The United States of America has given a pass to various social concerns over the last few years. If you don’t hear something in the news about racism, then it’s about being homophobic or xenophobic. Unfortunately, no one is safe from the toxic misgivings concerning being targeted, not even celebrities. Actor Nathan Lane, popular for his role in films like The Birdcage, The Producers, and my personal favorite, Mouse Hunt, recently divulged his experience with homophobia throughout his career, even saying that it’s stopped him from having a more lavish acting career.
The actor shares a moment in his career when he was auditioning for a role in the Michael Jordan-led film Space Jam. He had hosted the Tony Awards, which convinced director Joe Pytka that he might be too flamboyant for the role.
“the director saw me hosting the Tony awards and thought that suggested I was too gay to play the part. But I don’t know. I’ll never know what people say. Homophobia is alive and well still.”
Lane explained that since that particular role, his career has slipped away in front of him as roles were passed to different actors. However, he acknowledged some of his success to executive producer Ryan Murphy for providing him with roles in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story. The two showed off his acting chops further, propelling him back into people’s view.
Commenters on the post criticize Hollywood’s consistent tiptoeing around this particular issue. It’s no surprise that executives have been judging acting roles according to aspects of that person’s life, including religion and sexuality.
“Saddened but not surprised. At the end of the day, studios are still largely headed by straight, white men which allows things like homophobia and misogyny to continue. Even before the rollback on DEI initiatives, those things (support for queer people, own voices films and shows) have largely been lip service that are only allowed if they benefit – not detract from – the bottom line.”
It takes a brave person to speak out on this particular topic, especially when the state of the country is as fragile as it is. Personally, I hope to see Nathan Lane in more serious projects, as I think he’s an incredibly talented actor. I also hope that more actors continue to speak out against -isms in Hollywood, which I personally believe just diminishes the talent pool.
