Barrowman Calls Out Other Gay Actors

John Barrowman, star of BBC Two's "Doctor Who" spinoff "Torchwood," said that he struggles over why it's so hard for actors to come out of the closet and admit they're gay or bisexual, and doesn't find a lot of merit in some of the fears expressed by actors, according to Pink News.

"If it has been a problem, no one ever told me so," Barrowman said. "I know people who lie about being gay because they think it will affect their work chances. That is just sad."

But it apparently has affected actors over the years. Rupert Everett said that he was bumped out of roles in films such as "About a Boy" and "Basic Instinct 2" because of his homosexuality. At the same time, however, actors like Ian McKellen says their careers have skyrocketed since they announced publicly their sexuality. McKellen has gone on to appear as Magneto in the X-Men trilogy as well as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

A lot of actors, however, are simply afraid of being defined by their sexuality, said Howard Bragman, chief executive of Fifteen Minutes, a public relations company in the United States. Otherwise, gay men in Hollywood can be divided into four groups, he said. Those who are openly gay, those who are gay and everybody knows it (but just don't talk about it), the married closeted gay who doesn't talk about it, and those who scream they'll sue anyone who claims they are gay.

"In Hollywood, they don't cast by positives, they cast by negatives," Bragman said. "'This one's too this or that.' And actors don't want to give red flags. They're actors and want to talk about their mutability, not their personal lives."

Barrowman himself lost a job in the United States not because he was too gay, but because he wasn't "gay enough." The role? The male lead in the NBC sitcom "Will & Grace," which eventually went to a straight actor. Barrowman's largest role since then as been as Capt. Jack Harkness, the time-traveling bisexual that has been featured both in "Doctor Who" and as the lead character in "Torchwood."

Talk about this story