If you have a character that doesn't have anything wrong with him, there's nothing funny about it. The idea of the straight man is very important. But I'd rather it be somebody else, because it's not as fun.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The way I approach the character isn't about being gay or straight. It's just about who you love. Gender has very little to do with it.
People say: 'Why do you want to play the straight man?' Well, it's because he gets to be in every scene.
That straight man character is a short trip between comedy and drama in a project, so I can play the comedic beat on the same page as a dramatic beat. It gives me a lot of freedom as an actor to play scenes in multiple ways because I don't play the clown, nor do I play someone who is particularly maudlin.
There are sometimes concerns about being respectful with a gay character, and you either end up with a tiptoeing quality or an all-out cliche.
Once you're sort of pigeonholed into something, it's quite difficult to get out of it. I have no aversion to playing a gay character again, but it would definitely have to be the right role.
Every character I play is straight, which is unique, my agent says, because it's not really been done before that someone who is completely out is able to play straight roles.
A question I get asked a lot is 'What is it like to play the straight guy all the time?' And I'm totally okay with it.
The token gay character is always so funny and so fantastic. That's happened a lot. Or they're often purely victims.
I've never played a gay character on screen, so that would be interesting. I've never played a gay character, and that would fascinate me because I'm not gay, so that would interest me.
The straight man has the best part. He gets to be in the show and see it, too.