Sir Ian McKellen weighs in on gay-for-pay actors
Bent.Adapted from a play of the same name, director Sean Mathias’ 1997 film tells the story of Max (Clive Owen), a gay man living in 1930s Berlin who is arrested by the Gestapo after the infamous “Night of the Long Knives” and sent to a concentration camp.
McKellen co-stars as “Uncle Freddie,” who attempts to help Max by organizing papers so that he can flee the country.While Bent‘s heavy subject matter (and NC-17 rating) makes it a tough watch, the film has been commended for putting a spotlight on the persecution of the LGBTQ community during the Holocaust.
Owen, who is straight, has also been praised for his authentic, tear-jerking performance as the film’s gay protagonist.Related: The Nazis came for us too.
Bent recalls the horror of the queer Holocaust.In a post-screening Q&A, McKellen praised his former co-star. “Nothing wrong with that performance,” the actor said of Owen. “For those of you who think only gay people should be allowed to play gay parts.”As McKellen went on to remind the audience, he once played Max in the West End theatrical production of Bent—at a time when he was still in the closet (though, as he notes, he was secretly dating Mathias then).This isn’t the first time the celebrated actor has weighed in on so-called “gay-for-pay” work.
