Stanley Tucci says he believes that straight actors should be able to play gay characters, as “the whole point” of acting is “to play different people”.
The debate on the legitimacy of LGBTQ+ roles in film and TV being taken by heterosexual actors has been ongoing for years, with stars of the industry all sharing their views.
In a new interview for the BBC‘s Desert Island Discs (via The Guardian), Tucci said that he considers being on stage or on screen as a safe place where you can inhabit different types of characters.
“I feel much safer on stage than I do in real life,” he said. “Sometimes, walking into a cocktail or dinner party, I get very nervous.”
Discussing being criticised for playing a gay character in Supernova, he added: “Obviously, I believe that’s fine, and I am always very flattered when gay men come up to me and talk about my role in The Devil Wears Prada or Supernova, and say I did it the right way.
“Because often it is not done the right way, and I really do believe as an actor that you are supposed to play different people. You just are.”
Last year, Ben Whishaw entered the debate and said he “[understood] the questions” surrounding straight actors playing gay characters, adding that “discussion” and “listening to each other” about the issues was important rather than disagreement.
“I think Eddie did a beautiful job,” he said of Eddie Redmayne’s performance in The Danish Girl as trans pioneer Lili Elbe. Whishaw had a supporting role in the film.
He continued: “And it’s done. Going forward, there will be other films in which the role is given to someone who lived that experience. Why shouldn’t a role like that be given to someone who knows, inside, what the character is? I’m all for that.
“I feel the same, sometimes, about straight actors playing gay parts. I’m critical if I don’t think the performance is, from my subjective experience, accurate. I might think, ‘I don’t believe you!’ And even a small moment of hesitation or inauthenticity will block my engagement with the whole story. So I understand these questions.”
Elsewhere, Benedict Cumberbatch opened up about playing a gay character in new Netflix film The Power of the Dog, admitting it “wasn’t done without thought”.