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.