In the not-so-progressive history of television and movies, gay or queer actors were often relegated to roles that were stereotypical and straight-up offensive. In the past few decades, things have started to change, but LGBTQ+ actors have still been open about their struggles being disenfranchised within Hollywood. Rupert Everett admitted in 2010 that after he came out of the closet, he couldn’t land a job for 10 years.
It’s a somewhat new development that openly gay actors can play a heterosexual character on screen, but today, it’s a widely accepted phenomenon. Here are 10 times straight characters were, in fact, played by a queer actor.
1. Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester in Glee
Despite playing an extremely straight character in “Glee,” Lynch had been out for many years and in 2010 married her girlfriend, Lara Embry. At the time, Jane spoke to Outfest, saying her coming out happened naturally, and she never attempted to hide anything. She went on to add, “I think I’m an actor first before I’m a gay person.”
2. Vincent Rodriguez III as Josh Chan in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Despite playing a hetero heartthrob and mega bro on this campy show, the romantic lead is actually gay, despite many assuming he wasn’t. In the process, he broke the myth that queer actors can’t play straight characters. The same year the show started filming, he married his husband, Gregory Wright.
3. Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother
Harris is famous for playing Barney the womanizer on “How I Met Your Mother,” but the actor came out in 2006 after years of rumors about his sexuality. The gossip irked Harris, who said he ignores people who publish pieces without asking for his opinion. On playing someone that’s nothing like him in real life, he said he hoped to be a “visible option” for all kinds of roles.
4. Andrew Scott as The Priest in Fleabag
Referred to by many as the “hot priest,” Andrew Scott joined Season 2 of “Fleabag,” and with the chemistry between Scott and his co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, no one would have guessed that he wasn’t attracted to women. The show aired six years after Scott first referred to being gay in an interview, where he added that he’s a private but not secretive person who just wanted to get on with his job.
5. Amandla Stenberg as Ruby Daly in The Darkest Minds
Stenberg spoke to Wonderland Magazine in 2018, stating that they identify as gay, and despite leading several films as a straight character, they have always stood strong in advocating for their queer identity. In an interview with The Times, they said, “So far, it doesn’t seem challenging at all for people to conceptualize me as a hetero. I actually think it’s more challenging for people to conceptualize me as gay.”
6. Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton in Bridgerton
For the majority of his 20s, Jonathon was out to his family and friends, but he publicly came out in 2018, a couple of years before “Bridgerton” hit Netflix. While he always wanted his identity to be visible, he acknowledged that there weren’t many gay roles. He played a smoldering womanizer speaking to The Evening Standard about the history of “needing to be closeted to succeed and be famous.”
7. B.D. Wong as Wally Lin in Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens
Wong has been out since the early 2000s and established himself as a gay icon, playing a range of characters onscreen from Mulan to “Law & Order: SVU,” and more recently, Nora’s dad in “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens.” He admitted that the role was also the first time he played a character in a romantic relationship, which he loved doing.
8. Portia de Rossi as Lindsay Bluth Funke in Arrested Development
This blond bombshell, known by many as Ellen DeGeneres’s wife, played a spoiled, bratty woman married to a man. Before filming “Arrested Development,” she was outed by the paparazzi when she was photographed with her girlfriend, Francesca Gregorini, a couple of years prior. In 2005, she publicly came out in an interview with Advocate after she started dating DeGeneres.
9. Ben Platt as Evan Hansen in the Dear Evan Hansen movie
Platt has been out since 2019, and he’s played straight in multiple movies, including the “Pitch Perfect” films and “Dear Evan Hansen” (in both of which he had crushes on girls). Since then, he has portrayed roles ranging from straight to queer. He told the magazine, “Not only are queer actors overlooked when it comes to casting queer roles, but they’re also overlooked when it comes to casting any role.”
10. Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in Spencer
Stewart came out in 2017 as bisexual but has also identified as gay in later years. In 2021, she earned critical acclaim for portraying Princess Diana, who was married to King Charles from 1981 until 1996. On the topic of queer actors playing straight characters, Kristen called the topic “such a gray area” and said that while she’s all for authentic storytelling, it was a “slippery slope” since it would mean she couldn’t ever play straight characters.