There’s a continuous exchange of opinions as to whether straight actors should play gay roles, and Taron Egerton recently shared his sentiments about it in an interview with The Telegraph.
The 33-year-old Welsh actor started by expressing his empathy with the LGBTQ+ community, stating:
“I grew up in a very liberal town, and a couple of my close friends are gay. I feel an affinity with that community.”
He proceeded on addressing the topic, explaining:
“I don’t particularly feel that there should be a blanket rule about whether straight actors should play gay roles. That’s very easy for me to say as a straight man, but I think that’s possibly a precedent not worth setting.”
In the past, Egerton has played gay roles, including his award-winning portrayal of Elton John in the 2019 biopic ‘Rocketman,’ as well as starring as Jonathan Bailey’s boyfriend in West End’s ‘Cock.’
Moreover, he also ruled out the chances of playing the highly coveted James Bond role, revealing that he’s had “zero phone calls,” and adding that he’s doesn’t believe that he’s “the right choice” because of his body type.
“You have to be consistently statuesque to be that guy. And that’s something that I am still striving for. I’ve always struggled with my weight. [Bond] is a bit like being a brand ambassador as well as being an actor. And that could be really fun in microcosm, but I’m sure I read that Barbara Broccoli said that it’s a 15-year commitment,” the actor shared.
Egerton is starring in the biographical film ‘Tetris,’ which will be available for streaming on Apple TV+ on March 31.
Sources: hollywoodreporter.com, playbill.com
Until queer actors are given leads in both tv & films and their presence aren’t incinerated by critics, fanboys, and lawmakers, leave those opportunities for LGBTQ people. We need to be the faces and voice of our stories and communities. We don’t need any more straight ppl be our spokesperson of equality when we aren’t actually in those spaces.
And when I say “leads” I mean being in more prestigious/ awards in the making projects. We mostly get rejected for those roles. Heck the upcoming Feud show have both gay icons played by straight actors. Of course Ryan Murphy is the producer and he loves his gay for hire actors. Thanks a bunch for that inclusion speech he gave at GG 🙄