong when he's such an active contradiction to the words you're saying?"
I agree with you ^^. It's so stupid too, the way that the industry seems to have this thing that if someone is known to be gay, they won't be able to convincingly have a straight relationship on screen. I mean, they're actors!! It's also hugely ironic because the media is famous for being full of gay people - but just not the actors! Now how stupid is that?? Plus, I really don't think that audiences care (in fact, I know that with me, I go to every film that Jodie Foster does...). We kinda need a whole load to come out at once, and then for Hollywood and the like to be like, er, if we don't cast any gay actors, then we won't have any actors....! But I don't blame the actors - not everyone wants to be political about it, and they're just looking after their livelihoods - but I really don't understand why it would damage their careers so much, or the studios think it would.
Yes, it is quite sad. And he has a good point when he says that people congratulate a straight actor playing a gay character yet not a gay actor playing a straight character. The media can be such bastards.
The ironic thing is that it's much easier to be an out actor in Britain, where the article was written, than in America, where if an actor is out of the closet it's likely because he (or she) was kicked out. The media has a vested interest in presenting a "straight" image for stars whenever possible, especially if the star happens to "play gay." What no one wants to think about is the craft and profession of acting tends to attract gays, just the same way that decorating, landscaping, hairdressing and ballet dancing for men does. (I'm not saying all actors are gay, I'm just saying that the odds are heightened that they are.) It's just that these other professions are more acceptable for gays in the eyes of society, whereas acting has to do with iconic role models which would be a threat if presented as being gay.
Okay, this really is stupid if it's that way. But I believe that things really are changing. And this can only become acceptable if more actors start "coming out".
