There is ongoing debate and discussion within the entertainment industry and LGBTQ+ community about whether only gay actors should play gay characters. While some people argue that only actors who identify as LGBTQ+ should be cast in LGBTQ+ roles, others believe that an actor’s sexual orientation should not be a determining factor in casting decisions.
Ultimately, the decision about who to cast in a particular role is up to the director and producers of a project. However, it’s important to consider the impact that casting decisions can have on representation and visibility for LGBTQ+ people in the entertainment industry. If LGBTQ+ actors are consistently passed over for LGBTQ+ roles, it can perpetuate the idea that LGBTQ+ people are not capable of playing a wide range of characters or that their experiences are not valuable.
Which straight actors have played gay parts?
There are many straight actors who have played LGBTQ+ characters in films, television shows, and theatre productions. Here are some examples:
It is worth noting that the casting of straight actors to play gay characters has been a topic of debate in recent years, with some arguing that it is important to provide more opportunities for LGBTQ actors to tell their own stories.
Ultimately, the goal should be to create more opportunities for LGBTQ+ actors to play a diverse range of characters, including LGBTQ+ characters, while also ensuring that LGBTQ+ representation is portrayed in a respectful and accurate way.
Some of the most memorable trans characters have been played by cis-gender actors… here are 25 of the most famous roles.
Here are just some of the mainstream films and television shows where a trans character wasn’t played by a trans actor. The argument against non-trans actors taking these parts have made headlines once again after a clip of Matt Bomer in his forthcoming film, Anything was released.
Warning this article may contain spoilers to various films.
Glen or Glenda was released in 1953 starring Ed Wood – who was actually credited as Daniel Davis in this film. It’s a semi-autobiographical film, considered one of the worst films of all time. However, it is considered a plea for tolerance.
Dog Day Afternoon is based on a real-life story, where a bank robber (Al Pacino) holds up a bank in New York’s Manhattan to pay for his girlfriend’s (Chris Sarandon) gender confirmation surgery. Chris Sarandon’s portrayal of a trans woman was applauded for its consideration of dysphoria.
Probably one of the most famous films to feature a “sweet transsexual”. TRHPS has gone on to become a cult hit and recently had a remake filmed and it starred Laverne Cox in Tim Curry’s part of Dr Frank N. Furter.
In 1980 Michael Caine played a murderous trans woman in this erotic thriller. For his part in the film, Mr Caine was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor.
A drama which explores themes of race, gender, nationality and sexuality with the troubles of early 80s Northern Ireland as a backdrop. The trans character in this film is actually one of its great surprises, which is considered a “shocking twist”. Jaye Davidson was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor for the role.
The World According to Garp based on the book of the same name by John Irving which is the story of T.S. Garp. In the book his mother, who runs a home for abused women gives shelter to a former footballer, now a transgender woman, Roberta Muldoon.
Ted Levin played a trans serial killer who skins his female victims. In the story, Ted’s character, Jame Gumb, applied for a sex-reassignment operation but was unsuccessful in gaining in their cause.
Terrence Stamp in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, 1994
One of the most successful LGBT films of all times was released in 1994 is in the top 40 grossing gay and lesbian films of all times. Terrence Stamp’s Bernadette Bassinger is a carefully studied character, played respectfully.
Mary Sean Young, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, 1994
Possibly one of the most offensive portrayals of a trans person in film – which uses the trans character as a comedy mimic.
Coronation Street made history in 1998 when they introduced the first trans character to a British soap. It wasn’t until 2015 that EastEnders made further history by having a trans actor play a trans character. Julie Hesmondhalgh has been praised for her portrayal of a trans person and she is a huge advocate for the LGBT community. In 2017 she called on TV companies to employ trans people in trans roles.
One of the most tear-jerking LGBT films of all time. Hillary Swank was truly remarkable in the film which was based on the true story of murdered trans man Brandon Teena. The film was nominated for 57 awards and won 37 of them including, Best Actress (Oscars and BAFTAs) for Swank.
The 00s to 10s
John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, 2001
One of the only musical films featuring a trans character in the central role. John Cameron Mitchell wrote and directed this film. It features in the top 100 LGBT films.
Felicity Huffman was widely praised for her role in TransAmercia as a pre-operative male to female transgender person. This was an unusual casting decision as usually male to female trans parts are played by males rather than females.
When Daniela joined The L word in 2006 she had the role of Moira Sweeney, an androgynous computer technician who moves from the Midwest with Jenny (Mia Kirshner). Over the course of the season, Moira comes out as a trans man, adopting the name Max Sweeney.
Rebecca Romijn was another female who was cast in an M2F role in the comedy TV series, Ugly Betty. She appeared midway through the first season and left in season 3.
