Paul Mescal & Josh O’Connor are getting pushback for playing gay in new film “The History of Sound”

These roles should be played by trans women of color only.

Was ever a problem easier to solve? Fuck each other.

What is it with these two and gay roles, for fuck sake? But above all, I blame the director. And he's gay too, which makes it so much worse. Guess he's taking cues from Guadagnino.

I thought All of Us Strangers settled on a nice compromise, i.e. have at least one gay actor in the lead role. Like, that should be the bare minimum at this point.

Is it because they ugly?

gays playing gays is boring.

It's probably because they're the only two actors with something of a name that will get naked at the drop of a hat?

Maybe that cute little gay from Bridgerton was busy.

I think it’s possible for straights to play gay. But I still love that films get scrutinized for it nowadays, because there are still roles we are still locked out of, not to mention the near complete lack of masculine gay characters in action, fantasy & horror genres.

Anyway, for this specific issue to be about these two is indeed funny.

It’s called ACTING. There is no problem with it.

Oh, for fuck sakes, this is called acting. Stop with the purity and woke shit.

I have no problem with Josh O'Connor playing gay. But I don't want to see that Mescal weasel in anything. I stopped watching All of Us Strangers after 15 minutes. I just don't like him.

Straight actors can play gay and gay actors can play straight.

I don’t understand what people don’t get about acting.

What draws the line? Famous people are typically wealthy so maybe it’s insensitive for them to play poor people?

It’s so stupid.

Mescal has a gay following / audience. A lot of male actors do. If that gets people to be interested in a film, why not do it seeing as that’s how money is made?? Lol

For Christ’s sake. Let them be.

This was an issue for me when I was first coming out in the early 90s. Don’t care anymore.

Simply posing the question "can someone play somebody they aren't in their "real life" presupposes an abject lack of understanding of what acting is. Can a singer only sing the blues when they are sad? Can a writer only write within the limits of his own experience. These "life experience" Nazis are didactic lack any understanding of creativity, so they sit around making ridiculous rules for others. fuck that noise

Paulie and Joshy are both critically acclaimed actors and both their stars are rising. In particular, Paul Mescal, has attained critical mass to become The People’s Princess in his Gaelic football short shorts. .

And they both show DONG. Josh O’Connor has a huge cock.

I’m looking forward to watching this film

“The internet is divided.” Wow, That is definitely some ripped-from-the-headlines news right there but my policy is not to concern myself until I see “Internet Utterly Loses its Shit,” at the very least.

Will hole be shown?

I'm an openly gay character actor and I play straight and gay roles all the time. I've made out with women on stage and in film so if they can do it and not be weird about it, who cares?

out.com needs content for people to click on, too, ya know. articles about movie people make great clickbait. straight male moderately handsome movie people possibly kissing- even better.

Maybe they were both considered the best actors for the roles after casting agents went through the possibilities - whether it's talent, looks, availability, what they asked for or demanded as compensation, etc.

No director wants to hire crappy actors just to make a small percent of people happy. They may be even a smaller percent of moviegoers.

We may have passed the point of making a point.

Gay for a day

[quote] Maybe that cute little gay from Bridgerton was busy.

Johnnie Bailey. He’s the male lead in the movie of Wicked.

Mescal and O’Connor are hung, by the way. Especially O’Connor.

Bros was a bomb because gays played gays!

r3, there aren't enough gay actors with name recognition under the age of 35 to meet that standard. The amount og gay content being pushed out is at an all time high. You're going to get straight guys in there. As long as they are hot, who cares?

I think anyone can play anything as an actor but it does open the conversation about how often openly gay actors get leading straight roles. Not often. Matt Bomer is a prime example of this. Since he came out, he’s been completely shoe horned into gay roles and openly admits his decision to come out shut a lot of doors and cost him roles. His Fellow Travelers co-star seems to be fairing a bit better but I’ll be interested to see what he does next after his first prominent, very gay role in FT. Not counting Wicked here as that was already cast before FT came out.

I do find it a bit odd when the same actors keep playing gay. There aren’t many gay stories out there yet the same actors seem to pop up in the roles!

[quote]Johnnie Bailey.

Jonny, dear.

Wait Paul Mescal is straight?

R25, I understand, playing gay makes them edgy and interesting (and they have gay followers). It seems a little opportunistic.

That said i think this discussion is ridiculous, as several mentioned this is acting and their real life sexuality should not be an issue.

As I was writing the above, instill find somewhat irking that some many straight actors pulled out Oscar by playing gay, tragic men (Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, Mcbongo, Seymour Hoffman, etc).

