Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons weighs in on straight actors playing gay characters: ‘The fight is to ensure that all parts are open to all actors’
Jim Parsons has offered his opinion on the casting of straight actors in LGBTQ+ roles.
During an interview with The LA Times, Parsons opened up about LGBTQ+ representation in film, as well as the debate surrounding whether straight actors should portray gay characters.
“There’s definitely this spectrum: I think the fight, as it were, is not about having only gay people play the gay parts but to ensure that all parts are open to all actors,” said Parsons.
The 47-year-old continued: “It’s important that gay characters are portrayed as well-rounded and completely human individuals.”
In order to illustrate his point that “there are plenty of straight actors who have played gay characters brilliantly”, Parsons spoke specifically about Brokeback Mountain.
The acclaimed 2005 drama saw two straight actors, Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger, commended for their performances as Jack and Ennis.
“I think Brokeback Mountain is one of the most touching gay movies and love stories I have ever seen, and those two straight actors were the best choices for those roles,” said the actor.
The debate over whether straight actors should be cast in gay roles was recently renewed by Netflix film The Prom, which was released last month.
Some viewers criticised the decision to cast James Corden – a straight man – as gay character Barry Glickman, while others took issue with Corden’s performance, which was criticised as “aggressively flamboyant”, “stereotypical” and “grossly inappropriate”.
Parsons came out as gay in 2013 in the middle of his run as Sheldon in NBC’s hugely successful sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
He has since starred in Netflix’s The Boys in the Band, an adaptation of Mart Crowley’s 1968 play of the same name about a group of gay men who gather for a birthday party in New York City.
The play was considered groundbreaking, and its 2020 film adaptation – which comprised a cast of exclusively gay actors – has received mostly positive reviews.
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