Can Straight Actors Take LGB Roles Now? It's Complicated
Editor's Note: This article is intended as a sister piece to our article Why It's Still A Problem For Cis Actors To Play Trans Roles and is not intended to exclude trans and non-binary people from the conversation, but rather to acknowledge the different difficulties that they face.
In the past few years, there’s been a lot of contentious debate regarding the issue of straight actors taking on lesbian, gay, or bisexual roles, but, is it actually okay or even appropriate for a straight actor to play these characters? Truthfully, it’s a somewhat complicated issue, with no one clear answer. In the past few years, a variety of straight and LGBTQ+ actors have portrayed queer characters, both historical and fictionalized ones, receiving a contradictory swath of criticisms or praise, depending on each performance.
Of course, when it comes to transgender characters specifically, actors like Eddie Redmayne who starred in director Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl have come under rightful fire for electing to portray transgender characters despite being cisgender themselves. The practice of having cis actors portraying trans characters seems to be in decline at this point, and it's a positive shift for all as it makes for more authentic portrayals, avoids risks of stereotyping, and gives more opportunities for trans actors. However, when it comes to lesbian, gay, and bi/pan+ characters, there is a wider gray area.
Related: Why LGBTQ+ Representation Is So Important In Media
While there has been a rightful push towards seeing more LGBTQ+ actors portraying queer characters, the question of whether or not it’s okay for straight actors to ever play LGBTQ+ roles is still relatively contested, particularly as there seems to be more demand
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