‘Strange Way of Life’ Director Pedro Almodovar: Straight Actors Can Take Gay Roles, But Let’s Hire More Minority Writers

Hollywood LGBTQ

2023-09-19
11:18

‘Strange Way of Life’ director Pedro Almodovar — probably the most celebrated Spanish filmmaker of recent years — believes that heterosexual actors can play homosexual characters, but it is more important for Hollywood to hire minorities so they can write their stories.

This is what he said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. His latest film, ‘Strange Way of Life’, which stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, is one of the biggest talks of the town now. The 31-minute queer Western short film is expected to hit general public theaters this fall, and many queer fans are looking forward to seeing it.

‘Strange Way of Life’ isn’t Almodovar’s first queer film — he is, in fact, notably known for directing the staple queer (Western) movie ‘Brokeback Mountain.’ It is not surprising that people wanted to know his thoughts on questions about representation.

“If Hollywood is so obsessed, as it is right now, with representing minorities,” he said when asked what he thinks about the conversation, “they should actually hire them to do the writing.”

“Just so I’m not misunderstood, I want to make sure that it is clear that I’m very much in favor of minorities of all types being considered for casting in films and also to be hired behind the camera and that they are able to tell their own stories,” he continued.

“I mean, even when you talk about the Western, we don’t have many Westerns told from the point of view of Native Americans, even though this is a genre that speaks of them, often in very unkind and unfair ways.”

‘Strange Way of Life’ will hit select cinemas in New York and Los Angeles on October 4, followed by a wider release two days later on October 6. It will also have a one-night-only showing in the UK on September 25.

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