‘Will & Grace’ Alum Eric McCormack Weighs in on Straight Actors Getting Gay Roles Discourse

Actor Hollywood

2024-03-23
08:00

Straight Rights?

Hollywood actor Eric McCormack gave his two cents regarding the debate on whether straight actors should be allowed to take on queer roles in an interview with Good Morning America. According to the ‘Will & Grace’ alum, the subject is a sensitive topic that not a lot of people talk about but he pinpointed that whether he identifies with the character he is playing or not is inconsequential to his performance. For him, playing something he is not is just naturally part of the gig.

McCormack, who identifies as a heterosexual man with a wife (now ex-wife) and a son, portrayed a gay man for his role as Will Truman in the hit NBC sitcom ‘Will & Grace’. McCormack took on the character with Debra Messing who played his best friend Grace Adler for 8 years from 1988 until the series originally ended in 2006 and joined the cast again for its reboot in 2017-2022.

He further added that if the same treatment was given to gay people, then Broadway wouldn’t have actors. The actor, however, said that he would like to think that he represented the queer community well since he came from theater and every one of his best friends was a gay man. He thanked the community for giving him support and for welcoming him throughout the years he spent in the show.

In comparison, other actors have conflicting opinions on the matter with Darren Criss who rose to fame for portraying Blane Anderson of ‘Glee’ vowing to avoid LGBT+ roles and Zoey Luna, a transgender actor, saying that cis people who play trans roles bring forth projection rather than authenticity.

What is your opinion on this? Do you agree with McCormack? Share with us your thoughts in the comments!

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