I agree with Blanchett: straight actors should not be prevented from playing gay characters. I've always thought this, as a gay (former) actor myself. A lot of LGB people like to argue that only...
I agree with Blanchett: straight actors should not be prevented from playing gay characters. I've always thought this, as a gay (former) actor myself.
A lot of LGB people like to argue that only gay/lesbian actors should play gay/lesbian characters. However, the logical corollary of that is that only straight actors should play straight characters. That would block LGB actors from playing anything other than LGB roles.
When I was a stage actor (amateur, not professional), I played straight and gay characters, and there was never any question about my ability to play either type of role. I actually had my first-ever man-woman kiss on stage, with a very understanding female actor who helped me overcome my awkwardness at kissing a woman for the first time. Noone ever told me I couldn't play a role because of my sexuality, and I don't see why we should tell anyone they can't play a role because of their sexuality. I believe that rejecting an actor for a role because of their sexuality is called "discrimination" - and this is wrong no matter who's being discriminated against.
There may be a problem with an under-representation of LGB characters on our screens and our stages, but that has nothing to do with who should play them. Straight or gay, actors should be able to play whatever role they want (assuming they have the ability to play the role, of course).
A bigger problem is that openly gay actors are often prevented from playing straight characters, on the basis that, supposedly, audiences won't accept a gay man as a romantic leading man or as an action hero. That problem needs addressing. Rather than restricting gay and lesbian actors to gay and lesbian roles, we need to open up their options so that they can compete for straight roles on an equal footing with straight actors. Stop stereotyping gay and lesbian actors!
Note that I have deliberately excluded transgender actors and characters from my comment. That's a much thornier issue, which I feel less qualified to speak about. I'm therefore restricting myself to gay (and lesbian) issues, not transgender issues.
So I'm transgender so I'll put in my opinion on the issue. As far as transgender actors and characters many people ignorantly group it with LGB casting issues. For people that are portrayed as...
So I'm transgender so I'll put in my opinion on the issue. As far as transgender actors and characters many people ignorantly group it with LGB casting issues. For people that are portrayed as early or pre-transition I think it's perfectly fine casting cisgender people in the roles and that's pretty straightforward. However when the character is supposed to be in transition or post-transition it really should go to someone who is transgender unless there is a specific appearance requirement that they cannot find a qualified person for the role (such as an adapted character from other media).
Why can't a cis male actor play a post-transition trans male character, or a cis female actor play a post-transition trans female character? What's wrong with that? Also, if only trans actors...
Why can't a cis male actor play a post-transition trans male character, or a cis female actor play a post-transition trans female character? What's wrong with that?
Also, if only trans actors should play trans characters, does that also mean that only cis actors should play cis characters?
Generally speaking (there are many opinions, but this seems the most common), the argument is not that cis man playing trans man is fundamentally wrong. Instead the problem is that trans actors...
Why can't a cis male actor play a post-transition trans male character, or a cis female actor play a post-transition trans female character? What's wrong with that?
Generally speaking (there are many opinions, but this seems the most common), the argument is not that cis man playing trans man is fundamentally wrong.
Instead the problem is that trans actors are very, very often barred from playing cis characters. So the absolute minimum that should be done is to reserve at least the trans roles to trans actors.
The optimal situation of course would be that trans actors consistently get jobs playing cis roles, and then this wouldn't really matter anymore. At least as long as it's not cis women playing trans men or the other way around (because it heavily implies that trans men are really women and so on).
I haven't really seen any serious push-back towards straight people playing gay roles, and this article seems to mention only questions towards Blanchett's sexuality, so the title seems a little sensational...
Yeah I agree with everything you just said. I would also like to add that having a cisgender person playing a transgender part can be problematic if they are ignorant of what it means to be...
Yeah I agree with everything you just said. I would also like to add that having a cisgender person playing a transgender part can be problematic if they are ignorant of what it means to be transgender. Writing and directing from ignorant cisgender people can be to blame as well. I do agree that it is not fundamentally wrong to cast someone cisgender in transgender roles though.
Okay. But I don't see how the solution to that is to bar cis actors from playing trans characters. Surely, as you say, the optimal solution is to push for trans actors to play cis roles. (Paging...
Instead the problem is that trans actors are very, very often barred from playing cis characters.
Okay. But I don't see how the solution to that is to bar cis actors from playing trans characters. Surely, as you say, the optimal solution is to push for trans actors to play cis roles. (Paging @StellarV who I originally replied to.)
I haven't really seen any serious push-back towards straight people playing gay roles
It keeps coming up. As just one example, there was a huge fuss back in the day when straight actor Eric McCormack was cast in the leading gay role of Will Truman in the TV show 'Will & Grace'. And that problem never seemed to go away.
Well, yes. It's not like we can't push for multiple solutions. The immediate problem still persists. This is not something I'm personally familiar with, but cursory look gives the impression that...
Surely, as you say, the optimal solution is to push for trans actors to play cis roles.
Well, yes. It's not like we can't push for multiple solutions. The immediate problem still persists.
As just one example, there was a huge fuss back in the day when straight actor Eric McCormack was cast in the leading gay role of Will Truman in the TV show 'Will & Grace'.
This is not something I'm personally familiar with, but cursory look gives the impression that the criticism of the series was about the broader mishandling of the topic rather than general rejection of straight actors playing lgb characters.
If you know any resources articulating why straight actors shouldn't play gay characters, I'd be interested in reading them! As I said, it's not really a viewpoint I'm familiar with.
