Bros star Luke Macfarlane was told by an agent that Superman “can’t be gay”
Luke Macfarlane has revealed that he has missed out on roles because of his sexuality. The actor came out as gay in 2008 in an interview with The Globe and Mail, the same year that his beloved character Scotty Wandell tied the knot with Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) on Brothers & Sisters.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Macfarlane revealed that he was unable to secure roles after the ABC drama ended in 2011. “I can literally remember an agent once saying to me, ‘Superman can’t be gay’—like just straight out,” said the star, who initially wanted to act in blockbusters such as G.I.
Joe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “I do remember being frustrated, seeing other actors and straight guys my age—and I never want to make it about that, but—thinking, Why are they getting [the parts]?
Why am I not getting them?” he recalled. “The post–Brothers & Sisters moment was scary, for sure. I was like, ‘Dude, I’m the perfect age for this stuff.’ And it wasn’t clicking, for whatever reason.” Billy Eichner, his love interest in the upcoming romantic comedy Bros, told the publication: “No one calls you and says, ‘We found out you’re gay so we’re not casting you.’ “But my gut feeling is that he didn’t get nearly the amount of opportunities that he should have and that he deserved [what] a straight actor with his look and his qualifications and his training and his exposure was getting at the time.” When asked about the topic of actors playing roles that don’t align with their sexuality, Macfarlane said he has “not arrived on an opinion”. “On one level, I’m here because of the commitment by the studio and Billy and Nick and [producer] Judd [Apatow] to cast me, but also, I don’t like telling anybody that they’re not allowed to play
