24 gay or bi actors who played straight characters
Sometimes Hollywood is called out for casting straight actors to play queer roles.
But other times it goes the other way with queer actors playing straight in well-known productions.
Check out this list of gay or bi actors who played iconic straight characters on TV and film.
1. Jane Lynch
Well known for playing Sue Sylvester the sadistic coach on the hit show ‘Glee’, Lynch is a strong supporter of LGBT rights.
She has played a lesbian on screen such as in ‘Best in Show’, but has also played an array of straight characters.
From Paula in the 40-Year-Old Virgin to Julia Child’s sister Dorothy in ‘Julie and Julia’, this out gay actor has her fair share of straight roles under her belt.
2. Luke Evans
Out gay Welsh actor Luke Evans rose to fame some years ago and most recently he played Gaston in the live action film of ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
The star also played bisexual actor Michelle Rodriguez’s boyfriend in the ‘Fast and the Furious’ franchise.
He has also starred in hit films like ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ and ‘The Raven’.
3. Rosie O’Donnell
The vocal President Trump critic and strong supporter of LGBT rights came out in 2002.
She also married her wife Michelle Rounds in 2012 but has played straight on screen a number of times.
O’Donnell played Doris in ‘A League of Their Own’ and Betty Rubble in ‘The Flintstones’.
4. Wanda Sykes
After marrying her wife in 2008, comedian and actor Sykes came out.
She has appeared in a number of roles playing straight characters such as Biggie Shorty in ‘Pootie Tang’.
Sykes also appeared alongside Jane Fonda in ‘Monster in Law’ and has been a fierce advocate for LGBT rights through her comedy and campaigning.
5. Jim Parsons
Rumoured to be the top paid out actor in Hollywood, Parsons played Sheldon Cooper on the ‘Big Bang Theory’ for a number of seasons.
Parsons’ character has been in a relationship with Amy Farrah Fowler for several seasons.
But in reality, Parsons married his husband Todd Spiewak for more than a decade. The couple tied the knot last year and shared their beautiful photos with the world.
6. Sarah Paulson
The American Horror Story actor has played a number of straight characters in the hit season.
She also played a Christian who believes homosexuality is a sin on ‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’.
After splitting from Cherry Jones in 2009, Paulson has since confirmed she is with fellow actor Holland Taylor.
Despite saying some people had told her openly dating Taylor would damage her career, Paulson has gone from strength to strength and the couple couldn’t look happier.
7. Michelle Rodriguez
The ‘Fast and the Furious’ star played the character Letty in a number of the franchise’s films.
She came out as bisexual in October 2013 and has since revealed that she dated Cara Delevingne.
Rodriguez got into some hot water when she defended a ‘forced sex change’ film she starred in alongside Sigourney Weaver.
8. Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris has for more than a decade been open about being gay, but it hasn’t stopped him playing straight roles on TV and film.
The star, who is married to David Burtka and with whom he has a son and a daughter, played straight character Barney Stinson on ‘How I Met Your Mother’.
“I am happy to dispel any rumours or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love,” he said, coming out in 2006.
9. Ricky Martin
The out gay singer and actor came out in 2010.
He wrote on his website: “These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn’t even know existed.”
As well as living openly, Martin has played gay characters on TV. He played Miguez Morez on ‘General Hospital’.
10. Wentworth Miller
The ‘Prison Break’ star came out in 2013 when he posted a letter to the GLAAD website declining a place at a Russian film festival over the country’s persecution of LGBT people.
He played Michael Scofield in the hit show and returned for a special after the show was done.
Miller has since been a strong advocate for mental health awareness, LGBT rights and other important causes.
11. David Hyde Pierce
Pierce played Niles Crane on ‘Frasier’ between 1993 and 2004.
By the end of the show, Crane had a son and was married to a woman, but Pierce came out publicly as gay in 2007.
He married Brian Hargrove in 2008 after they were together for more than two decades.
12. Cynthia Nixon
The activist and ‘Sex and the City’ star played Miranda on the hit series.
Despite some ups and downs, Miranda and Steve Hobbs had a son Brady and were married by the time the films came around.
She came out as gay in recent years, first saying she identified as bisexual and later saying she misspoke. Nixon has since been a strong advocate of LGBT rights and has spoken at anti-Trump rallies in New York City.
