Paul Mescal Weighs In On Debate Of Straight Actors Playing Gay Characters: The Issue Is...

Paul Mescal discussed his opinions on the controversy surrounding the casting of straight actors in gay roles. The actor recently starred gay drama All of Us Strangers opposite Andrew Scott. While Scott is out and proud, Mescal is heterosexual, but the actor believes it's acceptable for straight actors to play gay roles as long as queer people are telling the story. 

Paul Mescal’s one condition for straight actors playing gay roles 

In a conversation with The Sunday Times, Mescal opened up on his opinion on straight actors playing gay characters on screen. The actor said, “It depends on who’s in charge of telling the story. The issue is that there have been so many queer performances in cinema that have been offensive, but that’s because the filmmakers and the actors have been careless.” 

Bringing his recent release, All of Us Strangers, to the discussion, Mescal added, “I don’t think this film exists in that conversation whatsoever, and that’s it.”

Andrew Scott does not want sexuality to be the only parameter 

In a similar vein, Mescal's co-star Andrew Scott also talked about how casting should take an actor's whole package into account rather than just their sexual orientation. He said, “As much as I feel like representation is important, so is transformation. I don’t love the idea of being cast for something purely for my own sexuality — you’re not just playing ‘gay’, you’re playing the attributes of the character.” 

What is All of Us Strangers about? 

One night in his near-empty London tower block, screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott) has a chance encounter with mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), puncturing the rhythm of his everyday life. 

As a relationship develops between them, Adam finds himself drawn back to his childhood home, where his parents appear to be living just as they were on the day they died 30 years ago.