Straight actors have a long history of being recognized by the Academy Awards for playing gay characters, but the list of openly LGBTQ actors who have had such recognition is much shorter. This year, however, Colman Domingo and Jodie Foster have joined that exclusive club.
Domingo received a nomination for best actor in a leading role for playing the title character in “Rustin,” Netflix’s biopic about the gay Black civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, an adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. and the architect of the 1963 March on Washington. Among Domingo’s fellow nominees in the category is Bradley Cooper, a straight actor nominated for his portrayal of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein, who had relationships with both men and women, in the Netflix biopic “Maestro.”
Foster won two Academy Awards and was nominated for three others before coming out at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards. She was nominated this year for her supporting role in “Nyad,” yet another Netflix biopic. Foster plays out lesbian Bonnie Stoll, the real-life friend and coach of the title character, long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad. Annette Bening, who has been married to actor Warren Beatty for more than 30 years, was nominated in the best actress in a leading role category for her portrayal of the outspoken lesbian swimmer.
According to The New York Times, Domingo is only the second openly gay man to earn an Oscar nomination for playing a gay character, following the 1999 nomination of Ian McKellen for his leading role in “Gods and Monsters.” McKellen lost to “Life Is Beautiful” actor Roberto Benigni that year.
The list of seemingly straight male actors receiving Oscar nominations for playing gay characters is much longer. Last year Brendan Fraser won the Academy Award for best actor in a leading role for his portrayal of an obese gay writing teacher in “The Whale.” Rami…
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