Falling.The Lord of the Rings and Green Book star is making his debut as writer and director with the film, about a married gay man who takes care of his conservative and homophobic father after he starts to exhibit symptoms of dementia.Mortensen stars as lead character John, with Lance Henricksen as his father, Terry Chen as his husband, and Laura Linney as his sister.But Mortensen’s decision to cast himself as a gay man has led to criticism, given ongoing backlash in Hollywood over straight, cisgender actors taking LGBTQ roles.Speaking with Britain’s The Times, Mortensen clapped back at such criticism, noting that while it’s “healthy” to discuss LGBTQ representation, his decision to play a gay man wasn’t a “gimmick.”“Look, these are the.