Can Gay Actors Play It Straight?

Gay-actors

Yes. The answer to the question posed in this title is "yes". So why the fuck are we still talking about it? Well, the answer to that question is a little more complicated. Ramin Setoodeh, an openly gay journalist, recently wrote a piece for Newsweek posing the following question: "Heterosexual actors play gay all the time. Why doesn't it ever work in reverse?"

It pissed off actress Kristin Chenoweth enough to chime in with her own response, and now actors Cheyenne Jackson and Michael Urie have stepped out against it as well. However, Setoodeh isn't quick to apologize for singling out Sean Hayes or Jonathan Groff as actors who don't pull off playing straight. Instead, Newsweek has posted a response to Chenoweth, in which Setoodeh plays the victim and continues to hammer home his ridiculous viewpoint.

Can someone please give this guy a lesson on bowing down when you're absolutely wrong? If you don't want no drama, then you probably shouldn't mess around with theater queens. Those bitches will fuck you up.

– Dewitt

To read Kristin's response to the article, follow the JUMP:

As a longtime fan of Newsweek and as the actress currently starring opposite the incredibly talented (and sexy!) Sean Hayes in the Broadway revival of Promises, Promises, I was shocked on many levels to see Newsweek publishing Ramin Setoodeh’s horrendously homophobic “Straight Jacket,” which argues that gay actors are simply unfit to play straight. From where I stand, on stage, with Hayes, every night — I’ve observed nothing “wooden” or “weird” in his performance, nor have I noticed the seemingly unwieldy presence of a “pink elephant” in the Broadway Theater. (The Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Tony members must have also missed that large animal when nominating Hayes’ performance for its highest honors this year.)

I’d normally keep silent on such matters and write such small-minded viewpoints off as perhaps a blip in common sense. But the offense I take to this article, and your decision to publish it, is not really even related to my profession or my work with Hayes or Jonathan Groff (also singled out in the article as too “queeny” to play “straight.”)

This article offends me because I am a human being, a woman and a Christian. For example, there was a time when Jewish actors had to change their names because anti-Semites thought no Jew could convincingly play Gentile. Setoodeh even goes so far as to justify his knee-jerk homophobic reaction to gay actors by accepting and endorsing that “as viewers, we are molded by a society obsessed with dissecting sexuality, starting with the locker room torture in junior high school.” Really? We want to maintain and proliferate the same kind of bullying that makes children cry and in some recent cases have even taken their own lives? That’s so sad, Newsweek! The examples he provides (what scientists call “selection bias”) to prove his “gays can’t play straight” hypothesis are sloppy in my opinion. Come on now!

Openly gay Groff is too “queeny” to play Lea Michele’s boyfriend in Glee, but is a “heartthrob” when he does it in Spring Awakening? Cynthia Nixon only “got away with it” ’cause she peaked before coming out? I don’t know if you’ve missed the giant Sex and the City movie posters, but it seems most of America is “buying it.” I could go on, but I assume these will be taken care of in your “Corrections” this week.

Similarly, thousands of people have traveled from all over the world to enjoy Hayes’ performance and don’t seem to have one single issue with his sexuality! They have no problem buying him as a love-torn heterosexual man. Audiences aren’t giving a darn about who a person is sleeping with or his personal life. Give me a break! We’re actors first, whether we’re playing prostitutes, baseball players, or the Lion King. Audiences come to theater to go on a journey. It’s a character and it’s called acting, and I’d put Hayes and his brilliance up there with some of the greatest actors period.

Lastly, as someone who’s been proudly advocating for equal rights and supporting GLBT causes for as long as I can remember, I know how much it means to young people struggling with their sexuality to see out & proud actors like Sean Hayes, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris and Cynthia Nixon succeeding in their work without having to keep their sexuality a secret. No one needs to see a bigoted, factually inaccurate article that tells people who deviate from heterosexual norms that they can’t be open about who they are and still achieve their dreams. I am told on good authority that Mr. Setoodeh is a gay man himself and I would hope, as the author of this article, he would at least understand that. I encourage Newsweek to embrace stories which promote acceptance, love, unity and singing and dancing for all! –Kristin Chenoweth

26 thoughts on “Can Gay Actors Play It Straight?

  1. i love sean hayes but i have to agree that him playing straight is utterly unbelievable.
    yes there are many gay men playing straight characters and doing it well.
    but some gay guys are just too fabulous to pull off being straight.
    sean can’t tone down that fabulousness to be a straight guy its not possible.
    its like saying megan fox can’t play an ugly, plain, dowdy woman – shes just too hot, no matter what the hotness and sexiness shines through

  2. It depends on the actor. Neil Patrick Harris plays straight on HowIMetYourMother. TR Knight on Greys Anatomy. Tuc Watkins on One Life To Live. All convincing.
    Sean Hayes, Harvey Fierstein, Leslie Jordan as straight? It doesn’t work.
    Same goes for the women. Portia De Rossi can play straight. Ellen Degeneres or Rosie O’Donnell, not so much.

  3. Agreed … gay vs. straight … it’s no different, than comedy vs. action hero. It’s simply not every actor can play every role. Build a bridge and get over it. Matt Damon is not convincing as Bourne because he is straight or plays straight but because he can play a serious action role. I did not read the article but I presume that the author was focusing mainly on romantic leads, but not every straight male actor can pull off a romantic lead either.

