57%

Hello You,

A few days ago, I was saddened and surprised to discover that only 57% of gay actors are out to their agents; the rest fear being typecast.

This got me thinking: if/when I do get an agent (I hope it's the latter), I'll have to make a choice- to tell them, and perhaps restrict my career prospects, or to not tell them, and perhaps feel some sort of weight on my shoulders, or, bluntly, a massive gay elephant in the room.

It's an industry where one's talent, it seems, is often hardly recognised. Where face shape, hair colour, name, way they pronounce their 'h's (see previous blog post for my feelings towards that), height- no, I'm not still bitter about being too tall to audition for Oliver or Michael Banks or Kurt von Trapp or...-  and uncontrollable eye colour are more important during casting.

But most importantly, who you love- an unmanageable aspect of anyone's, gay or straight's, life- is now considered a factor. I remember Jonathan Groff, a gay actor who played Lea Michele's love interest on Glee (used to like it, not so sure now) was criticised simply because he was 'playing straight'. Are gay actors considered bad ones, incapable of portraying heterosexuals? Because let me tell you, I did sixteen years of 'playing straight'- I know how it's done.

Yours defiantly,

M.