It wasn't a general rejection of a straight actor playing a gay character, it was specifically some LGBT people complaining that a gay role had been taken by a straight actor (yet again!) when...
general rejection of straight actors playing lgb characters.
It wasn't a general rejection of a straight actor playing a gay character, it was specifically some LGBT people complaining that a gay role had been taken by a straight actor (yet again!) when there were so many gay actors available.
It's also important to note that Sean Hayes, who played Jack, hadn't officially come out at the time, so it looked like there were two straight actors in these two gay roles. (Although a lot of people suspected Hayes was gay, given his previous involvement in gay-themed movies, so the focus was more on McCormack who was obviously straight.)
If you know any resources articulating why straight actors shouldn't play gay characters,
There are no "resources" about this. It's not an area of scientific study. It's just a feeling among some LGBT people that acting opportunities have been taken away from LGBT people by casting cis/straight people in roles that LGBT actors could play.
I agree with Blanchett: straight actors should not be prevented from playing gay characters. I've always thought this, as a gay (former) actor myself.
A lot of LGB people like to argue that only gay/lesbian actors should play gay/lesbian characters. However, the logical corollary of that is that only straight actors should play straight characters. That would block LGB actors from playing anything other than LGB roles.
When I was a stage actor (amateur, not professional), I played straight and gay characters, and there was never any question about my ability to play either type of role. I actually had my first-ever man-woman kiss on stage, with a very understanding female actor who helped me overcome my awkwardness at kissing a woman for the first time. Noone ever told me I couldn't play a role because of my sexuality, and I don't see why we should tell anyone they can't play a role because of their sexuality. I believe that rejecting an actor for a role because of their sexuality is called "discrimination" - and this is wrong no matter who's being discriminated against.
There may be a problem with an under-representation of LGB characters on our screens and our stages, but that has nothing to do with who should play them. Straight or gay, actors should be able to play whatever role they want (assuming they have the ability to play the role, of course).
A bigger problem is that openly gay actors are often prevented from playing straight characters, on the basis that, supposedly, audiences won't accept a gay man as a romantic leading man or as an action hero. That problem needs addressing. Rather than restricting gay and lesbian actors to gay and lesbian roles, we need to open up their options so that they can compete for straight roles on an equal footing with straight actors. Stop stereotyping gay and lesbian actors!
Note that I have deliberately excluded transgender actors and characters from my comment. That's a much thornier issue, which I feel less qualified to speak about. I'm therefore restricting myself to gay (and lesbian) issues, not transgender issues.
So I'm transgender so I'll put in my opinion on the issue. As far as transgender actors and characters many people ignorantly group it with LGB casting issues. For people that are portrayed as early or pre-transition I think it's perfectly fine casting cisgender people in the roles and that's pretty straightforward. However when the character is supposed to be in transition or post-transition it really should go to someone who is transgender unless there is a specific appearance requirement that they cannot find a qualified person for the role (such as an adapted character from other media).
Why can't a cis male actor play a post-transition trans male character, or a cis female actor play a post-transition trans female character? What's wrong with that?
Also, if only trans actors should play trans characters, does that also mean that only cis actors should play cis characters?
Generally speaking (there are many opinions, but this seems the most common), the argument is not that cis man playing trans man is fundamentally wrong.
Instead the problem is that trans actors are very, very often barred from playing cis characters. So the absolute minimum that should be done is to reserve at least the trans roles to trans actors.
The optimal situation of course would be that trans actors consistently get jobs playing cis roles, and then this wouldn't really matter anymore. At least as long as it's not cis women playing trans men or the other way around (because it heavily implies that trans men are really women and so on).
I haven't really seen any serious push-back towards straight people playing gay roles, and this article seems to mention only questions towards Blanchett's sexuality, so the title seems a little sensational...
Yeah I agree with everything you just said. I would also like to add that having a cisgender person playing a transgender part can be problematic if they are ignorant of what it means to be transgender. Writing and directing from ignorant cisgender people can be to blame as well. I do agree that it is not fundamentally wrong to cast someone cisgender in transgender roles though.
Okay. But I don't see how the solution to that is to bar cis actors from playing trans characters. Surely, as you say, the optimal solution is to push for trans actors to play cis roles. (Paging @StellarV who I originally replied to.)
It keeps coming up. As just one example, there was a huge fuss back in the day when straight actor Eric McCormack was cast in the leading gay role of Will Truman in the TV show 'Will & Grace'. And that problem never seemed to go away.
Well, yes. It's not like we can't push for multiple solutions. The immediate problem still persists.
This is not something I'm personally familiar with, but cursory look gives the impression that the criticism of the series was about the broader mishandling of the topic rather than general rejection of straight actors playing lgb characters.
If you know any resources articulating why straight actors shouldn't play gay characters, I'd be interested in reading them! As I said, it's not really a viewpoint I'm familiar with.
It wasn't a general rejection of a straight actor playing a gay character, it was specifically some LGBT people complaining that a gay role had been taken by a straight actor (yet again!) when there were so many gay actors available.
It's also important to note that Sean Hayes, who played Jack, hadn't officially come out at the time, so it looked like there were two straight actors in these two gay roles. (Although a lot of people suspected Hayes was gay, given his previous involvement in gay-themed movies, so the focus was more on McCormack who was obviously straight.)
There are no "resources" about this. It's not an area of scientific study. It's just a feeling among some LGBT people that acting opportunities have been taken away from LGBT people by casting cis/straight people in roles that LGBT actors could play.