Comments on: 10 Best Openly Gay Actors

By: Sylkozakur

Sylkozakur — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:16:00 +0000

I wouldn’t count Rock Hudson, Anthony Perkins or Richard Chamberlin as openly Gay because two of them only came out because they were dying, & one’s career is basically over. Takai only counts because he’s still working. What about Ellen Degenerous or Jane Lynch?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:52:00 +0000

I never knew David Hyde Pierce was “Openly” gay. I had suspicions, but you’re loose use of the definition of “openly” is wrong. “Openly” would mean some mention of it in interviews and such and a good portion of the public would know about it. Takei was not open for most of his career, but people in Hollywood probably knew. NPH has a long career ahead, Ian McKellen came out around the time i discovered him, same as Rupert Everett and Alan Cumming I heard some rumblings, but no one else on this list would I even consider being “Openly gay” at all in their careers (but if you mean did their employers knew, well, you might have a case).

By: Shawnee

Shawnee — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:44:00 +0000

How come TR Knight didn’t make the list?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:41:00 +0000

Let’s also remember that his wife, Berry Berenson, was one of the victims that were on the first plane to hit the Trade Center on 9/11

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:39:00 +0000

Yeah, thank you. I saw an italian horror film he was in, maybe it’s the the one you mention way earlier than the Julia Roberts flick. I really prefer not to know much about any character style actor because thoughts of their reality intrude during performance, but NPH has made me “forget” when he’s playing a womanizer.

By: Dmegson

Dmegson — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:16:00 +0000

Amen, sister!

By: Dmegson

Dmegson — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:16:00 +0000

Quoted for Truth!

By: DK

DK — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 12:40:00 +0000

While I think Marcel raises some fair points, he’s well off-base when it comes to Ian McKellen. McKellen actually came out in the late 80s, when the only thing he was famous for was his theater work. His film career didn’t start in earnest until the mid-to-late-90s (e.g. Richard III, Gods & Monsters). He also appeared in the 1993 TV adaptation of And the Band Played On. In other words, it seems like he’s walked the walk as well as talked the talk.

By: Frank Miller

Frank Miller — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 03:38:00 +0000

Why include actors who were not openly gay during their careers? John Barrowman has done much more for LGBT causes than someone like Anthony Perkins.

By: Angelique

Angelique — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 02:57:00 +0000

Why are the people on this list all male? If you added females, you wouldn’t have to mention people who NEVER left the closet during their careers. And what the hell is THIS: “It wasn’t until he turned 69 that he revealed that he’s an openly gay actor.” Seriously, you don’t notice anything wrong with that sentence? Anything at all? Do I need to send you a dictionary so you can look up the meaning of the word “openly”?

By: Joey

Joey — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 02:20:00 +0000

Yeah, you need a few actors to replace Hudson and Perkins as “openly gay.” (How about Portia de Rossi and Sara Gilbert?) And I agree with those who have said being outed is not the same as being open, as with Sir John Gielgud. I guess I was expecting a list of out and proud actors, not actors who happened to be gay but didn’t mention it until their 60s. (Which, no shame on them, times were much different.)

By: Alexandria

Alexandria — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 02:00:00 +0000

I take offense at Alan Cumming being being whitewashed as gay. He identifies as bisexual, as do many people, and we’re tired of being erased. The fact that he is married to a man does not negate the fact that he retains an attraction to women as well (just as his previous marriage to a woman did not magically make him straight).

By: prw221

prw221 — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 01:43:00 +0000

This list is rife with typos and includes several actors who were/are not, by any stretch of the imagination, openly gay.

By: Jez

Jez — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 01:26:00 +0000

Rock Hudson was no way “openly gay”. Nope.

By: Marcel Wiel

Marcel Wiel — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:44:00 +0000

What a total waste of time this article is … a real lazy space filler. Do you people have no respect for your readers?
When did being arrested for lewd behaviour count as being out & open (John Guilgud)?
Also, Ian McKellen only came out once he was famous in the 1990s and Rock Hudson’s closeted existence drove him to alcoholism, which hardly makes him a poster boy for the out, healthy gay man – plus he only liked ‘straight-looking/straight-acting guys’ who wouldn’t ‘give him away’.
And Anthony Perkins, who was linked to many female ‘beards’ and was married with children, may have been gay deep down but to my knowledge never went on a Pride March, when his stature & profile could’ve really made a difference to the advancement of lesbian & gay rights.
If you want to identify excellent out & open gay actors, start with the Lesbian & Gay Film Festival circuit. Among the dross, there are a few gems, all out & open people you can depend if you’re cornered by a bunch of homophobes.
But as far as your list goes, most would run away to hide in their mansions, leaving you to get a good kicking.
Shame on you!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:40:00 +0000

You know, as much as I support what you’re doing here, I have to take issue with “best.” And “openly.” Yeah, you dodged on that with Rock Hudson and Anthony Perkins, but come on. And I’m pretty sure Allen Cumming refers to himself as being bi.

By: Lola

Lola — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:59:00 +0000

Rupert Everett’s theatrical debut wasn’t in 1997′s ’My Best Friend’s Wedding’. It was fifteen years earlier in 1982′s A Shocking Accident. That wasn’t even his first American film. Also technically if you are outed due to an illness that was previously only associated with gay men you aren’t openly gay. You been pushed out of the closet.