Eric mccormack is gay
Eric McCormack Weighs in on Straight Actors Playing Male lover Roles: ‘It’s Part of the Gig’
Eric McCormack is weighing in on the debate about whether linear actors should be allowed to portray gay characters.
McCormack, 60, who identifies as heterosexual, played gay lawyer Will Truman in the NBC comedy series Will and Grace for 11 seasons.
During an appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain show on Monday, Parade 18, cohost Susanna Reid asked McCormack what he thought about straight actors playing gay characters.
“That’s a tough one for me, because I didn’t develop an actor so that I could play an actor,” McCormack replied. “There’s no part I’ve ever played where I wasn’t playing something I’m not. It’s part of the gig.”
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‘Will & Grace’ Star Eric McCormack Says Straight Actors Playing Gay Characters Is “Part of the Gig”
Eric McCormack doesn’t believe an actor’s sexuality should obtain in the way of the characters they perform onscreen. The Will & Grace star said this week he feels “the best person for the role” should be cast in all projects, regardless of the actor’s personal identity.
McCormack, who is straight, played protagonist Will, who is homosexual, on NBC’s beloved Will & Grace. The performer said during a Monday appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain reported by Out magazine that “I didn’t become an player so that I could play an actor.”
“There’s no part I’ve ever played where I wasn’t playing something I’m not,” McCormack continued. “It’s part of the gig. And I’ve always said, if gay actors weren’t allowed to play vertical actors, Broadway would be over.”
He added, “So this is what we do. I’d favor to think that I represent it well. I came from the theater, and one of my best friends was a gay man. So I th
Eric McCormack’s Comedic Revolution
By Chris Azzopardi
Photos: Andrew Eccles/NBC
In 1998, when the sitcom touched down on NBC in a TV universe that was distinctly less homosexual, the show presented itself as farcical comedy. But by the time it ran its course, conclusion (or so we thought) in 2006, Will & Grace was, through sheer existence, a cultural landmark leading the way for LGBTQ inclusivity in business and in the broader world.
And those ’90s teenagers? “What has been revealed is that it was (them) sort of peeking over (their) parents’ shoulder going, ‘OK, I fond of this show, this show’s for me,’ and, ‘Hey, if my mom likes this show then I can do this,’” McCormack says.
Eleven years went by without Will, his roommate Grace (Debra Messing), his gay pal Jack (Sean Hayes) and Jack’s rollicking, boozed bestie, Karen (Megan Mullally). Marriage equality happened. More queer characters – trans, of color – happened. And in 2017, with Trump jabs and jokes scoffing at discriminatory cake bakers, Will & Grace returned to NBC with a new agenda for the queer-comedy revolution it once led.
Recently, McCormack, 55, received a celestial body o
Heterosexual 'Will & Grace' Actor Eric McCormack Defends Vertical Actors Playing Gay
Eric McCormack is straight. Will Truman from Will & Grace, the role he’s optimal known for, is male lover. When the sitcom was being cast, gay star John Barrowman was also considered for the role, but producers ultimately decided he was “too straight.” Hmmm. Eric’s co-star Sean Hayes is gay, but he hadn’t publicly appear out when he was cast as Jack. Recall, this was 1998; very few openly gay actors were actually cast in gay roles.
But the times they have a-changed (mostly… ish). Now, a straight actor can’t participate a gay role without facing some backlash. Or, at the very least, a bunch of reflect pieces making the rounds. See: Kayleigh’s 2018 film on Jack Whitehall’s controversial performance in Disney’s Jungle Cruise.
Recently, Tom Hollander, who played gay characters in White Lotus and Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, felt compelled to update Vanity Fair that his “own sexuality is sufficiently liberal to have encompassed many different experiences, which are not anyone’s business.” But the actor, who’s been with his
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