JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
'Tough One For Me': Will And Grace Star Eric McCormack Shares Thoughts On Straight Actors Playing Gay Roles
Eric McCormack speaks about straight actors playing the role of LGBTQ characters on screen. Read to know what the Will & Grace actor has to share.
LGBTQ is slowly being introduced on-screen on a very large scale. With most movies embracing reality, some of the films or series had to face harsh criticism over the acceptance and encouragement of the term.
However, in a recent interview, Eric McCormack spoke about a similar concept, which also surrounds his role in the hit series Will & Grace.
Eric McCormack talks about a straight actor playing a gay role
Eric McCormack had recently appeared on Good Morning Britain, where he was asked if a straight actor should play the role of a gay person on screen.
The actor who is heterosexual replied, “That’s a tough one for me because I didn’t become an actor so that I could play an actor.”
Eric McCormack, who played the role of a gay man on Will & Grace, further continued, “There’s no part I’ve ever played where I wasn’t playing something I’m not. It’s part of the gig. If gay actors weren’t allowed to play straight actors, Broadway would be over. So this is what we do.”
Further, with the hope that he did his role well while also strongly representing the LGTBQ community, the Travellers actor stated, “I came from the theater, and every one of my best friends was a gay man. So I think I took their spirit and their message in what was otherwise just a sitcom and represented, I hope.”
Eric McCormack in Will and Grace
The Andromeda Strain actor played the role of a gay lawyer named Will Truman in the aforementioned series for 11 seasons. Will and Grace was an NBC comedy series, for which McCormack also won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in 2001. The actor was even honored with the GLAAD Vanguard Award in 2003, recognizing outstanding representation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.
The series originally ran from 1998 to 2006 and was later revived from 2017 to 2020. During both tenures, the Other Balck Girl actor played the role of the lawyer.
During his recent interview on the UK's ITV show, which was being hosted by Susanna Reid and Ed Balls, Eric McCormack was asked if he would be cast as Will, the lawyer, if the series had been made today.
Addressing their question, the Canadian actor jokingly stated, “Well, I guess the answer would be, they’d have to say in the casting room, ‘And you’re gay, right?,’ which I don’t think they can say.”
FAQs
Latest Articles
