Nathan Lane on coming out, that infamous Oprah moment, & why his next movie might get him deported
Beau Is Afraid. But Nathan? He’s not afraid—not one bit.Over the past four decades, the legendary actor has built an incredible career spanning film (The Birdcage, The Lion King), television (The Good Wife, Only Murders In The Building), and theater (The Producers, Angels In America) with no signs of slowing down.Even still, there’s something about his work of late feels especially fearless.
Take Beau Is Afraid, for example, an anxiety-riddled odyssey for the eponymous Beau (Joaquin Phoenix), in which Lane plays one half of a suburban couple who act as our tragic hero’s caretakers/captors after accidentally (up for debate) hitting him with their car.
Lane’s a hilarious standout in the sprawling epic, creating a character whose dopiness may be masking a real danger.And as wild as that sounds, the actor promises it’s tame compared to his next movie: The upcoming F***ing Identical Twins, which is billed as a twisted, queer take on The Parent Trap. “If it ends my career, that’s fine,” Lane jokes, only proving our point.
At 67, with three Tonys, three Emmys, and plenty more accolades already under his belt, he sees no reason to hold back these days.As Beau Is Afraid rolls out to theaters nationwide, we sat down with Lane to discuss the bold new phase of his career, to reflect on coming out in the ’90s, and unpack his status as a reluctant role model.QUEERTY: Your career’s been going strong for over 40 years now, and you’ve really never stopped working. That being said, it’s been a minute since we’ve seen you in the movies!
