Nick Robinson, the star of Love,
Simon, has weighed in on the debate about straight actors playing
gay roles.
In the film, the 22-year-old Robinson
plays 17-year-old Simon, who begins corresponding with another
closeted high school student. Love, Simon from out director
Greg Berlanti is in theaters now.
In an interview with GQ,
Robinson is asked: “There is an argument in certain circles that
gay actors should be playing gay roles. Was there any hesitation on
your part of taking up the role because of this?”
“It's a valid question and it was a
concern of mine,” Robinson
answered. “Initially I thought that maybe making this movie
was not my place. But in speaking with Greg [Berlanti], he was very
adamant that I was right for this role, so I just had to trust in him
and believe in his vision. I think that now is a better time than
ever to be not just playing a gay part, but just in general to be
playing parts that are outside of your experience or comfort zone. I
know it didn’t have bad intentions at all. I really just had to
trust in Greg’s vision for this thing based off of his experience
and what he had to say.”
“It's sort of what acting is, right?”
he continued. “It could be said for exactly the opposite. Why
can't queer identifying actors play straight parts? It's a
character; it's not a reflection of the person. I think
representation is a powerful thing, and I can understand people
wanting to be represented on screen by people that they feel
represent them in real life.”