In a casting culture that’s long excluded queer actors from telling their own stories and also recommended straight actors avoid playing queer characters, a new twist is unfolding—one that flips the script, and not in a good way. Benito Skinner, the multi-talented queer actor, comedian, and creator of Prime Video’s Overcompensating, says he’s been actively discouraged from even auditioning for straight roles.
Talking to Attitude, he said, “I’ve wanted to play a straight role, and people have asked not to see a tape…And I’m like, okay… So I think a lot of queer actors feel that way. Like, ‘We can’t come into those spaces,’ or ‘We could never do that.'” At 31, Skinner is no stranger to Hollywood’s double standards. As conversations rage about whether straight actors should play gay roles, his experience raises a new and unsettling question—should queer actors be boxed out of straight roles too?
In the same interview, Skinner reflected on the depth that LGBTQ actors bring to queer characters—depth that can’t be mimicked by someone who hasn’t lived that reality. Still, he added, “If there was more of a balance, I would feel like, ‘Of course, it’s acting. You’re telling stories.’ I think it’s beautiful that a lot of people can tell these stories.” For queer audiences, Skinner’s words hit home. In a space where LGBTQ performers still fight to be cast in queer roles, being shut out of straight roles too is more than irony—it’s injustice. So we ask: Is it right to look at sexual orientation as a determinant of an actor playing the role?
