Ben Platt: Hollywood Should Do 'Everything in Our Power' to Cast Queer

Ben Platt said "we should be doing everything in our power to cast queer actors" in queer roles.

The Politician actor, who is gay, was asked by NME if he agreed with It's a Sin writer Russell T Davies, who compared straight actors playing gay characters to blackface in an interview with Radio Times.

"It's about authenticity," Davies said. "You wouldn't cast someone able-bodied and put them in a wheelchair, you wouldn't black someone up."

Platt said he "largely" aligns his view on casting with Davies, but he doesn't see a "black-and-white answer" to the issue. However, he believes the powers that be in Hollywood should make every effort to cast authentically.

"I feel like the attitude should be, wherever possible, especially if the story is really rooted in a queer background or is [fundamentally] a queer story like It's a Sin, we should be doing everything in our power to cast queer actors," he said.

In this light, Platt said he was looking forward to his next role in The People We Hate at the Wedding, a comedy also starring Annie Murphy and Allison Janney.

"It's a gay character, which isn't something I've done very often," he said. "It's something I really have wanted to do, just because I'm liking seeing more and more queer actors telling their own stories."

Historically, out actors were less likely to be cast in starring roles, even gay ones, as this list of 60 straight people who received Oscar nominations for LGBTQ+ roles attests. In the past year, the debate has become more pronounced in Hollywood, with figures like Stanley Tucci, Colin Firth, Viggo Mortensen, and Kate Winslet weighing in.