Hollywood loves queer stories, but apparently not queer actors.
Searchlight Pictures, A24, Island Records
While we love seeing LGBTQ+ narratives on screen, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that a lot of film and television's most well-known—and awarded—queer roles more often than not go to non-queer actors. Don't get us wrong! It's a step in the right direction to see more and more LGBTQ+ stories, but considering that out actors don't get as many opportunities as their straight colleagues, we still have a long, long way to go when it comes to representation.
Here are 13 straight actors who took home gold after playing queer on screen.
Brendan Fraser
A24
Brendan Fraser took some time away from the spotlight and came back hard with his role as Charlie, the 600-pound gay recluse in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale. He received a six-minute standing ovation and went on to take home the trophy for Best Lead Actor at the 95th annual Academy Awards.
William Hurt
Island Records
In 1985, William Hurt became the first straight actor to win an award for playing a gay character in Kiss of the Spider Woman. In the film, he played Luis Molina, an incarcerated gay man who develops a relationship with another inmate.
Natalie Portman
Searchlight Pictures
Natalie Portman's portrayal of Nina Sayers in Black Swan, another Aronofsky flick, was nothing short of sensational. Although the character's sexuality is never explicitly discussed, it is believed she is a lesbian, and she's at least portrayed as bisexual in the film. Regardless, Portman took home the award for Best Actress in one of the most stellar performances of her career.
Olivia Colman
Colman won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2019 after starring in The Favourite as as Queen Anne of England. In the film, Anne had love affairs with two women in her court, played by Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone.
Sean Penn
Sean Penn won his second Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2009 after playing famous gay rights activist and California's first openly gay elected official Harvey Milk in Milk.
Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank won her first oscar in 2000 for her portrayal of Brandon Teena, a trans man who was brutually murdered in Nebraska, in Boys Don't Cry.
Charlize Theron
Cahrlize Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2004 for her role as bisexual serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.
Annette Bening
Bening won a Golden Globe in 2011 for her role as Nic, a lesbian mother raising two teens with her bisexual wife (played by Julianne Moore), in The Kids Are All Right.
Mahershala Ali
Ali won his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2019 after playing gay pianist Dr. Don Shirley in the controversial film Green Book.
Jared Leto
Leto won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2014 for his role in Dallas Buyers Club as Rayon, an HIV-positive trans woman.
Darren Criss
Darren Criss won a Primetime Emmy in 2018 and a Golden Globe in 2019 after playing gay, Filipino-American serial killer Andrew Cunanan in FX's The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. He has since said he that will no longer be playing gay roles so that more openly gay actors can have a chance at them.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2003 after she starred in The Hours as acclaimed lesbian writer Virginia Woolf.
Rami Malek
Malek won the Oscar for Best Actor in 2019 for playing bisexual rock icon and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the controversial biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
