Stanley Tucci Says It’s ‘Fine’ for Straight Actors to Play Gay Roles: ‘You’re Supposed to Play Different People. That’s the Whole Point of It’

Stanley Tucci appeared onBBC Radio 4s Desert Island Discs show and weighed in on the debate over straight actors playing gay characters. The Oscar nominee, whose been married to Emily Blunts sister since 2012, played gay roles in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and Supernova (2020) and received critical acclaim for both performances.

Obviously I believe thats fine, Tucci said about straight actors taking gay roles. I am always very flattered when gay men come up to me and talk to me about The Devil Wears Prada or they talk about Supernova, and they say that, It was just so beautiful, you know, You did it the right way. Because often, its not done the right way.

An actor is an actor is an actor, Tucci added. Youre supposed to play different people. You just are. Thats the whole point of it.

As long as its being done the right way, Tucci said its fine for straight actors to play gay characters on screen. When it tips into caricature and stereotypes, then it becomes a problem.

Tuccis thoughts differ from that of Tom Hanks, who told The New York Times Magazine last year that a straight actor could not take on a gay role like the one he played in Jonathan Demmes 1993 legal drama Philadelphia. Hanks starred in the film as a gay man with HIV who is discriminated against at work, and he won the Oscar for best actor thanks to his performance.

Lets address could a straight man do what I did in Philadelphia now? No, and rightly so, Hanks said. The whole point of Philadelphia was dont be afraid. One of the reasons people werent afraid of that movie is that I was playing a gay man. Were beyond that now, and I dont think people would accept the inauthenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy.

Its not a crime, its not boohoo, that someone would say we are going to demand more of a movie in the modern realm of authenticity, Hanks added. Do I sound like Im preaching? I dont mean to.

Listen to Tuccis full appearance on BBC Radio 4s Desert Island Discs show here.