Viggo Mortensen gives bizarre defence of straight actors playing gay roles
Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen gives bizarre defence of straight actors playing gay roles ahead of new queer film https://t.co/n0y0YsNtUr
- PinkNews (@PinkNews) November 10, 2020
Mortensen makes his directorial debut with 'Falling', which he also wrote.
It sees him playing a gay man called John who finds himself caring for his racist and homophobic father Willis, played by Lance Henriksen, after he starts showing symptoms of dementia.
When asked about the debate around straight actors playing gay characters, he wanted to make the point that it is an actor’s job to play parts outside of their own experiences.
“There are certain characters I’m not going to play. I wouldn’t play Eric, the Chinese-Hawaiian American,” referring to his character’s husband in the film.
The star insisted that he did not make his main character gay as a “gimmick, anchor or some trigger”, and said the decision flowed naturally during the writing of the film.
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