Jeremy Strong Says Criticizing Straight Actors for Playing Gay Roles Is ‘Absolutely Valid’

Jeremy Strong recently told the Los Angeles Times that “it’s absolutely valid” to criticize straight actors for playing gay characters, although he also strongly believes that it’s an actor’s job “to render something that is not necessarily your native habitat.” Strong stars as Donald Trump’s mentor Roy Cohn in “The Apprentice.”

“Yes, it’s absolutely valid,” Strong said about the criticism. “I’m sort of old fashioned, maybe, in the belief that, fundamentally, it’s [about] a person’s artistry, and that great artists, historically, have been able to, as it were, change the stamp of their nature. That’s your job as an actor. The task, in a way, is to render something that is not necessarily your native habitat.”

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“While I don’t think that it’s necessary [for gay roles to be played by gay performers], I think that it would be good if that were given more weight,” Strong added.

The debate over whether or not straight actors should play gay roles has been a consistent one in Hollywood over the last few years. Nicholas Galitzine made headlines over the summer when he told British GQ that he felt “somewhat guilty” as a straight actor when he decided to play gay roles in “Red, White & Royal Blue” and “George & Mary.”

“I identify as a straight man, but I have been a part of some incredible queer stories,” Galitzine told the publication. “I felt a sense of uncertainty sometimes about whether I’m taking up someone’s space, and perhaps guilt. At the same time, I see those characters as not solely their sexuality.”

Stanley Tucci, who played gay roles in “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006) and “Supernova” (2020), appeared on BBC Radio 4’s “Desert Island Discs” show last year and said it’s “fine” for performers to play different sexualities.

“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, it’s not done the right way,” Tucci said. “An actor is an actor is an actor. You’re supposed to play different people. You just are. That’s the whole point of it.”

Read Strong’s full interview with the Los Angeles Times here.