BEST BITS – Should Gay Actors Only Play Gay Roles on TV and Movies?

TRANSCRIPT:

There Has Been A Shift In Attitude Towards Gay Actors Only Playing Gay Roles

BROADCAST DATE: 17th November 2022
SHOW: #004

I love this, there are wheels in motion and we are seeing a shift in public attitude against the very limiting and extreme woke mentality around actors and what roles they can and can’t play, as openly gay actor, Luke Evans, has said in a recent interview with the Telegraph in the UK that he is “not sure” that only gay actors should play gay roles.

Luke Evans you may remember from such roles the live-action version of The Beauty and the Beast and from appearing in The Hobbit films.

In the interview he went onto say that, and I quote, “Gay people have definitely missed out on gay roles, I get it, and I totally think that things do need to change.

“But from my perspective: firstly, I wouldn’t have had a career if gay people played gay roles and straight people played straight roles.” End quote.

The debate about who should play gay or lesbian, or trans or insert human element religion, race etc roles is an ongoing one in the entertainment industry. It can have its merits in terms of improving representation and bringing authenticity to performances… but it can also be destructive as we have spoken about on the show before. Point in case, when a twitter mob forced 18-year-old British actor Kit Connor to come out as bisexual, even though he had publicly stated that it was not information he wanted to share with the world. (AUDIO)

But alas, the MOB who tried to call him out for queer baiting for playing a bisexual character on popular Netflix TV show, Hearstopper after he was seen in public holding hands with a girl, of whom they presumed was his girlfriend.

Back to Luke Evans and his interview with the UK Telegraph he also said, and I quote: it should be that “the right person gets the job. Talent and ability, and a bit of luck and timing … That should be the reason why you get a job. It shouldn’t have anything to do with anything else.. end quote, he said on an actor getting a role.

And I agree, whilst it is great that there is authentic representation, a job is a job, a gig is a gig, and it should be given to the best person able to fulfil the requirements of said job. And personally – this is after all an opinion based talk show – I think this also goes beyond actors and acting… I look forward to charting the change in public opinion as it inevitably develops