Which film(s) does Mescal show dong in?

It was called Normal People, r29. It was on Hulu in the US.

R29 r30 you need to grow up.

R20 Yeah look what happened with “Bros”. There’s tons of gay themed movies that performed better than that.

Straight men playing gay can sell a movie more than gay men playing gay.

And gay men don’t get cast as straight because most straight people feel they aren’t believable as straight but it’s different when reversed.

I'm so old that I can remember when straight men were petrified to play gay on screen. This is progress.

R18 - just curious- in your experience, is it difficult for gay actors to get straight roles?

[quote]But above all, I blame the director. And he's gay too, which makes it so much worse. Guess he's taking cues from Guadagnino.

I think this part is key, he's done two gay projects back to back and yet somehow managed to avoid casting a gay actor for any of the roles? There's some self-loathing at play here.

Have both actors come out and stated that they are straight? I love Josh O'Connor and after watching Paul Mescal doing press for All of Us Strangers, couldn't he be at least bi?

Gay or bi is sexually attracted to men. Being goofy or being comfortable with male affection doesn’t mean you’re sexually attracted to men. Paul Mescal dates women.

Doesn't answer my question.

What is not grown up, r31, about showing another gay male pictures of a penis? You're probably the same kind of bitchcunt from hell who used to rave and loon about Tim O'Tay's fans being pedophiles.

You just can't win with some frauen.

Frankly, I am getting sick and tired of Europeans playing Americans.

I realize it is acting, but it has gotten out of hand in the past decade or so.

As a Guatemalan who follows U.S. entertainment/history/pop culture, I am starting to feel cheated.

For one, I think Americans are much better-looking. I can easily distinguish between Americans and Europeans. You are not fooling anyone.

Also, we already know these two actors are uncircumcised; they have shown all in films before

And two, it would be like watching Italian films with foreigners playing the Italian characters -- there is just something wrong about that.

U.S. liberals who run Hollywood are now all about characters being played by actors who mirror their nationality... but apparently not when it comes to their own countrymen.

From what I have read, both characters are supposed to be from Kentucky.

In short, I want Midwestern/Southern characters being played by actual Midwesterners/Southerners.

I think those are the hottest Americans.

Really good points, R41. I guess it's possible they're filming in the UK (which would be silly, but not unheard of), so they cast brits to keep costs low or maybe they weren't able to hire SAG actors last year.

R37 Paul is only gay for Andrew Scott

We’ve seen both actors exclusively dating woman. Does that mean they are straight? No. But if you were trying to keep your sexuality quiet for whatever reason, why would go for multiple gay roles where these questions get thrown up every single time. You’d just avoid them wouldn’t you, for the sake of avoiding any probing into your private life. It’s not like Paul Mescal will be short of offers/interest. Josh O’Connor slightly less so but he’s not unknown & genuinely really talented. He’s absolutely fantastic in Gods Own County. And I thought extremely good as Prince Charles. Two vastly different roles!

R42 no good points at all. He keeps speaking of their dicks like they’re two porn stars making an 80s style porn flick. Theyre professional actors making a film. All he focuses on is “dong”, like a 13 year old boy. We are grown men.

Dongless MARY ^

At the end of the day, this needs to be a more nuanced conversation than the headlines suggest. I think the broader argument should be, if OPENLY gay actors are so rarely cast in straight leading roles, when the rarer gay lead role opens up it feels right that it should go to an openly gay actor. I get that sentiment.

But, this isn't an Olympic competition. Acting is much more amorphous and complex than that. There are so many factors -- from the actor's bankability to their particular skillset. And, how the actor 'reads' is so important. Not every gay actor is going to 'pass'. That's not said as an insult. I love my queeny gay men as much as my butches. Could Matt Bomer realistically play a straight, romantic lead in a film? Sure. Could Titus Burgess? I.. think not.

As everyone knows, the only way to reach true equality is through Hollywood.

I didn't like "All of Us Strangers" as much as many did, but Mescal was terrific in the role and completely believable as gay without resorting to impersonation.

If a guy who looked like that showed up at my door with a bottle of whiskey and those fuck-me eyes, you can bet I wouldn't have turned him away.

ac·tor /ˈaktər/ noun noun: actor; plural noun: actors

a person who behaves in a way that is not genuine.

R50

[quote] Not counting Wicked here as that was already cast before FT came out

Jonny Bailey has been out of the closet for a while now. Anyone who cast him in Wicked would have known he was gay.

