Cumberbatch, who is married to a woman, told the Telluride Film Festival that his casting “wasn’t done without thinking about it,” IndieWire reported.
“One of the attractions of the work was the idea that in this world, with this specific character, there were a lot of private things, hidden from view,” he said at the festival, where the film was screened.
Cumberbatch plays Phil in the film, based on the 1967 novel of the same name. In the novel, Phil’s sexuality is hinted at, but never openly confirmed by author Thomas Savage; the thorny, conniving nature of his character is informed by a lifetime of repression.
Cumberbatch added that acclaimed New Zealand film director Jane Campion “chose us as actors” to play her roles.
“I also have a bit of a feeling, is this that our dance card has to be public?” Cumberbatch said. “Should we recount all our private moments in our sexual history? I don’t think so.”
Hollywood has for decades starred in heterosexual actors in gay roles. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal made lovers on “Brokeback Mountain.” Cate Blanchett fell in love with a “Carol” store. Cumberbatch previously played Alan Turing, a World War II codebreaker who was convicted of “indecency” for her relationship with a man and suffered chemical castration, in “The Imitation Game.” The four actors were nominated for Oscars for their performances.
Some of the creators involved in these films, such as director Todd Haynes of “Carol” and Luca Guadagnino, who directed “Call Me By Your Name,” which also starred heterosexual actors, are gay. The film “Moonlight,” which followed a gay black man in three stages of his life, was celebrated to avoid strange stereotypes, even though it starred some heterosexual actors.
While the involvement of cisgender actors in transgender roles has recently fallen out of popular practice – the LGBTQ media advocacy organization, GLAAD, says using this way “perpetuates the belief that trans people are not real” – there is no similar consensus regarding actors playing gay characters. (The organization did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on heterosexual actors representing gay characters).
Vanity Fair critic Richard Lawson wrote in a review of the 2020 film “The Prom” that there is no “hard and fast rule about who should play gay men on screen.” The nuance, however, is necessary for any actor who plays a gay character, he said.
That’s why James Corden’s casting of “The Prom” as a missing Broadway star was widely criticized: Corden, married to a woman, interpreted the stereotypes of gay men, according to many critics, who said his performance he was “insulting” and called him “offensively boring.”
“Overall, yes, I wish more gay actors had a chance to tell our stories, embody our people, rather than heterosexual men receiving recognition for being brave, or joys for being brazen,” he said. Lawson wrote in his review of the film. “… But Corden, twirling and going crazy in the least uninspired cartoons, loses all the potential for nuances and therefore never finds a single touch of truth on paper.”
Corden was nominated for Golden Globes for his performance.
But the idea that playing a gay role is a “brave” decision for a heterosexual actor is becoming less dominant, critic Guy Lodge said in an interview with The Guardian, evidenced by a lack of buzz for films like “Ammonite” and “Supernova”. , ”which focused on queer love stories portrayed by heterosexual actors.
“I think the idea of being‘ brave ’to play gay will disappear,” Lodge said. “I think now by itself it looks pretty unremarkable.”
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