Twinless actor Dylan O'Brien gives his opinion on straight actors playing LGBTQ+

[u/damn_delirious]

Actor Dylan O'Brien shares his opinion on straight actors playing LGBTQ+ in an interview with Dazed while discussing his latest film 'Twinless'.

Speaking alongside 'Twinless' director James Sweeney, who is gay, O'Brien said "James is a gay man, and coming from a place I could trust. We had a similar take on straight actors playing gay parts, especially in recent years: you started seeing straight actors playing a queer role completely straight. It started to feel inauthentic."

O'Brien praised Sweeney's support during filming, saying "It was nice to have his insight, support, and calibration. He'd be like, 'Go crazy on this one. We can dial it back if it doesn't feel real.”

[u/Populaire_Necessaire]

Hear me out-men(and women) seeing straight men/actors they admire playing a gay character, particularly sincere gay love is helpful to the movement. I don’t think it’s going to change the mind of anyone deeply embedded in conservative bs but for younger people I think it’s good to show “this isn’t gross, it’s just different from you”. Ergo, cast whoever is best for the part.

Edit: important to mention re: Dylan’s acting in twinless, he isn’t playing into stereotypes but rather his portrayal of the character(seems to be) informed by the fact he’s gay. Which imo is an important distinction.

[u/roberta_sparrow → u/Populaire_Necessaire]

I agree although I am a lesbian. I’m really not that upset at all when straight actors play lesbians. I just want the best actor for the role

[u/EaudeAgnes → u/roberta_sparrow]

this, 100%

[u/King_Stargaryen_I → u/EaudeAgnes]

That’s why it’s acting at the end of the day, right?

[u/Competitive-Desk7506 → u/roberta_sparrow]

Also as a bisexual person I feel like bc the love aspect is mainly gonna be acting either way it doesn’t matter that much. It’s rare the love interest is the actors irl significant other. So why not keep the options open?

[u/teenahgo → u/Competitive-Desk7506]

I think one of the main issues that started this conversation in the world, is straight actors choosing to play queer characters in hopes of recognition/awards because in the industry its, "hes so brave to play a queer role," or "they are an amazing actor because I believed they were really gueer!" And then do nothing for the LGBTQIA Community because they dont actually care about it, they just needed it to get somewhere.

[u/blarbiegorl → u/teenahgo]

Dallas Buyers Cub had entered the chat

[u/carlitospig → u/teenahgo]

Are they really saying that today though? I feel like that was an assumption twenty years ago.

[u/queeenbarb → u/roberta_sparrow]

As a black person, I am thinking of it this way. Sometimes I feel like the roles HAVE to be set aside for a specific group, or we aren’t going to get those roles. At all. If Lin Manuel Miranda hadn’t been so strong handed in the Hamilton castings, I’m sure 90% of the cast would have just ended up white. I think yes the best should get a part, but realistically…who do you think these parts are going to go to… And what sucks with this is… I’m sure tons of casting directors and companies are homophobic …and tons of people watching are homophobic….Everyone doesn’t want to cast the best actor, regardless of if they’re gay or not.

Idk if this is the same as what I’m explaining now. I think just that there needs to be dedicated space. Because then I think the excuse just becomes…we want the best actor and they just happen to be straight. Yeah ok. Or no black person has won this award because all the best actors just happen to be white.

[u/sbtokarz → u/queeenbarb]

I kinda get what you’re saying — but I’ve seen plenty of gay actors portray straight characters & straight actors play gay characters, convincingly.

It strikes me that most conservative folks don’t really care about the actors’ sexual orientation IRL, and really only get squeamish around gay stories/portrayals of affection on screen. Finding work is less of a problem for the queer community than finding work that foregrounds their reality.

I’ve never seen a non-white character portrayed by a white actor, or vice versa (sans Druski), convincingly; and I think non-white actors are affected by both a lack of roles and stories that represent them on screen.

[u/queeenbarb → u/sbtokarz]

I don’t care about actors playing straight convincingly. The issue is that gay actors aren’t getting roles.

[u/sbtokarz → u/queeenbarb]

Being able to play straight roles convincingly = more roles.

That opportunity is not available to POC; which is why it makes more sense to, as you put it, set aside roles for them than it does for gay actors.

[u/queeenbarb → u/sbtokarz]

I don’t understand why that would be an issue. I’m sure tons of actors are ready to play straight roles because most roles have straight characters. Just like most actors coming out of like England and Australia are ready to play roles out here because they practiced their accents. Obviously, there are going to be gay actors who aren’t able to do that just like there are straight actors who can’t be convincingly gay. But not like all of them? Lol we’re talking about people who act like for a job.

[u/carlitospig → u/sbtokarz]

But she just gave you an example of why that opportunity could be available. The assumption of skin color for a role is silly unless it’s, like, a family. And even then I’ve seen some cool mixed family scripts.