Wicked is gonna flop.

The problem is actors of different sexualities, POC have been long shut out of mainstream roles, yes? The current solution - everyone only plays to their own ethnic/sexual niche - doesn't actually do anything to fix this problem.

[quote] The problem is actors of different sexualities, POC have been long shut out of mainstream roles, yes?

No. Next stupid question.

If were going to go only offer roles by actual sexual identity and ethnicity, why are so many Brits playing American character roles? And vice-versa?

This topic is so tiresome. Casting directors should cast whomever they want, regardless of sexual orientation.

r35, I haven't had a difficult time of it and I'm open about my sexuality. I'm not in a big market like NYC or LA but there is a ton of theater and television shows filming here.

[quote]I think anyone can play anything as an actor but it does open the conversation about how often openly gay actors get leading straight roles. Not often.

Jonathan Bailey plays the straight romantic lead in two huge projects--Bridgerton and Wicked. He's going to be big after Wicked.

R58 you need to learn the feeling of shame. This is embarrassing

Josh O'Connor is straight????

Josh O’Connor is only gay for Alex Secreanu

Jonathan Bailey in love with green 50-year-old Cynthia Erivo on the big screen. with singing. sure, he'll be huge.

[quote]Frankly, I am getting sick and tired of Europeans playing Americans.

It also means we are going to have to see more uncut cock.

R64 uncut cock is just cock. That’s what they’re meant to look like.

Actors acting. Absolutely fucking shocking.

I played dumb- but had an IQ of160!

I don't think there should be an outright prohibition on straight actors playing gay roles, but I do think that in the year 2024 that gay actors should be given first consideration for such parts.

Actually, R41, I'm afraid you're points are not valid. This film is set during WWI, therefor these two men's looks should be natural and not plastically enhanced, without false "perfect" teeth and yes, unless these characters are supposed to be Jewish, they would have probably been uncircumcised. Or, using your terms, these two early 20th century American men most definitely should look "European".

This wouldn’t be an issue for me if Mescal had not literally just played gay.

He is indeed depriving a gay actor of a role at this point. I think it’s fine if a straight actor wants to play a gay man, but doing it twice in a row seems to be doing it in bad faith.

A straight woman once (shamefacedly) explained to me that she doesn’t like to see gay actors in straight roles because it interferes with the fantasy straight women have about getting together with the actor.

R33 explain the career of tom cruise then

Tom Cruise isn’t gay, R72.

There is never been credible shred of information to suggest that he is gay.

Tom Cruise has sued journalists who have alluded to Cruise’s supposed homosexuality r72

Straight women don’t want to fuck openly gay actors, they want to take the gay actors shopping, seriously reducing gay actors marketability

Liberace also sued journalists who had alluded to his supposed homosexuality. And won!

I don’t know Josh O’Connor’s real-life story but I’m glad he plays so many gay and gay friendly characters. And often while naked.

Tom Cruise has every person he associates with, both business and personal, sign NDAs. A few tried to make public disclosures on Tom's life and sexuality and were shut down immediately. There was a gay porn star that went silent after he made a comment to a gay magazine.

But are they straight tho?

R71 That’s interesting cuz I don’t like seeing gay men in gay roles. It interferes with my fantasy of getting with the actor.

Gay for pay.

[quote] Straight actors can play gay and gay actors can play straight.

You don't get (openly) gay actors playing straight in too many high-profile roles. Also, there is a note of authenticity that even mediocre gay actors -- and of course, that would NOT include Golden Globe winner and Earth's premier gay actor, Matt Bomer -- can hit in a gay role that straight actors will miss. I think one of the reasons DL is in love with "Fellow Travelers" is because it was authentically acted, even if the story and the series was banal, dark and melodramatic.

I would not be surprised if Josh O'Connor wanted to lie down on a bed and sport a graphic erection and Paul Mescal would put it into his mouth to the hilt. I'd be cumming in my jeans knowing they are straight actors.

Another aspect to consider in the 'should straight play gay' argument is the press tour - too often the straight guys will other gay men, or play it up for laughs, etc.

[quote]Straight actors can play gay and gay actors can play straight.

The "backlash" is a symptom of a bigger problem: gay actors just don't have the same opportunities as straight ones. It starts in school. It continues in college and it also happens in the world after that.

Matt Bomer and more recently Jonathan Bailey seem to be the quasi-exceptions to that rule so at least things are changing albeit slowly. You could also argue the former would have never booked the series that helped launch his career if he were more publicly out from the start.