  4. amen, ms. chenoweth! it is a true shock that the original article appeared in a seemingly ‘esteemed’ newsmagazine like Newsweek and not some trashy tabloid like OK! i cannot believe that with all the crazy things going on in this world, the tanking economy, exploding volcanoes, rogue waves & earthquakes, that this moronic debate is even newsworthy!

  5. There are so Straight Parts just Gay Actors … same is true for Gay Parts there are just Straight Actors … People a gay man can play any straight part better than a lot of straight men can … so wake up and smell the roses … As far as Groff is concerned I think he does a really good job at playing a straight man … even though he should be playing with me …

  6. agree with carter steele – jim carrey is a great comedy actor but pulling off a romantic lead as well as gerard butler or jake gyllenhall is just not possible for jim.
    and all three are straight

  7. Have you ever seen Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? Not exactly the typical romance, but the man is a great actor with range.

  8. Forgive me for my harsh words that will follow.
    Why do people constantly find small matters to bitch about when there are much bigger issues out there? So one person says that he has a belief that gay men can’t act straight. Prove him wrong, and move on. Don’t sit there and bitch about it. Hell, most gay men act straight, it’s called being in the closet. INFACT, we should act like the man never posted the article to begin with, and write him off as another person to prove wrong.
    With love,
    James (Any complaints? e-mail me at shadowkinesis@gmail.com)

  9. opal lion i agree jim is a great actor but he wouldn’t be able to pull off the standard, dreamy man, typical and emphasis on typical rom com lead, thats not a bad thing, its just stating what he is good at and what he wouldn’t be able to pull off.
    same with seth rogen, great comedy but wouldn’t be able to pull of dashing rom com lead the same way james franco would be able too.
    different skills and talents

  10. Really surprised that people get so upset about acting being a superficial. Hello, acting is mostly about how you look.

  11. I like how everyone immediately assumes that straight men can’t be flamboyant in any way or form. Maybe Sean Hayes was cast because the character he plays isn’t the most rugged chauvinistic guy around.
    Sometimes these comments make me really ashamed to share the same sexuality as some of you.

  12. I kiss the ground Ms. Chenoweth walks on and I give this amazing woman a standing ovation for taking such a strong stand on this dangerous article. This is a VERY important issue and one that has to be nipped in the bud before it becomes another anti-gay epidemic. I have seen Sean Hayes in “Promises, Promises”– he is superb totally regardless of his sexuality. I have new found respect for his boundless talent and I think his star power will only get bigger and bigger. He’s courageous to take such a risk knowing what preconceptions audience memebers might have but this major amazing actor leaves the stage each night a champion!

  13. Bravo to Ms.Kristen.She is an incredibly gifted Christian who embodies what is good about having true faith.She loves all her brothers and sisters,and wants them to live and be happy.She has guts standing up for others rights(even if some of you guys missed the whole point!)
    Actors win awards all the time for ‘playing gay.’
    Most notably William Hurt and Tom Hanks.Are we to dismiss Nathan Lane from playing Gomez Addams or other hetero parts he’s played because of an affectation?Bull hockey!He’s a brilliant actor,period.

  14. There’s a long list of gay or bi actors and actresses who played entirely straight their whole lives: Rudolph Valentino, Anthony Perkins, Agnes Moorehead, Raymond Burr, Mary Martin, Tab Hunter, Richard Chamberlain, Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, Rock Hunter, Montgomery Clift, Tallulah Bankhead, Greta Garbo, Sal Mineo, James Dean, Barbara Stanwyck, and lots of others. Setoodeh’s argument is simply false. Gays are not inevitably incapable of playing straight.

  15. Yeah…I was amazed when I found out Jonathan Groff is gay…I totally buy him as a straight character. Literally had NO idea he is gay. I think in Sean Hayes’ case, so many people know and identify him with his character from Will & Grace that they see Jack first before Sean.
    And JD, where do you get that Tuc Watkins is gay? I’ve never heard that…he does play a gay character on Desperate Housewives.

  16. How many people above who posted that “No Way can Sean Hayes play straight” have seen him in anything besides Will & Grace? Or more specifically, have seen him in the production in question?
    I’m thinking I’ll take Ms. Chenoweth’s word for it before some bitter queen who likely hasn’t been successful in seducing their straight crush.

  17. Thank you Ms. Chenoweth!! I love listening to you sing on the Wicked soundtrack and on Glee and now i’m loving you all round!!
    Good on her for taking a stand, she reaises some good points- this isn’t jsut one of those ill-informed celebs harping on about something trivial.
    While yes, there are some guys who don’t pull it off well, Neil Patrick Harris is a great example- my brother’s jaw dropped when he found out Neil was gay becazuse he plays a womaniser so well.

  18. BounceU571, I believe he CAN play straight well; please don’t label everyone who doesn’t think as you do as bitter and nasty. It simply makes you into the exact thing you so malign.
    My belief is simply that he is SO identified as the character of Jack that many people look at him and see flamboyant, over-the-top Jack before they see Sean Hayes the multi-faceted actor.

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