Listen: Stanley Tucci All for Straight Actors in LGBTQ+ Roles

Stanley Tucci – a straight actor who has starred as gay characters in a number of films – offered his thoughts as to why it's "fine" for cis/het actors to appear in LGBTQ+ roles, People Magazine reported.

In a July 2 appearance on the BBC's radio show Desert Island Discs, Tucci, 62, was asked about the topic, which has been a point of Hollywood discussion for years.

"Obviously, I believe that's fine," Tucci – who has played gay men in movies like "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Supernova" – answered.

"I am always very flattered when gay men come up to me and talk to me about 'The Devil Wears Prada' or they talk about 'Supernova,' and they say that, 'It was just so beautiful,' you know, 'You did it the right way,'" Tucci added. "Because often, it's not done the right way."

Tucci went on to say that when an actor's portrayal of a gay character "tips into caricature and stereotypes, then it becomes a problem," NBC News relayed.

"An actor is an actor is an actor," Tucci argued. "You're supposed to play different people. You just are. That's the whole point of it."

Tucci's comments echoed what he said in 2021 when, appearing on the CBS talk show Sunday Morning, he said that he had "difficulty" with the notion that straight actors should be left out of gay roles.

Tucci explained: "I think that acting is all about not being yourself. If we were to use that as a template, then we would only ever play ourselves."

But Tucci went on to say he was sympathetic with LGBTQ+ actors. "I think what we need to do, we need to give more gay actors opportunities."

"People who are gay have only recently, in the last few years really, have been able to say, 'I'm gay and I'm an actor and I can play straight roles,'" the star noted. "They always had to hide their sexuality so that they could play the leading man or leading woman."

"Tucci's thoughts differ from that of Tom Hanks, who told The New York Times Magazine last year that a straight actor could not take on a gay role like the one he played in Jonathan Demme's 1993 legal drama 'Philadelphia,'" NBC News recalled.

Hanks "won the Oscar for best actor thanks to his performance," NBC News added, touching on one of the most controversial themes in the conversation around actors and the sorts of roles they play. William Hurt won an Oscar for his turn as a gay prisoner in a despotic regime in the 1985 film "Kiss of the Spider Woman," and Hillary Swank took the Academy Award for her portrayal of real-life transgender murder victim Brandon Teena in 1999's "Boys Don't Cry."

More recently, Jared Leto – also straight – won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of a trans character in the 2013 movie "Dallas Buyer's Club."

Critics say that such plum parts – and the awards they bring – ought to be made available to actors who are genuinely LGBTQ+.

To hear Tucci's thoughts on Desert Island Discs, follow this link.