Rebel Wilson: Only Gay Actors That Can Play Gay Characters Is Total Nonsense

[RAMROD 106,114]

Rebel Wilson has waded into one of the great acting representation debates of our time.

The Pitch Perfect star, who is engaged to a woman, branded the idea that “only straight actors can play straight roles and gay actors can play gay roles” as “total nonsense.” 

She was responding to a question over whether women can get away with different jokes compared to men, and was also speaking to the debate about whether people can make jokes about being overweight if they are not, for example. 

“I think that’s hard,” she told the BBC’s Desert Island Discs. “It’s going into this territory of like saying, ‘Well, only straight actors can play straight roles, and gay actors can play gay roles,’ which I think is total nonsense.”

She added: “I think you should be able to play any role that you want. But I always think, in comedy, your job is to always flirt with that line of what’s acceptable. Sometimes you do step over it but, at the end of the day, you are trying to entertain people.”

https://deadline.com/2024/06/rebel-wilson-gay-actors-debate-sacha-baron-cohen-1235957491/

Edited June 3, 2024 by RAMROD

[palma 7,745]

Do people even say that 

I get it being a discussion for trans people but for gays I always felt like the issue was always straight actors being praised to heavens for accepting to play a gay character and it being depicted as such a huge sacrifice or sth 

[Stef666 4,604]

Yes I wanna play a rat from Gaga's studio. That mfer has it good rn

[Head Empty 24,511]

1 minute ago, RAMROD said:

I think you should be able to play any role that you want.

In an ideal world that would be true, as long as every subgroup of the population gets an equal share of all the available roles. But as long as gay actors (or other minorities) are under represented in the castings, the answer isn't so black/white.

[Head Empty 24,511]

1 minute ago, Stef666 said:

Yes I wanna play a rat from Gaga's studio. That mfer has it good rn

I'm pretty sure @Rat Boy has said that only Meryl Streep would be allowed to play their likeness in a live action movie.

[Stef666 4,604]

1 minute ago, Head Empty said:

I'm pretty sure @Rat Boy has said that only Meryl Streep would be allowed to play their likeness in a live action movie.

It's ok he's gonna need a stunt double for the scenes where Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta tries to catch him with a Chromatica jockstrap 

[Didymus 34,379]

In the words of T. R. Knight:

"Of course queer actors can play straight, straight actors can play queer. The question is, ‘Is that opportunity being given equally, or even close to equally?’ And the answer to that is definitely ‘No.’"

[Bling 31,286]

1 hour ago, Didymus said:

In the words of T. R. Knight:

"Of course queer actors can play straight, straight actors can play queer. The question is, ‘Is that opportunity being given equally, or even close to equally?’ And the answer to that is definitely ‘No.’"

This

The point is that gay actors don't get as many opportunities as straight actors, so it's offensive to them when a straight actor gets a role that's actually made for them. 

[ActualPatient 1,288]

5 minutes ago, BlingNotTheMusic said:

This

The point is that gay actors don't get as many opportunities as straight actors, so it's offensive to them when a straight actor gets a role that's actually made for them. 

Offensive? No.

Very unfortunate? Yes.

For trans characters though, I'd rather only see trans actors play those roles.

[Jack3257 701]

I just graduated film school and have produced a fair number of projects, and not one have I ever asked an actor about their sexuality during casting.  Anyone who is acting is having to interpret material to become a character.  Someone’s sexuality rarely has anything to do with how they perform.  Actors inherently have to exhibit personality traits that differ from their own when they perform, and this can include sexuality.

I will even go so far as to say that two of my favorite gay characters in TV are played by straight actors (and they were perfect casting).  I’ve also personally watched people who are gay flawlessly play straight characters.  Can we just move past this whole debate.