Joe Locke Defends Straight Actors Playing Gay Roles
Heartstopper, says he doesn’t believe it’s “fair” to prevent straight actors from playing LGBTQ characters.Defending the idea of casting roles regardless of the actors’ sexual orientations, Locke told The Guardian that he believes the focus should be on how actors approach their roles in an effort to portray a character’s experience as authentically as possible.“I wouldn’t want to not be able to play a straight character, so I don’t think it’s fair to stop someone straight — who can do all the research — from playing a gay character,” he said. “As long as you’re playing a part authentically and with the best intentions — you’re not just playing a stereotype — then go for it.”Reflecting on his Heartstopper casting experience Locke said, “[t]here’s no way they would have been able to say, ‘Are you gay, otherwise you can’t audition for this part?’ to a 16-year-old.
You shouldn’t need to know that.”Locke says he probably would not have been as open about his sexuality as he has been — including appearing at Pride festivals and giving interviews about queer representation in media — had he not been cast in the series.“If it wasn’t for Heartstopper, I don’t think I would talk about my sexuality in the media at all,” he told the newspaper.Locke has concerns about being typecast in particular types of roles, which would severely limit future career opportunities. “I get a lot of auditions for more gay teenage characters, very similar parts, and, while they’re great, I’ve played two gay characters now,” he says.
In addition to Charlie, he’s portraying Teen in the MCU series Agatha All Along. “Not that I would not want to play another gay character, but I want to be a versatile actor, not get stamped.”The Heartstopper cast was previously enmeshed in the debate around straight actors playing LGBTQ roles after viewers accused actor Kit Connor, who played Charlie’s boyfriend Nick, of “queerbaiting” because he was involved in a relationship with a female off-screen while playing.
