George Clooney thinks Ellen DeGeneres
and Neil Patrick Harris have opened doors for gay actors.
Clooney, who recently played co-counsel
David Boies in the Los Angeles reading of the play 8,
which is based on the trial over the constitutionality of
California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, discussed the play and
gay rights with gay glossy The
Advocate.
He said the issue of gay couples
marrying will one day “look as archaic as George Wallace standing
on the University of Alabama steps keeping James Hood from attending
college because he was black.”
And on breaking stereotypes in
Hollywood, Clooney applauded DeGeneres, who married her wife in 2008,
and Harris, who is raising 2 children with his partner.
“It's obviously not the same as if it
were the '50s and '60s with Rock Hudson,” Clooney said. “Look at
Neil Patrick Harris. He's a big star on a hit show, and no one's
telling him he can't play a straight womanizer. I use Neil as an
example because I've spent time with him and I like him a lot.
People like Neil and Ellen DeGeneres have opened the door to making
it easier for everyone, and now each person just has to figure out
his or her own path. Maybe it's as simple as a gay actor going to
work and getting the job done.”