In a recent interview with The New
York Times, Tom Hanks weighed in on the debate about straight
actors playing gay roles.
In the 1993 groundbreaking film
Philadelphia, Hanks played a gay lawyer who sues his employer
because he believes he was fired because he has AIDS.
“Could a straight man do what I did
in Philadelphia now?” Hanks rhetorically asked. “No, and
rightly so.”
"The whole point of Philadelphia
was don’t be afraid. One of the reasons people weren’t afraid of
that movie is that I was playing a gay man. We’re beyond that now,
and I don’t think people would accept the inauthenticity of a
straight guy playing a gay guy."
"It’s not a crime, it’s not
boohoo, that someone would say we are going to demand more of a movie
in the modern realm of authenticity. Do I sound like I’m preaching?
I don’t mean to,” Hanks
said.
Hanks won an Oscar for his portrayal of
Andrew “Andy” Beckett in the film.
Philadelphia, which also starred
Denzel Washington, won three Oscars in total, including best original
screenplay.