Is it Problematic When Straight Actors Play Queer Characters?
By Mya Tran
Stanley Tucci, Natasha Lyonne, Hailee Steinfield, and Darren Criss. What do these actors have in common? Each of them have played prominent queer characters in TV shows and movies, but publicly identify as straight. Queer representation and who is allowed to do it has been a discussion ever since queer people appeared on that big silver screen. Are you allowed to “play gay” if you’re straight? Is it even anyone’s business? Are you being harmful to the queer community?
Stanley Tucci is one of the most famous, if not the most famous, straight gay actors in Hollywood. Known for roles in The Devil Wears Prada and Burlesque, Tucci has made a name for himself playing iconic gay men with a notable sense for fashion. Tucci, however, is straight. There are many who have an understandably negative take on this. Queer people are relatively new to media, and our stories are often overrun by straight people. It can be frustrating watching someone clearly straight play out a queer character. But Tucci believes that an actor is an actor, saying to BBC “You’re supposed to play different people. You just are, that’s the whole point of it,”.
Tucci’s idea of straight people playing gay people doesn’t end there. His allowance of this centers around the idea that it must be done correctly. He insists that playing a gay character must be done the “right way”. Kristin Stewart made a comment to Rolling Stone saying, “We need to have our finger on the pulse and actually have to care. You kind of know where you’re allowed. I mean, if you’re telling a story about a community and they’re not welcoming to you, then f*ck off.”
Sexuality is also incredibly fluid. It can be easy to assume that just because a woman is married to a man means that she is straight. Natasha Lyonne, famous for her sapphic roll in But I’m a Cheerleader, is outwardly straight but does not identify with the “straight experience” as she believes her sexuality is more inclined towards the idea of “what mischief can I get into?”. Can we comfortably call that straight? Is that any of our business?
I, personally, do movie nights with my friends often. As queer people, we are often drawn to queer movies or movies featuring queer characters. I asked one of my friends who has a significant interest in pop culture and media if she cared about straight people playing queer characters. I knew at the time that I didn’t always care, but sometimes I did, and I was having a hard time identifying. She said, “I don’t care as long as we let gay people play straight roles.”
Fair point. Barring people who are observed as straight closes off the queer community in many ways. First and foremost it is assuming someone’s sexuality and assuming that their sexuality will not change or fluctuate. Additionally, it implies that people can only act as people who share a sexuality with them. As someone who presents feminine but uses all pronouns, am I not allowed to play a man or a woman in plays? Must I confine myself to characters that share a gender expression and sexuality with me?
Obviously, I do not advocate for passing up perfectly good queer actors for straight ones, but if an actor can act, well, let them.
About the Author
Mya Tran is an incoming junior at Butler University, in Indianapolis, IN. They are currently studying English on the creative writing track and German. Growing up in a small college town with limited queer role models, Tran has spent her life with her nose in the books, looking for someone to relate to.