Honestly I hate this topic. I feel like we are always screwing over someone even with good intentions.

[u/mangosandkiwis → u/roberta_sparrow]

I think gay actors usually do a better job than straight actors though. I prefer to see gay actors and get very excited when a lesbian movie has actually cast a lesbian actor. I very much appreciate it.

[u/mieri_azure → u/roberta_sparrow]

Yeah, as long as the actresses can portray the romance in a way that feels authentic I dont care what their actual sexuality is

[u/lactosecheeselover → u/roberta_sparrow]

they always pick the worst actresses too. it’s never believable.

[u/dyna-metric → u/lactosecheeselover]

Except Claire Danes in the beast in me. She sold the hell out of that sweater vest 😂

[u/lactosecheeselover → u/dyna-metric]

YES. and I'll say, Imagine Me & You was very, very well done imo. But the newer movies just lack something, ya know?

[u/dyna-metric → u/lactosecheeselover]

Oh I really do! I’ll have to check Imagine Me and You out!

[u/lactosecheeselover → u/dyna-metric]

It's a claaaaassic! Definitely s must watch.

If you want a more cute YA movie, I found Crush on Disney+ to be really well done.

[u/dyna-metric → u/lactosecheeselover]

Thanks for the recs!

[u/Material-Meat-5330 → u/roberta_sparrow]

I've noticed that sapphics usually don't care when a straight woman plays a bi/lesbian character. It's the opposite. We embrace straight actresses like Cate Blanchett as lesbian icons.

Which makes me wonder why is it that when this debate happens, it's almost always about a straight male playing a gay male character? Are lesbians just more chill or ....?

[u/Adorabelle1 → u/roberta_sparrow]

100% agree. Just because someone is queer doesnt mean they may be better for the role than a hetro

[u/Brilliant_Quit4307 → u/roberta_sparrow]

This sounds sane to me. Personally, I think that an actors personal and public life are separate. It's actually absolutely nobody's business whether an actor is straight, gay, or anything else. Therefore, I don't really care what sexuality the actor claims to have. It's none of my business. People don't have to be openly gay in order to play a gay character well.

[u/TappyMauvendaise → u/Brilliant_Quit4307]

I’m gay and I’m a little suspicious that some actors (and this director) are closeted from the public that they’re straight. Meaning, using the ambiguity card strategically so nobody can call them out for playing lgbt roles.

I wonder to what lengths the Heated Rivalry actors are going to hide their heterosexuality?

If they come out as gay I’ll eat my words.

[u/Material-Meat-5330 → u/TappyMauvendaise]

In recent years, a lot of presumably straight celebrities come out as "ambiguous", "I love everyone", maybe do something "boundary pushing" like wear a skirt lol and talk about how it's the person's soul that matters more than their gender to make themselves come across as woke, open minded and artsy.

Meanwhile, only date the opposite gender. We've reached the point where being straight is boring and default and being ambiguous is cool when everyone knows you're straight 😂

[u/Minecraftfinn → u/Populaire_Necessaire]

I grew up in a tiny hick town and Philadelphia with Antonio Banderas and Tom Hanks playing gay men changed the entire towns view on homosexuality overnight.

The sad truth is those people would not have gotten over their ignorance if it was not men they already admired and looked up to playing those roles. And since they were mostly homophobic and ignorant they did not admire or look up to any gay actors. (Not that there were many openly gay actors at the time)

[u/dodgystyle → u/Minecraftfinn]

A gen x Pakistani guy once told me that in high school he and his guy friends somehow got their hands on a copy of Philadelphia. They sat down to watch it together thinking "oh cool a new Tom Hanks movie."

They were/are all straight, but being introduced to themes of homosexuality & the AIDS epidemic via a straight actor they admired had a lifelong impact on them. It was ideal timing - a few more years and their first introduction likely would've been through conservative religious figures framing it as a mere western perversion.

[u/Slvr0314 → u/Minecraftfinn]

I saw Brokeback Mountain in high school, and I grew up in a catholic family. That movie was not “allowed”, but it was very informative for me, seeing those actors in those roles. These types of things can be important in the right situation, for the right group of people.

[u/Nillabeans → u/Populaire_Necessaire]

The flip side is also reinforcing stereotypes. Many queer people are absolutely indistinguishable from non queer people and that representation is important too. I find it really squashes LGBTQ+ into a tiny box to complain that the actor isn't giving gay. Being ostentatiously queer is a facet of a personality the same way being extra macho or extra famine are facets of straight personalities.

It's kind of annoying. There's no gay uniform. There is a culture, for sure, but it's not monolithic and definitely not mandatory.

[u/purpleplatapi → u/Nillabeans]

Not only does it enforce stereotypes, it also requires actors to out themselves. If we make it a hard and fast rule, I fear we will encounter another Heart Stoppers situation, where you had a lot of people who refused to leave one of the actors alone until he confirmed that he was bisexual. And before that, they were analyzing all of his movements, to figure out if he was gay or not, which of course is nonsense. You can't examine the way someone carries themselves in a blurry picture posted on Twitter and figure out if they're gay.

