Gay actors who play straight roles
1. Margaret Qualley
Starlet Margaret Qualley seems to be everywhere these days. She portrays the lesbian character Jamie in the 2024 show “Drive-Away Dolls.” With her southern twang, Jamie plays it fast and loose, joking her way through a road trip with twists and turns and lots of talented characters to keep things interesting.
2. Nelsan Ellis
Dipping back to 2008, Nelsan Ellis saturated our screens with the iconic queer character Lafayette Reynolds on “True Blood.” Lafayette is fierce and fabulous, more than chief the cook at Bellefleur’s Bar & Grill. He’s a medium, a hustler, and an all-around fierce, loyal, and loveable friend.
3. Sophie Okonedo
If you’re into high fantasy, “The Wheel of Time” is a must-watch. The forbidden queer woman relationship between Siuan Sanche (Sophie Okonedo) and Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) has been quite the crowd-pleaser. The series is entire of colorful beings and plenty of action and adventure.
Michaela Coel has created and starred in some groundbreaking media. She chose the role of Aneka in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever“ because Aneka was queer.
“People say,
Straights Actors Playing Same-sex attracted Characters, and vice-versa, in Popular TV & Movies
Red_Stilettos21
Sara Gilbert is a lesbian and played Darlene Connor (Roseanne) and Leslie Winkle (The Big Bang Theory), both straight.
The_Other_Waldo_Pepper22
Adam Pally did this on Joyful ENDINGS, where the gag was that Max is the archetypal frat guy – kind of a slob, a little on the heavy side, loves watching sports and drinking beers, and so on – if you swap out ‘sleeping with chicks’ for ‘sleeping with dudes’.
theR23
It doesn’t make much feeling to me to depend on to list gay actors playing straight characters in popular TV and movies. Is there a unattached gay actor that hasn’t played straight characters after finally making it large enough to be in popular shows or movies?
I would guess if so that only actors who recently made it in the business fit the bill. Gay characters just weren’t common enough until recently for gay actors not to play direct characters, plus it would severely limit their option of roles even today.
Edit: I guess my show is, name a same-sex attracted actor and he or she has surely played a straight character.
Loach24
It doesn’t make much sens
It's been an ~interesting~ journey for queer people in the movie and television industry. Once upon a time, gay and dyke actors, specifically, had to stay in the closet, and there were next-to-no gay parts on screen.
The idea that openly homosexual actors can play het characters is a relatively new phenomenon. Previously, out gay actors could only really work when roles for them a) existed, and b) weren't creature given to heterosexual actors.
Now it seems much more acceptable for an openly gay actor play a straight character. In evidence, here are 18 times an actor has played a straight character on screen, despite being openly gay or queer in real life...
4.Andrew Scott as The Priest in Fleabag
5.Amandla Stenberg as Ruby Daly in The Darkest Minds
6.Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton in Bridgerton
7.B.D. Wong as Wally Lin in Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens
8.Portia de Rossi as Lindsay Bluth Funke in Arrested Development
9.Ben Platt as Evan Hansen in the Dear Evan Hansen movie
10.Justice Smith as Simon Aumar in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
11.Luke Evans as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast
12.Ben Whishaw as Michael Banks in
This list of gay actors who play straight characters is loosely ranked by fame and popularity. One of the great things about being an player or public figure is you can play characters that are different from yourself. Several gay actors are famous for playing straight characters in production and on television. One gay actor is leading known for playing a womanizing lawyer on a sitcom.
Who is the most famous gay actor who has played straight characters? Rosie O'Donnell tops our list. The A League of Their Own star publicly came out in 2002. She has since been a fierce advocate for gay rights, same-sex marriage, and gay adoption rights. She has played several straight characters including Betty Rubble in The Flintstones. Portia de Rossi married talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in 2008. She has played several vertical characters including Lindsay Bluth Funke on Arrested Development.
Neil Patrick Harris plays the womanizing Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother. Harris came out in 2006, saying, "I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite satisfied to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful peo
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