In a recent interview, out actor Luke
Evans weighed in on the debate on straight actors playing gay roles.
The 43-year-old Welsh actor has
appeared in The Hobbit films and the live-action version of
The Beauty and the Beast. Evans has joined the cast of Good
Grief, Dan Levy's directorial debut film.
Speaking with UK daily The
Telegraph, Evans said that he disagrees with Russell T. Davies'
assertion that queer characters should be played by gay actors.
“I'm not sure about that,” Evans
said.
“Gay people have definitely missed
out on gay roles, for sure. Russell spoke very powerfully,
passionately, about this point. I get it, and I totally think that
things do need to change.”
“But from my perspective: firstly, I
wouldn’t have had a career if gay people played gay roles and
straight people played straight roles. I’d have played two roles
out of the 36 projects I’ve worked on, or whatever [the number]
is.”
“The right person gets the job.
Talent and ability, and a bit of luck and timing?… That should be
the reason why you get a job. It shouldn’t have anything to do with
anything else,” Evans added.