The 10s to 20s
Seth MacFarlane, Family Guy, 2010
Derided by Glaad for the way in which Family Guy deals with transgender issues, Seth MacFarlane voices the character of Quagmire’s parent, Ida who goes through sex-reassignment surgery in the episode, “Quagmire’s Father”.
Jared was awarded an Oscar for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, however, his casting in this film and subsequent acceptance of the Oscar with a full beard was criticised by some in the trans community. Laverne Cox recently said, “as brilliant as Jared Leto is, and all these actors who play trans women, when people who don’t know anything about trans folks and trans women see the very sexy Jared Leto and his beard accepting an Oscar for playing a trans woman, the message that it sends is that trans women are really men”
Amazon was praised for the production of Transparent starring Jeff Tambor who plays a trans person coming out as trans later in life. The show has won awards and much love from the critics for its sensitive portrayal of a family dealing with and accepting transition.
Eddie Redmayne played the part of Lili Elbe, acknowledged as the first trans woman to go through sex reassignment surgery. Despite it being widely praised there was only one Oscar win out of four nominations. The film was banned in a number of countries including Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Malaysia.
Stonewall was much derided when it was released in 2015. It also stars two actors in trans roles who are not trans. Otoja Abit who played Marsha P Johnson and Jonny Beachamp who played the fictional character, Ray/Ramona.
The remarkable life story of the world-renowned physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking who was diagnosed with motor-neurone disease at the age of 21 years and defying medical prognosis of an imminent death went on to publish world-changing theories of relativity and quantum mechanics turns out to be one of the most tender and romantic movies of the year.
This new biopic from James Marsh (Oscar Winning Director of the documentary Man On The Wire) is based on the second biography written by Stephen Hawkins ex-wife Jane and focuses very much on how she enabled him to lead a full and rich life in spite of his crippling illness. Their story really starts when Hawkins, having won a First Honors Degree at Oxford University, chooses to transfer to Cambridge to do his post-graduate doctorate. Here he meets and immediately falls in love with Jane despite the fact that they seem like total opposites: she is studying poetry and is a devout churchgoer. When Hawkins discovers this last point he dryly remarks that he has a problem ‘with the whole celestial-dictator premise’. Somehow their marked differences seem to actually unify them, partly because one of the Hawkins’s strongest traits is his ability to be open to changing his opinions. None so more apparent when later on in life when he contradicted one of his most important theories and did a complete U-turn and actually proved that he got it wrong the first time around.
When Hawkins is forced to realise that all his clumsy physical missteps that culminate with him hitting his head during a sidewalk fall are because of the fact that he has this debilitating illness, it’s Jane who has the inner strength to push Hawkins into both marriages and also into not giving up. Despite the fact the Doctors have declared that he will be dead in two years, the couple starts a family whilst Hawkins finally starts his Dissertation.
Hawkins rapid physical deterioration makes him completely dependent on Jane for even the most basic daily bodily functions. The only parts that seem untouched by this particularly pernicious illness are his brain and his wit, both of which sustain and enable him to be the brilliant and very funny quick-witted man that he is. However, with both her husband needing 24/7 help and two children to bring up too, Jane needs some support and relief. She finds this in her local Church after joining the choir led by a handsome newly widowed man. Jonathan, still bereft after his recent loss, is at a loose end so is happy to help Jane out with some of the tougher tasks keeping her family functioning which inevitably draws the two of them closer. So much so that when she later gives birth to another son, there is talk about who the real father is.
By the time that Jane hires a nurse to help Stephen after he can no longer speak, their marriage which had finally been strained to near breaking point, now slowly moves to a separation and eventually divorce just as the movie reaches its end. There is one final scene of a graceful reconciliation when Hawkins is invited to Buckingham Palace to receive his Order of Merit from the Queen, which seems a fitting finish.
Marsh doesn’t discount the vast body of Hawkins’s work in the story but he places it a context that makes it easier to understand for those of us that cannot comprehend the many complexities of ‘A Brief History of Time’ and all his subsequent intellectual theories. He clearly shows the vast importance of Hawkins findings on black holes and the boundaries of the universe with the reactions of the academic world and the acclaim and fame that accompanies all of this.
By focusing on the highly personal story of this remarkable man who could never have any of his achievements without the unselfish love and devotion of the exceptional woman, he gives us one of the most unique and compelling behind-the-scenes biopics ever. What raises it to be such an awe-inspiring movie, however, is the electrifying impassioned performance of young Eddie Redmayne as Hawkins.The defining trait of how brilliant he is in this role is that he has captured the very essence and soul of this great man as his body stops functioning. Without even realising it, you quickly appreciate that he has gone way beyond just capturing Hawkins’s physical decline in this deeply thoughtful career-defining performance that is nothing short of breath-taking. He is so wonderfully brilliant that the images of him lighting up the screen remain with you for days after. He should start practising his acceptance speech for the many Awards that he will now be showered with.
