Jeremy Strong recently told the Los Angeles Times that it’s “totally justified” to criticize straight actors for playing gay characters, but at the same time, “it’s not necessarily true in your hometown. He also said that he strongly believes that an actor’s job is to express what doesn’t exist. Powerful star who plays Donald Trump’s mentor Roy Cohn on “The Apprentice.”
“Yes, it’s definitely valid,” Strong said of the criticism. “Perhaps I am old-fashioned in that I fundamentally believe that: [about] Historically, great artists have been able to change the stamp of one’s nature, so to speak. That’s your job as an actor. In a sense, its job is to render something that isn’t necessarily your natural habitat. ”
“I don’t think it’s necessary, but [for gay roles to be played by gay performers]I think it would be good if there was more emphasis on that,” Strong added.
The debate over whether straight actors should play gay roles has been ongoing in Hollywood for several years. Nicholas Galitzine told British GQ this summer that he felt “some guilt” as a straight actor when he decided to play gay roles in Red, White and Royal Blue and George & Mary. It became a hot topic when he talked about it.
“I identify as straight, but I’ve been a part of some incredibly queer stories,” Galitzine told the magazine. “I sometimes felt anxious and maybe even guilty that I was taking up someone’s space. At the same time, I saw those characters as more than just their sexuality.”
Stanley Tucci, who played gay roles in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and Supernova (2020), appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Disc last year and appeared on the show. He said it was “okay” for people to portray different sexualities.
“I’m always so happy when gay men come up to me and tell me about ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ or I tell them about ‘Supernova,’ and they say, ‘That was so beautiful.’ Right. We did it the way we did it.’ Because it’s often not done the right way,” Tucci said. “An actor is an actor, an actor is an actor. You’re supposed to be playing different people. You’re just like that. That’s the point.”
You can read Mr. Strong’s full interview with the Los Angeles Times here.