Golden Globe Awards Honor LGBT Characters
Hollywood Foreign Press Rewards Straight Actors in Gay Roles
© Kat Long
Jan 17, 2009
For the past ten years, an increasing number of straight actors and actresses have been rewarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (which gives out the Golden Globe awards) for playing characters who are gay, lesbian, or transgender.
Gay roles have been featured prominently in the Golden Globes ceremony, one of the year’s two biggest awards extravaganzas. The other is the Academy Awards (a.k.a. the Oscars), for which the Globes is considered a bellwether.
More Categories, More Noms for Gay Roles
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association gives out its annual awards in January each year. In contrast to the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes honor film acting in two separate categories: Drama and Musical/Comedy. As a result, more actors receive awards and the number of recognized gay roles is larger.
During the past decade (1998-2008), 19 actors and actresses in LGBT roles have been nominated and 5 have won. The biggest year of the past decade for gay roles was 2005, with four nominations for Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Breakfast on Pluto and Transamerica. In contrast, 2007 saw no LGBT roles recognized.
Additionally, 5 different years have features 1 nomination, 2 years have had 2 nominations, and 2 years have had 3 nominations. Here’s a tally of the other years’ nominations (wins appear with an asterisk).
2008: Sean Penn as Best Actor in a Drama for Milk
2007: no roles nominated
2006: Chiwetel Ejiofor as Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical for Kinky Boots; Judi Dench as Best Actress in a Drama for Notes on a Scandal
2005: Philip Seymour Hoffman as Best Actor in a Drama for Capote*; Heath Ledger in the same category for Brokeback Mountain; Cillian Murphy for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy for Breakfast on Pluto; Felicity Huffman as Best Actress in a Drama for Transamerica*
2004: Liam Neeson as Best Actor in a Drama for Kinsey
2003: Charlize Theron as Best Actress in a Drama for Monster*
2002: Salma Hayek as Best Actress in a Drama for Frida; Nicole Kidman as Best Actress in a Drama for The Hours*; Dennis Quaid as Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Far from Heaven
2001: John Cameron Mitchell as Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy for Hedwig and the Angry Inch
2000: Javier Bardem as Best Actor in a Drama for Before Night Falls
1999: Matt Damon as Best Actor in a Drama for The Talented Mr. Ripley; Hilary Swank as Best Actress in a Drama for Boys Don’t Cry*; Jude Law as Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Talented Mr. Ripley
1998: Stephen Fry as Best Actor in a Drama for Wilde; Ian McKellan in the same category for Gods and Monsters
Breaking It Down Even Further
Divided by gender of the actor/actress, 13 men have been nominated for GBT roles, while 6 women have been nominated for LBT roles. However, only one man has won for playing such roles (Philip Seymour Hoffman), compared 4 wins for LGBT roles going to women (Hilary Swank, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron and Felicity Huffman).
Additionally, another interesting characteristic emerges upon analysis of the specific roles the actors and actresses played. Ten have been based on actual gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people: Harvey Milk, Truman Capote, Alfred Kinsey, Aileen Wuornos (in Monster), Frida Kahlo, Virginia Woolf (in The Hours), Reinaldo Arenas (in Before Night Falls), Brandon Teena (in Boys Don’t Cry), Oscar Wilde, and James Whale (in Gods and Monsters). The remaining nine roles have been fictional.
These figures can be interpreted different ways. Some film fans may feel that recognition for gay roles is leading to greater understanding of LGBT people in real life. Other may see playing gay as so emotionally demanding (and potentially career-threatening) for a straight actor that he or she deserves recognition for taking what is perceived as a risk. Or, perhaps, certain heterosexual actors simply excel at playing homosexual roles. Either way, we can agree that these actors and actresses should be lauded for playing LGBT roles realistically and empathetically.
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