Felicity Jones gives a quiet and powerful performance as Jane Hawkins, and there is an impressive list of talented supporting actors like Charlie Cox, David Thewlis, Emily Watson and Simon McBurney.
The script by writer (and novelist) Antony McCarten is peppered with some perfect moments of real humour and wit and it makes this such an uplifting tale even in the darker moments of the story. Evidently, Jane Hawkin’s first biography was written immediately after the divorce was not quite so full of sweetness and light, so it’s probably a good thing they passed on to the happier, and presumably the truer, version of this story.
Oscar-winning Director Tom Hooper (‘The Kings Speech’) and Oscar-winning Actor Eddie Redmayne (‘The Theory of Everything’) bring us the life of a male Dutch artist who, with the support from his wife, becomes a woman, in the new film ‘The Danish Girl.’ ★★★
Based on the book of the same name by David Ebershoff, ‘The Danish Girl’ tells the real life story of Einar Wegener (Redmayne) who never felt right as a man so transitioned into a woman, being one of the first known recipients ever of reassignment surgery. It was with the support of his wife and fellow painter Gerde Wegener (Alicia Vikander) that gave him the courage and hope that helped him through the transition to live the rest of his life as Lili Elbe. But the film portrays Einar’s transition and Gerde’s acceptance as a dull one, there are no real revelations, nothing exciting about the story, and even Redmayne’s performance is a bit under the radar. It’s Vikander who steals the movie right from under Redmayne’s corset.
The movie tells us that Einar’s interest in all things transgender suddenly happened when Gerde asked him to fill in for a female model who didn’t show up for one of her painting sessions. So she asks Wegener to put on a dress so that she can finish the painting. Wegener likes the way it feels, but more importantly he likes the way he looks in it, and this suddenly awakens Einar’s inner woman. This takes place in 1926 while the couple was living in the liberal land of Copenhagen, though such things were not done, nor not even discussed back then. But with Gerde’s full support, and help, Einar starts dressing up as a woman outside of their house. Things get a bit more complicated when another man, Henrick (Ben Whishaw) takes an interest in Einar, who by this time has started calling herself Lili.
Gerde is asked to go to Paris so that she can work for a local art dealer, and while her career flourishes, their marriage slowly dissolves. And a childhood friend of Lili’s, Hans (Matthias Schoenaerts) shows up and forms a complex triangle with the couple. And it’s not long before Einar goes ahead with the surgery.
‘The Danish Girl’ is dull. It’s not a sweeping European love story where love conquers all in the midst of one man’s gender confusion and one woman’s loyalty to such man. Hooper’s direction can’t bring Lucinda Coxon’s boring script to life. Not even the actors can accomplish this.
Redmayne is good as Einar/Lili, yet there were times when I thought I was still watching him play Stephen Hawking. It’s his eyes, he blinks them quite a lot in this film, just like the way he did in ‘The Theory of Everything.’ However, ‘The Danish Girl’ is pretty much Vikander’s movie.
She’s beautiful and emotional and accepting when the times call for it – it’s just as good a performance as Felicity Jones was as in ‘The Theory of Everything.‘ Vikander’s star is on a meteoric rise, having appeared in three films this past year (‘Ex Machina,’ ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.‘ and ‘Burnt‘). She’s currently filming the fifth Bourne Identity film with Matt Damon and Tommy Lee Jones and has two other features coming out in 2016. I was very disappointed that ‘The Danish Girl’ was not as good as I had hoped, perhaps it might be better to read the actual book, and skip the movie.by Tim Baros
Hollywood star Eddie Redmayne looks amazing in the brand new trailer that has been released for his forthcoming film Danish Girl.
Set in the 1920s and based on a true story, the movie is a love story about how Einar’s artist wife Gerda Waud persuaded Einar to pose for her in women’s clothes after one of her models failed to show. Later known as Lili Elbe, he then underwent a series of experimental operations in Germany to confirm her sex as female and live as her true authentic self in the 1930s.
Redmayne has revealed that he had spoken to members of the trans community to research the role and added,
“I think it’s the most sensitive role I have ever played. The danger of surgery was so extreme then, and it was such a brave thing that Einar did.”
‘The Danish Girl’ is set for a cinema release at the end of this year, and in time for maybe a second Oscar Nomination for one of our favorite actors.
