Will & Grace star Eric McCormack says straight actors playing gay roles is ‘part of the gig’
“I didn’t become an actor so that I could play an actor" argues the star
Will & Grace‘s Eric McCormack has defended straight actors playing gay roles, saying: “I didn’t become an actor so I could play an actor.”
The star played Will Truman, a gay man and lawyer living in New York City, across 11 seasons of the hit comedy.
He won the 2001 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy for his performance.
“If gay actors weren’t allowed to play straight actors, Broadway would be over” – Will & Grace‘s Eric McCormack
Speaking on Good Morning Britain yesterday (Monday 18 March 2024), the 60-year-old said: “There’s no part I’ve ever played where I wasn’t playing something I’m not.”
“It’s part of the gig,” McCormack continued, as per The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ve always said, if gay actors weren’t allowed to play straight actors, Broadway would be over.”
The actor, whose roles also include My One and Only and Travellers, furthermore continued: “So this is what we do. I’d like to think that I represent it well. I came from the theatre, and one of my best friends was a gay man.
“So I think I took their spirit and their message in what was otherwise just a sitcom and, represented it, I hope.”
Will & Grace, also starring Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes, debuted in 1998. It ran for eight seasons, and was rebooted in 2017, running for a further three seasons.