In a recent interview, out actor
Wentworth Miller reiterated that he's finished playing straight
characters, saying that such roles feel “like a dead end.”
The 48-year-old actor last week
reprised his role as Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Isaiah Holmes
in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Holmes is the show's
first openly gay district attorney.
In an Instagram post last year, Miller
said that he's no longer interested in playing straight roles,
including Michael Scofield on Prison Break, which Fox is
reportedly planning to revive again.
(Related: Wentworth
Miller won't return to Prison
Break;
Says he's done playing straight roles.)
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight,
Miller expanded on his remarks, saying that he's not interested in
playing gay characters defined by “their struggle.”
“I have things in common with Isaiah
[Holmes] but we're not the same person. Obviously,” Miller
said. “I had things in common with Michael Scofield too. What
feels more truthful maybe, more authentic about Isaiah is I don't
have to spend time servicing straightness. Straight relationships.
Acting is investigating. For me. Mapping new territory. Articulating
things I don't get to articulate in my day-to-day. Mapping
straightness, at this point... feels like a dead end.”
“Are there any specific stories
you're interested in telling or playing now that you're done playing
straight characters?”
“Sure. I'd like to tell – to watch
– more stories where gay characters are informed by their
struggles, but not defined. Not getting sacrificed so straight
characters can enjoy some kind of epiphany. I don't think that's too
much to ask. It's so important queer audiences – queer kids – see
stories that don't center on suffering. See us empowered, in positions
of authority. Moving through the world with purpose. Confidence.
Dignity. It makes it easier to imagine those things are available to
us in real life too,” he said.