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The straight debate: can straight, cis actors play queer characters? By Rachel Badham

Following the launch of Russell T Davies’ It’s A Sin, the creator responded to a handful of comments which questioned his decision to cast only queer actors in the groundbreaking TV show. His comment is just one of many in the ongoing debate of whether straight, cisgender actors have the right to play LGBTQ+ characters. Of course, non-queer people are frequently cast as LGBTQ+ characters, but in recent years this has sparked backlash, such as when Scarlett Johansson quit her role playing a trans woman following public retaliation.

However, what frustrates me about much of the discourse is that it fails to address the deeper issues going on behind the scenes. Perhaps the issue at the heart of this is not whether straight, cis characters should be playing LGBTQ+ characters, but the fact there are so few queer characters and narratives within mainstream cinema. There are so few queer film characters that when a straight, cis person assumes the role of an LGBTQ+ character, it deducts from one of the few chances queer people get to tell their stories.

Gay is not a performance. I don’t think gay is performative. I genuinely think that casting gay as gay now is the right thing to do

Using the logic that non-LGBTQ+ people shouldn’t be cast in LGBTQ+ roles, some people – who are more often than not straight, cis, men – argue that queer people should then not assume non-LGBTQ+ roles. Yet I believe that the problematic nature of a straight person playing an LGBTQ+ person is made void when a queer person plays straight character because the issue disproportionately affects LGBTQ+ narratives, which rarely appear on our screens.

In response to the arguments set out by those who believe LGBTQ+ people should not play straight characters, Russell T Davies said: “I believe in casting gay as straight. And I’ll tell you why – because from the age of eight, we are pretending to be straight. It’s the first thing we learn to do.” What I think Davies is highlighting here is the deeper question of

Queer actor Kristen Stewart has also weighed in on this in a 2020 interview, discussing the complexity of the issue: “I would never want to tell a story that really should be told by somebody who’s lived that experience. Having said that, it’s a slippery slope conversation because that means I could never play another straight character if I’m going to hold everyone to the letter of this particular law.”

Perhaps the issue at the heart of this is not whether straight, cis characters should be playing LGBTQ+ characters, but the fact there are so few queer characters and narratives within mainstream cinema.

If Stewart were to be denied straight roles as a result of her sexuality, her career – in terms of which films she would be able to be cast in – would likely suffer significantly, so some have argued that actors should be able to play any role; it is acting after all. So what is apparent to me is that the debate should not just be about casting but the politics of film industry and a continuing lack of queer representation. Why is it that Stewart’s career opportunities would diminish if she was no longer allowed to play non-LGBTQ+ roles? It seems that discussing if straight, cis people should be able to play LGBTQ+ people only scratches the surface of exclusionary problems that exist in the media.

And again, this is why I do agree that LGBTQ+ roles should be filled by LGBTQ+ people – there simply isn’t enough LGBTQ+ representation in cinema, and there isn’t enough space for queer actors in the industry. According to GLAAD’s annual Studio Responsibility Index, 22 of 118 films released by major movie studios in 2019 included characters who were lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (18.6%). In a November 2020 piece for USA Today, Jane Ward, a gender and sexuality studies professor at the University of California, said: “It would be nice if there were enough LGBTQ+ roles that anyone could play them because there wasn’t any scarcity of representation...

However, that’s not the case.”

In addition, LGBTQ+ actors may not be considered for any kind of role in a certain film due to the prejudices which continue to exist in the mainstream film industry – casting discrimination not often discussed in the debate, which tends to focus on the rights of straight, cis people to tell stories which they have not lived, but is a crucial factor to consider if we are to unravel the bigger picture of LGBTQ+ issues in the film industry.

It seems that discussing if straight, cis people should be able to play LGBTQ+ people only scratches the surface of exclusionary problems that exist in the media.

Ryan Cassata, a trans actor, said he rarely gets the chance to audition for cisgender characters: “That has nothing to do with my agents... That’s just the way the industry is,” and argues the injustice lies in cisgender actors taking away the few chances trans actors get to star in productions which feature a trans character (another rare occurrence).

This leads on to the lack of LGBTQ+ directors in mainstream film studios; while Kristen Stewart’s queer holiday romcom, The Happiest Season, was directed by the openly gay actress turned director, Clea DuVall, many films which contain LGBTQ+ characters do not have this level of input from queer people. As Cassata said, LGBTQ+ people are able to tell more authentic stories about LGBTQ+ characters, but how are they able to do so if queer filmmakers do not have access to mainstream audiences.

As GLAAD found, Hollywood films are disproportionately populated by straight, cisgender characters and storylines, but what is often not considered is the extension of this issue to behind the scenes. As Stewart said, there are grey areas when questioning if straight, cis people can play queer characters as it raises question of which roles LGBTQ+ people have access to, but what is not a grey area is the overall lack of LGBTQ+ narratives and acceptance within the industry.

Why is it that Kristen Stewart’s career opportunities would diminish if she was no longer allowed to play non-LGBTQ+ roles?

Instead of just focusing on casting, I strongly believe the debate needs to delve into the deeper politics of the film industry, which is excluding both LGBTQ+ workers and representation. Perhaps one day, straight, cis people will be able to play LGBTQ+ characters with no backlash, and this day will come when LGBTQ+ people are as widely and accurately represented in film, and queer actors and filmmakers have equal opportunities. Until then, LGBTQ+ people shouldn’t be denied the few chances they get to tell their stories.

‘It’s A Sin creator Russell T Davies on queer actors playing straight, gay Tories, TV erections and spunk’ – Darren Scott, Pink News, January 22, 2021.

‘Kristen Stewart on ‘Happiest Season’ and the ‘Gray Area’ of Only Gay Actors Playing Gay Characters’ – Kate Aurthur, Variety, November 23, 2020.

‘Hollywood’s casting dilemma: Should straight, cisgender actors play LGBTQ characters?’ – David Oliver, USA Today, November 24, 2020.