13. Maria Bello
Maria Bello came out in 2013, but it never stopped her playing straight roles on the big screen.
She starred as Edie Stall in ‘A History of Violence’.
Bello has a son with her ex-boyfriend but has spoken about having relationships with both men and women.
14. Ellen Page
Page rose to fame after her breakthrough role in the hit film ‘Juno’.
Playing the title character, Page’s character dealt with a teen pregnancy and finding her way through the associated issues.
But Page came out in February 2014 in a powerful speech at the Human Rights Campaign. She has since spoken about playing a lesbian character in ‘Freeheld’, saying it helped her to come out.
She has since said she feels pigeonholed in queer roles since coming out, accusing Hollywood of double standards.
15. Alan Cumming
The bisexual X-Men star married his partner Grant Shaffer in 2007 and the pair renewed their vows in 2012.
Cumming has played a number of straight roles in his career including Joe Therrian in ‘The Anniversary Party’. But it hasn’t stopped him from being a powerful advocate for LGBT rights.
He got an OBE in 2009 and has since starred in hit shows like ‘The Good Wife’.
16. Jodie Foster
Foster publicly came out in an acceptance speech for the Golden Globes in 2013.
She told the crowd: “I already did my coming out about 1,000 years ago back in the Stone Age, those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends and family and co-workers, and then gradually and proudly to everyone who knew her, to everyone she actually met.”
But throughout her career, Foster has played a number of straight roles including Annabelle Bransford in ‘Maverick’.
17. Zachary Quinto
The out gay star of ‘Star Trek’ played a straight character in the film franchise, with Spock getting together with Ahura.
He came out publicly in 2011 and has played a number of roles in his career.
The LGBT rights advocate also took to the small screen to play Dr Oliver Thredson in ‘American Horror Story’.
18. Rock Hudson
Although he didn’t come out publicly in his lifetime, it became well known that Rock Hudson had relationships with men.
He died of AIDS-related complications in 1985, becoming the first major celebrity to die from complications relating to AIDS.
But throughout his career, the heartthrob appeared opposite stars like Doris Day as Brad Allen in ‘Pillowtalk’ as Jerry Webster in ‘Lover Come Back’, and as George in ‘Send Me No Flowers’.
19. Portia de Rossi
The wife of Ellen DeGeneres has appeared in various notable roles including in Ally McBeal, Cursed and Stigmata.
The couple married in 2008 and are still going strong.
She notably played the character Lindsay Bluth Funke on ‘Arrested Development’, and her character was promiscuous but married to a man.
20. Russell Tovey
The British star has played a number of roles in his career including quite a few straight ones.
He played George Sands on ‘Being Human’, and his character was straight and similarly as Steve in ‘Him and Her’.
Tovey also appeared in ‘The History Boys’, ‘Little Dorrit’, and as a gay character in ‘Looking’.
He has opened up about struggling to be accepted by his family since he came out when he was in his late teens.
21. Lily Tomlin
The star of ‘Grace and Frankie’ married her long-term partner Jane Wagner in 2013.
On the hit Netflix show, she played Frankie Bergstein who strikes up an unlikely best-friendship after her husband leaves her for his law partner.
She also played Vivian Jaffe in ‘I Heart Huckabees’.
22. Matt Bomer
Since coming out as gay in 2012, Bomer has had three sons with his partner Simon Halls.
He is well known for playing Neal Caffrey in ‘White Collar’, and alongside Lady Gaga in ‘American Horror Story: Hotel’.
Bomer also starred in the TV drama around the AIDS crisis ‘The Normal Heart’.
23. Jonathan Groff
The ‘Glee’ star Groff played Jesse St. James on the hit series, who dated Rachel Berry.
After coming out in 2009, Groff briefly dated Zachary Quinto.
He has since appeared alongside Russell Tovey in ‘Looking’, and in a range of other roles.
24. Denis O’Hare
The ‘American Horror Story’ star is married to his long-term partner Hugo Redwood and the couple have one son.
He played Larry Harvey in the hit series but also played a number of other roles, some gay or bi.
O’Hare also played notorious homophobe John Briggs in the 2008 biopic ‘Milk’, about San Francisco City Councillor Harvey Milk.
