Rupert Everett ‘frustrated’ he wasn’t cast in this acclaimed gay film: “That role should have been mine”
queerty.comOut actor Rupert Everett recently shared his take on the ongoing “straight actors in gay roles” debate, and to sum up his views: It’s complicated.Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored (cringe), the My Policeman star said that while he doesn’t think all gay roles should be played by gay actors, there was one gay role he really wished had gone to a specific gay actor — him.“It’s quite frustrating.
I was frustrated, I remember going to see Colin Firth in the [2009] film by Tom Ford [A Single Man]. I thought, ‘Well, thanks, Colin.
That’s the end of my career. Because you know, that role really should have been mine,” he said. “So you know, there’s a frustration about that, of course.”Firth’s performance as a gay English professor grieving the death of his lover earned him major accolades, including an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.That one disappointment aside, Everett sees a bigger problem in openly gay actors rarely being cast in straight roles.Related: Aaron Sorkin says casting only gay actors in gay roles is an “empty gesture”“There’s many examples of fantastic straight actors playing great gay roles.
