Should non-LGBTQ+ actors play trans or gay characters?
LGBTQ+ fans of “The Last of Us” are split over the casting of Nick Offerman as a gay character in the hit TV series, reigniting a long-running debate over whether straight or non-transgender actors should play gay or trans roles. “Nick Offerman is the only straight man I’m okay with being cast as a gay character.
He is the exception to the rule,” one viewer tweeted after the third episode of the HBO/Sky series, which features two men, including Offerman’s character, falling in love.
Critics say casting straight actors in LGBTQ+ roles deprives gay, bisexual and trans actors of opportunities to appear on screen and stage as characters they are best placed to represent.
Others point to the many LGBTQ+ actors who play straight characters, arguing that the mark of a talented actor is the ability to convincingly portray a wide range of different characters – regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.
