by Stanley Tucci appeared on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Desert Island Discs’ and weighed in on the debate about straight actors playing gay characters. The Oscar nominee, who has been married to Emily Blunt’s sister since 2012, played gay roles in “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006) and “Supernova” (2020) and received critical acclaim for both performances.
“Obviously, I think it’s okay,” Tucci said of straight actors playing gay roles. “I’m always very flattered when gay men come up to me and talk about ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ or talk about ‘Supernova’ and say, ‘That was so beautiful,’ you know, ‘You did it the right way. . Because often, it’s not done the right way.”
“An actor is an actor is an actor,” added Tucci. “You’re supposed to play different people. You just are. That’s the whole point of this.”
As long as it’s done “the right way,” Tucci said it’s okay for straight actors to play gay characters on screen. When it becomes caricature and stereotyping, it becomes a problem.
Tucci’s thoughts differ from those of Tom Hanks, who said The New York Times Magazine last year that a straight actor couldn’t take on a gay role like the one he played in Jonathan Demme’s 1993 legal drama “Philadelphia.” Hanks starred in the film as a gay man with HIV who is discriminated against at work, and won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance.
“Let’s address ‘could a straight man do what I did in ‘Philadelphia’ now?’ No, and rightly so,” Hanks said. “The goal of ‘Philadelphia’ was for you not to be afraid. One of the reasons people weren’t afraid of that movie is because I was playing a gay man. We’re beyond that now, and I don’t think people accept the inauthenticity of a straight man playing a gay man.”
“It’s not a crime, it’s not boohoo, for someone to say we’re going to demand more from a movie in the modern realm of authenticity,” Hanks added. “Do I sound like I’m preaching? It is not my intention.
Listen to Tucci’s full appearance on BBC Radio 4 “Desert Island Discs” program here.
