Sean Penn Has Said That Stopping Straight Actors From Playing LGBTQ+ Characters Is "A Timid And Artless Policy"

In 2021, nonbinary actor Jesse James Keitel highlighted this issue when they told NBC News: “I’ve only played queer roles in my professional career, and I am looking forward to the day when I can play a role that has nothing to do with my gender or sexuality, or my character’s gender or sexuality. I think that’s a privilege that many straight and cis actors don’t realize is even a thing.”

Secondly, actors who are openly queer in the industry have previously spoken out about job offers drying up after they came out — with Matt Bomer recently hitting the headlines when he revealed that he lost out on a career-defining role as Superman when he was outed in the media in the early 2000s. 

British star Rupert Everett previously recalled a similar experience, telling BBC Radio 4 in 2010: “Show business is ideally suited for heterosexuals; it’s a very heterosexual business, it’s run mostly by heterosexual men, and there’s a kind of pecking order.”

When asked his view on straight actors taking on queer roles, Rupert acknowledged the stifling impact that it has on queer actors as he explained: “A lot of straight actors are actively searching for gay roles because it is something different to do. I think that’s fine, but that does mean the gay actor who used to just get to play the gay part — like me — has been reduced to drag, really.”

Notably, Rupert’s comments came shortly after acting veteran Richard Chamberlain — who didn’t come out as gay until more than 40 years into his career — told the Advocate: “I wouldn’t advise a gay leading man–type actor to come out. It’s complicated. There’s still a tremendous amount of homophobia in our culture. It’s regrettable, it’s stupid, it’s heartless, and it’s immoral, but there it is.”