When actors need to transform into a character, it takes a lot of work when embodying a role into a convincing spectacle for viewers' adulation and awards consideration.
Some actors kept the passion burning and made their onscreen chemistry look real, where fans had hoped for something more in real life.
Many actors have played straight characters, when they were in fact gay. Owing to an appreciable momentum the LGBTQIA+ community is now receiving, some have even opened up about it. However, with the controversy surrounding straight actors playing gay characters, so it is also for gay actors playing straight roles. So read along to know which actor makes the list.
10 Matt Bomer
When not charming women with his portrayal as con-artist Neal Caffrey in White Collar, the blue-eyed actor is showing the ladies his toned abs as male stripper on Magic Mike, and expectant father in Netflix's The Sinner.
Matt came out as gay in 2012 during his acceptance speech for his Steve Chase Humanitarian Award. The actor has been married to publicist Simon Halls since 2011, and they have three kids. He spoke to Attitude in September 2020 about losing acting opportunities since coming out.
9 Sarah Paulson
The Ocean 8 actress who played a straight wife and bored suburban mother in the film is not new to playing straight roles. Yes, she has played gay characters in American Horror Story: Asylum and Carol, yet one of her best roles played is Harriet Hayes in Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, a role based on American singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth. Paulson received her first Golden Globe Award nomination for this role.
Having dated men in real life, the sexually fluid actress is now in a relationship with Holland Taylor, and has been since 2015. They have a 32-year age gap.
8 Amandla Stenberg
The young actress is familiar with playing straight characters. She played Maddy Whittier, a young woman with a medical condition who falls in love with her neighbor in Everything, Everything, and also played Starr Carter in 2018's The Hate You Give, with Chris Bryant (K. J. Apa) as her boyfriend.
Having first identified as bisexual, she came out as gay in 2018 in an interview with Wonderland. She has been at the forefront of campaigning for LGBTQIA+ rights, and was even awarded Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award.
7 Rebel Wilson
Longtime funny girl and Pitch Perfect actress Rebel Wilson has played so many straight characters over the years that it is impossible to sift through. In September 2020, she went public with boyfriend Jacob Busch in loved-up pictures of them.
Unfortunately, the two split last year. The actress came out as gay in June and introduced her girlfriend to the world. She captioned her post," I thought I was searching for a Disney prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney princess," with a pride rainbow. She and her gf Romana Arguma have been spotted out and about.
6 Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Miller embodied one of the most iconic TV characters, playing inmate Michael Scofield in Prison Break, on a mission to save his falsely accused brother from a death sentence. He was in a relationship with doctor Sarah Tancredi, with the two getting married.
Wentworth came out as gay in August 2013 via a letter on GLAAD's website after several denials of being gay.
5 Kristen Stewart
The actress got her big break in the Twilight film series playing Bella Swan alongside former real life boyfriend Robert Pattinson. Since Twilight, she has taken on gay characters starring in rom-com Happiest Season, and Victorian thriller Lizzie opposite Chloë Sevigny.
The bisexual actress is now engaged to girlfriend Dylan Meyer, who she has been in a relationship with since 2019. She previously dated model Stella Maxwell from 2016 to 2018.
4 Raven-Symoné
The Disney actress was a child star hot shot back in the '90s and early 2000s. She has starred in Disney's The Cheetah Girls, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and That's So Raven. She reprised her straight role as Raven Baxter in That's So Raven sequel Raven's Home. For this, Disney asked her if she would like to change her famous character to a lesbian, but she wasn't having it.
She came out in May 2016, even though she has known of her sexuality as early as 12. She married longtime girlfriend Miranda Maday in June 2020.
3 Neil Patrick Harris
Prior to landing gay character in Netflix's Uncoupled, Neil has played mostly straight roles all his life. His most famous character is Barney Stinson in the hit series How I Met Your Mother. Viewers watched Neil play smooth-talking ladykiller from 2005 to 2014, receiving high accolades for this role.
The actor is gay and proud in real life, married to longtime partner David Burka with two kids. Neil came out as gay in 2006 putting the rumors to rest.
2 Jonathan Bailey
"You are the bane of my existence, and the object of all my desires." Those lines may just be one of the greatest lines ever delivered on TV, all because of Jonathan Bailey. Jonathan Bailey became a fan-favorite when he played Anthony Bridgerton, leading man and Kate Sharma's love interest in the second season of Netflix's Bridgerton.
Though he played a straight character and shared very intimate scenes with his onscreen love, the actor is openly gay in real life. In an interview with Digital Spy, he spoke about normalizing a gay actor playing a straight character.
1 Elliot Page
Before playing Viktor Hargreeves in Netflix series The Umbrella Academy, Elliot's breakout role was title character Juno McGuff in 2007's film Juno, a teenager who gets pregnant, and decides to give her child for adoption, but must first navigate high school while pregnant.
Elliot came out as gay during a speech at the Human Rights Campaign's "Time to Thrive" conference in 2014. He then came out as transgender in 2020, becoming the first trans man to feature on the cover of Time.
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