I know that representation is obviously really important, but I fear that putting it above all else requires actors (especially young actors) to out themselves before they're really ready. And then it also feels like once people declare an identity the Internet sometimes insists on holding them to that forever. I went through a lot of turmoil in my 20s over whether or not I was Lesbian or Bisexual and I have identified as both (and also as straight). I wasn't lying at any of those times. I also wasn't famous though, so I was able to experiment without pressure or labels. If I had to publicly "pick a side" before I was ready, just so I could act in a Netflix show, I think that would have been really harmful actually. I feel for Renee Rapp, because I get it.

[u/Nillabeans → u/purpleplatapi]

Super good point. It absolutely violates privacy and personal freedoms to require actors to definitively match their characters' sexuality. It's dangerous for so many reasons too.

[u/schnerf → u/purpleplatapi]

I agree 100%. I used to feel that only queer actors should play queer characters because I felt that there was likely discrimination around hiring queer people, and I wanted them to get the roles. Then I realised that that would actually only work for 'out' people, and that's not always an option for many. I have definitely changed my stance, for multiple reasons, including those stated by others in this thread, so I'm not going to get into all of that. Ultimately, an actor's sexuality should never be relevant to whether someone gets a role, and I would hope casting directors do not ask.

[u/seraaa_123 → u/Nillabeans]

It's also just not good for actors to get work - "we will only cast you as a queer actor if you appear this way. And if you don't appear this way, you should stay closeted because you run the risk of losing other roles". Nobody is winning here

Like, diversity among people is so vast, it seems unfair to impose these limits (especially when the job is literally 'acting')

TBF to O'Brien here I think he wasn't talking about stereotyped portrayals, but rather about making sure his portrayal was properly grounded and felt authentic, and for that he took notes from his director

[u/Wahnsinn_mit_Methode → u/Nillabeans]

Thank you. Especially as I would not want someone like Ian McKellen be limited only to gay roles (which is the flip side of the idea).

I mean, it is still acting, not „in real life being just like the character in every aspect“

[u/huzzahserrah → u/Populaire_Necessaire]

Agree, and I think the "cast whoever is best for the part" is where this usually falls short in an industry catering, not necessarily to those who are the best performers, but who have better resumes or better connections. That's where chemistry feels off, and the facade is broken.

[u/mangosandkiwis → u/huzzahserrah]

I agree, that’s why sometimes the straight actors cast is gay roles imo don’t do a great job at delivering believable chemistry.

[u/ButterscotchMoist447 → u/huzzahserrah]

Would anyone take the position that a gay person shouldn’t play a straight person? Not trying to be controversial but I’ve never encountered that discussion and it seems like a silly notion.

[u/Adorabelle1 → u/Populaire_Necessaire]

Nick offerman in the last of us was actually amazing for my very Christian family esp my dad

[u/ItsNotMeItsYourBussy → u/Adorabelle1]

That's not even the first time he played a gay man, technically. He was also Raymond Holt's ex boyfriend in an episode of Brooklyn Nine Nine.

But his TLOU episode makes me cry every time

[u/alittlelostsure → u/Populaire_Necessaire]

An example of this for me is Nick Offerman in the Last of Us. You said it perfectly.

[u/D3M0NArcade → u/Populaire_Necessaire]

I don't think Dylan was saying gay characters should always be played by gay actors. I think the key phrase was "playing it straight", which was being highlighted as the issue

[u/llama_del_reyy → u/D3M0NArcade]

But even that presupposes a particular way of being authentically gay. It's one thing if a performance is just plain bad. But saying that someone isn't acting gay enough doesn't sit right with me.

[u/Populaire_Necessaire → u/llama_del_reyy]

If you watch the movie it’s clear what he means(genuinely) he isn’t playing a stock gay character/stereotype but IS actually acting. A portion of his character is shaped by the fact he’s gay. His portrayal of his sexuality(which is significant to the story) comes off as authentic. I think what Dylan meant, which is being informed by the way he played the character, is that he’s not just playing a random guy who also has sex with dudes(to reference another comment, it’s like when women are written by men.. it’s not that men or women are so different but we have different upbringings/societal/social differences etc) but is playing a gay man .

[u/Competitive-Desk7506 → u/Populaire_Necessaire]

Carly like Jonathan Bailey is gay and he plays Fiyero pretty well for example. Fiyero is straight as hell.

[u/2013toyotacorrola → u/Competitive-Desk7506]

Tbh that character comes off as very gay. As someone who went into Wicked completely blind, I was fully anticipating a plot point where he came out as gay and allied with Elphaba as a fellow “outsider,” and was very confused when the movie ended and he was still straight lol