He won an Oscar for playing a gay man with HIV back in 1993
Tom Hanks has revealed that he would not accept a role as a gay man today due to changes in the entertainment industry culture and aims for better representation in Hollywood.
The 65-year-old actor confessed his opinions on playing roles outside of his own sexuality and commented on the fact that opinions have changed over the years in a new interview with The New York Times Magazine published on Monday.
In 1993, Hanks famously won an Academy Award for his portrayal of lawyer Andrew Beckett, a gay man who is fired from his job due to his personal life after testing positive for HIV, in the movie Philadelphia.
“Let’s address, ‘could a straight man do what I did in Philadelphia now?’ No, and rightly so.”, Hanks said, adding that “the whole point of Philadelphia was don’t be afraid” and that “one of the reasons people weren’t afraid of that movie is that [he] was playing a gay man.
“We’re beyond that now”, the Oscar-winner argued, adding that, nowadays, “[he doesn’t] think people would accept the inauthenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy.”
Hanks has previously been embroiled in the so-called ‘woke casting’ furore from sections of the film-going audience thanks to his roles in Philadelphia and also Forrest Gump, as well as various other “righteous white men” according to NPR columnist Eric Deggans.
However, not only has Hanks defended his past credits but he’s also been very vocal about better casting: “It’s not a crime… that someone would say we are going to demand more of a movie [in terms of representation] in the modern realm of authenticity. Do I sound like I’m preaching? I don’t mean to”, he told NYT.
Meanwhile, some fans have expressed concerns over his current health situation after he was pictured with shaking hands while promoting Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic, Elvis, in recent weeks.
Related links:
- Chris Evans hits out at nations which have banned Lightyear over same-sex kiss
- Tom Hanks’ son Chet says he did not have a ‘strong male role model’ growing up
- Amber Heard denies she’s being cut from Aquaman 2
