Jeremy Strong says criticizing straight actors for playing gay roles is ‘absolutely valid’
Jeremy Strong recently told the Los Angeles Times that “it’s absolutely valid” to criticize straight actors for playing gay characters but doesn't think gay actors are required for those roles.
Jeremy Strong recently told the Los Angeles Times that “it’s absolutely valid” to criticize straight actors for playing gay characters, although he also strongly believes that it’s an actor’s job “to render something that is not necessarily your native habitat.” Strong stars as Donald Trump’s mentor Roy Cohn in “The Apprentice.”
“Yes, it’s absolutely valid,” Strong said about the criticism. “I’m sort of old fashioned, maybe, in the belief that, fundamentally, it’s [about] a person’s artistry, and that great artists, historically, have been able to, as it were, change the stamp of their nature. That’s your job as an actor. The task, in a way, is to render something that is not necessarily your native habitat.”
“While I don’t think that it’s necessary [for gay roles to be played by gay performers], I think that it would be good if that were given more weight,” Strong added.
The debate over whether or not straight actors should play gay roles has been a consistent one in Hollywood over the last few years. Nicholas Galitzine made headlines over the summer when he told British GQ that he felt “somewhat guilty” as a straight actor when he decided to play gay roles in “Red, White & Royal Blue” and “George & Mary.”
“I identify as a straight man, but I have been a part of some incredible queer stories,” Galitzine told the publication. “I felt a sense of uncertainty sometimes about whether I’m taking up someone’s space, and perhaps guilt. At the same time, I see those characters as not solely their sexuality.”
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