Hollywood, Stop Casting Straight Actors as LGBTQ+ Characters
There are thousands of LGBTQ+ actors who need that chance
Some of my favorite television shows involve LGBTQ+ characters played by straight actors. Now, I do not take issue with this if the portrayal is on point. Love Simon serves as a perfect example. The main lead is straight, but acting as a gay high schooler. The character is well written and Nick Robinson truly does a great job acting the role.
My problem with this whole issue doesn’t come in here though. Studios can cast whoever they like to fulfill the role and if representation is flawless, then fine. The issue comes in when you consider how many LGBTQ+ actors are being cast. The representation of actual LGBTQ+ individuals in Hollywood is at a bare minimum.
When you acknowledge the fact that LGBTQ+ actors are almost never cast as non LGBTQ+ characters the problem becomes more apparent. Roles are limited for the LGBTQ+ community. This is due in part to studios generally choosing to hire a big name to play an LGBTQ+ character than an actual LGBTQ+ person.
Why is this? Because studios prefer a celebrity over anyone to act a certain role. And with the rarity of LGBTQ+ characters in Hollywood productions and overall casting choices, there is a lack of known LGBTQ+ actors. For studios looking to cast a celebrity in an LGBTQ+ role, the next best thing is looked at. The audience usually ends up getting a disappointing performance from a straight actor who had no business in their casted role. Case in point, James Corden.
James Corden’s portrayal of Barry Glickman in The Prom was abysmal, and there was no reason why someone who actually understood the struggles of being LGBTQ+ couldn’t be cast. Critics slammed the performance, calling it one worst instance of Hollywood’s gayface in a long time, and I completely agree. The act was extremely offensive at best. There are countless other times when a celebrity was cast in an LGBTQ+ role, and their performance pretty terrible, just not nearly as bad as James Corden’s.
I have significantly less of a problem with movies like Love Simon and their casting of choice. First, the actor cast wasn’t too well known prior to the movie’s release. Personally, I didn’t know who Nick Robinson was before this film came out. All actors deserve as fair of a shot as anyone in the film industry, and his role in Love Simon is very well played.
And, as much as it pains me to do say this, even in Love Simon’s case, ideally, an LGBTQ+ actor should’ve been cast in the lead role. I know, it’s really painful to say so, Nick Robinson does a great job, but rarely does the public see a film or show with LGBTQ+ characters and an LGBTQ+ cast.
This should be normalized. LGBTQ+ individuals should have more representation in Hollywood even when it comes to who plays which characters. Everyone deserves a fair chance in the film industry, which LGTBQ+ individuals simply aren’t getting.
GLAAD, one of the non-governmental organizations fighting for LGBTQ acceptance in media, reported that only 22 films released by major film studios in 2019 featured LGBTQ characters. Factor in casting choices and the minority of these characters are played by actual LGBTQ+ individuals. Include the fact that LGBTQ+ actors are not likely to be cast in the role of a straight character, making their opportunities for a role minimal. The chances of ‘making it’ in Hollywood as an LGBTQ+ individual are next to nothing.
The film industry is especially tricky to earn a living from, mainly due to a large amount of competition for a role. Studio biases also play a part in the overall discrimination of LGBTQ+ individuals in the film industry. The LGBTQ+ community is proven to be more likely to be discriminated against and less likely to gain a role they’re equally suitable for compared to a straight individual in Hollywood.
On top of all these challenges, celebrities are always preferred over anyone, big names draw big money. The number of LGBTQ+ stars in the film industry is minimal, due completely to this exact issue being discussed. This means that when an LGBTQ+ character is to be cast, the studio has a significantly smaller bucket to draw from when looking for a big name, so a straight celebrity is almost always resorted to.
The LGBTQ+ community has faced high unemployment rates historically which have only worsened since early 2020. Tying this into the complexity of the film industry, it’s a formula where all the cards are stacked against the LGBTQ+ individual.
When a straight individual plays an LGBTQ+ character, rarely does their performance feel authentic, because it’s not. And while there is an LGBTQ+ character for this scenario to play out, complete representation of the community still isn’t present until the individual in the role is LGBTQ+.
These straight actors might understand the struggles of a gay or lesbian individual in modern society, but have never experienced these struggles themselves, meaning they cannot fully connect to whoever they’re representing in a film or television show. Having empathy toward one’s experience and having that experience firsthand is different. Only an LGBTQ+ individual can truly understand the daily societal and social struggles faced through their own, first-hand experience.
Hollywood needs to work against its studio biases, work on becoming more inclusive. With the limited hiring of LGBTQ+ actors, the number of LGBTQ+ actors who could use the chance to portray an LGBTQ+ individual in production is huge. Having a variety of people from all types of backgrounds in any type of industry is beneficial to us all.
