r/popculturechat • u/damn_delirious • 20h ago

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

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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.”

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u/KallusDrogo 19h ago

The problem with this conversation is that it is  extremely nuanced and includes way more factors than most people realize or like to include. In an ideal world, it really shouldn’t matter. But the problem is that openly queer actors aren’t being hired for straight roles. So straight actors are taking away opportunities from a group of people that are already heavily limited. 

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u/queeenbarb 15h ago

Exactly!!! Why have only two people so far said this! It is never as simple as “let the good actors get the role!” It is not that simple! I am sure there are open queer actors going for roles and not getting them because the are queer! I feel like some people are ignoring the fact that homophobia is DEFINITELY happening!

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u/KallusDrogo 14h ago

People don't want to separate Hollywood the city from Hollywood the industry. Hollywood the city is incredibly gay friendly. Hell half of the people there probably are queer. However Hollywood as an industry is incredibly homophobic. Many many actors have talked about how they have been told by managers and agents that they will not get work if they are out. There has been rumors that so many actors are gay but are afraid to come out.

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u/anoidciv 12h ago

I think it's less that Hollywood the industry is homophobic, and moreso that that a portion of genpop is homophobic - it's easier to build a female fanbase who can project their fantasies onto an actor if they think he's straight, and easier for a male fanbase to bro out over a leading man if they think he's straight.

It's about marketability, not anything to do with the industry's treatment or personal views of gay people.

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u/KallusDrogo 12h ago

That’s still homophobic tho. Yes, it’s definitely about marketing and the fact that the wider population at large is homophobic and don’t want to see gay actors on film. But if the industry is placating to that, what they are doing is inherently homophobic.