Irish comedian and actor Brendan O’Carroll plays Mrs. Doubtfire/Madea-esque character Mrs Agnes Brown in the hit comedy Mrs Brown’s Boys.
The comedian has found great success with the role and intellectual property. Mrs Brown’s Boys first started off as a radio show in 1992 before becoming a series of books and then turning into both a sitcom and a stage show.
But when a Russian production company came calling about the possibility of a Russian version of the show, O’Carroll found an issue with one of their demands.
“They didn’t want any gay [content], in Russia in particular,” O’Carroll said during an interview with RTE.
“It would have been a nice little deal. It’s a big country and so the fee you’d charge for the licensing is audience-related, so it’s a big audience and it would have been a nice fee.
“But [they said] no gay, absolutely no gay. So I said no gay, no show. And that was it.”
But it seems is wasn’t just Russia who wasn’t ok with this gay character.
“Romania threatened [to cut the gay character out], but then went ahead with it,” he explained.
“What they’ve done is, the Rory character is the Rory character and he’s still gay, but they never mention that he’s gay. But it’s still Rory.”
That said, unfortunately the original Rory can’t be found on television as well.
Rory Cowan who’s openly gay and originally played Rory Brown, Mrs Brown’s third son, announced earlier this year that he would be leaving the show and the role.
“I feel that 26 years is enough so I decided it was time to go. I told Brendan on June 16 about my decision to leave.
“That’s when I handed in my notice.”
Bravo to Brendan O’Carroll!
Bravo to Brendan O’Carroll! Mrs. Brown's Boys is a delightful series and genuinely funny. Saying no to Russia because of gay characters sends a positive message to the bigots of the world!