OUT ON FILM STRAIGHT ACTORS WHO HAVE PLAYED GAY ON THE BIG SCREEN - BRILLIANTLY! Whilst some people feel that all LGBTI+ roles on screen should be played by LGBTI+ people, some of us don’t have issues with straight actors portraying LGBTI+ roles...I guess that’s why it’s called acting... some of the films are award-winning classics, whilst others have been panned ... check out just a small sampling of some of the best...
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any screen legends, as well as a huge array of modern day actors, have taken on gay roles to huge critical acclaim. From Tom Hank’s powerful Oscar-winning performance in Philadelphia, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal’s superb performances in the ground-breaking Brokeback Mountain to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s brilliant portrayal of American novelist Truman Capote, in Capote as well as numerous other towering works. In this issue we celebrate - and acknowledge - some of these memorable performances and find out what the actors had to say about playing gay.
Tom Hanks & Antonio Banderas - Philadelphia
In no specific order of who was best, these are the films that OUT Africa Magazine ranks as worthy of the accolades... TOM HANKS & ANTONIO BANDERAS - PHILADELPHIA (1993) Starring Tom Hanks as a brilliant lawyer who is fired because of AIDS, who then employs Denzel Washington to defend him, and Antonio Banderas who plays his lover. The film remains a ground-breaking look at the AIDS crisis and the stigma experienced by gay men in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Philadelphia is a powerful, engrossing film that is still relevant today. Jake Gyllenhaal & Heath Ledger Brokeback Mountain
TREVANTE RHODES - MOONLIGHT (2016) Growing up in a rough Miami neighbourhood, Chiron, played by Trevante Rhodes and Aston Sanders experiences his fair share of abuse and neglect. The film follows his life in three self-reflexive stages – from childhood to adolescence and finally adulthood. Throughout, Chiron battles bullying, poverty, and the effects of drug addiction, whilst attempting to come to terms with his sexual identity. Every facet was realised in this Oscar-winng film, with flawless delivery, from the astonishing acting by every performer, to lush or exquisitely brutal cinematography, to tight editing.... And, of course, the script — original, profound, empathetic, and nuanced. Trevante Rhodes - Moonlight
JAKE GYLLENHAAL & HEATH LEDGER - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005) The American Neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee is considered as one of the breakthrough films of queer cinema. This film is about the complex emotional and sexual relationship between two men who developed a bond over one summer in the ‘60s. Brokeback Mountain is one of the most critically acclaimed films and heads many lists as one of the best. It’s a romantic masterpiece with a destructive ending both literally and emotionally. Most of all, the exquisite acting from the two leads, who never make a wrong move. Mag 48
