Tom Hanks is WRONG | Actor Simon Callow SLAMS idea that straight actors can't play gay roles

[@davidsummer8631]

Looks like Gary Oldman might have to apologize for playing Dracula due to him not being a real vampire

[@I_Don_t_want_a_handle]

unless ...

[@marjian6991]

@@I_Don_t_want_a_handle LOL

[@noelward8047]

@@I_Don_t_want_a_handle Clever Haha

[@Mialogan2009]

😂😂😂😂

[@RAZmainianDareDevil]

Yes! Finally! as a self-identifing Vampire, his depiction of our people is very hurtful to our community. VLM

[@thegreat7861]

Does this mean he shouldn’t have acted as a soldier in saving private Ryan?

[@davewose9737]

@Neria Wolf Hanx playing Gump would be acceptable under his logic.

[@CoffeeConnected]

I think so. War veterans are a minority too. If he wants to be consistent and play by those rules he's set then perhaps he ought to apply them equally across the board.

[@keithdavies1395]

@@davewose9737 😂 good thinking

[@j.burgess4459]

@@CoffeeConnected Yes, by his own logic he is guilty of _stolen valor_ by pretending to have given his life for Uncle Sam WW2🤪

[@jimbrown2688]

If his logic holds he is guilty of portraying a soldier and Stolen Valour..

[@tombrunila2695]

Ingrid Bergman has told that once she had trouble playing a particular scene. She said to director Alfred Hitchcock that she can't do it naturally. Hitchcock replied: "All right. Fake it!" She thought that this was the best advice on acting that she had been given during all of her career!

[@BruvaBob]

Good point but she shouldn't o needed to be told that... its her job, no? It like a car mechanic complaining he cant take a wheel off a car only to be told use a wheel wrench.

[@yardgrid]

Didn't he say "try acting"

[@maisondusuave]

lol

[@shinggeul3447]

This is too funny! Subtle! 😂😂😂😂👏👏👏👏

[@1brigalow]

If this is the case, Rock Hudson would never have got a part.

[@catwoman7462]

Neither would Dirk Bogarde.

[@stephenbrookes7268]

I have heard that he had many parts thrust at him!

[@catwoman7462]

@@stephenbrookes7268 Oo-er missus!

[@stephenbrookes7268]

@@catwoman7462 I always feel the name Dirk is unfortunate, in that it contains elements of both Dick and Jerk.

[@erosleroi7638]

Well said Mr. Callow. This is the job and the art of the actor, to bring to life the written word. That takes great imagination and skill to pull that off convincingly. Why place limitations on the role by using woke politics to satisfy a minority mind set?

[@nigec4969]

Bottom line. Tom Hanks was being woke. He will go broke.

[@peterd788]

I once saw Simon Callow walking around London's West End randomly shouting stuff. Then I saw his picture on a poster outside a theatre and realised he was practising his lines. True story.

[@ianhill4585]

Michael Sheen did the same thing, practicing playing Kenneth Williams in a film, Michael said himself, it raised some interest. 🤗

[@Keith-sh4lo]

I probably would've literally broke the law and jumped on top of him and tried to make out with him and stuff and ended up in a jail cell that night.

[@paulukjames7799]

I heard a very loud person passing my train on the platform I was at Oxford station I saw the same person walking down the street in front of me further in to town he even turned and smiled I am not sure how he knew some one was about to take a photo and yes it was Simon Callow.

[@paulsmyth3580]

@@Keith-sh4lo sex offender

[@Tom_Hadler]

If you take his comments to their logical conclusion, people can only play themselves in biographical films

[@JohnnyPeacock1959]

Good Point.

[@Josie545]

Yes how true!

[@sadies2820]

Exactly I came to that conclusion too. Makes casting a very tricky business .

[@pirateswamp9219]

Whose gonna play my dad?

[@somebodyelseuk]

The logical conclusion of which, would be there would never be any actors, in the first place.

[@HonestBottom]

Can we PLEASE stop listening to celebrities, the vast majority of which are completely and utterly out of touch with a semblance of reality?!?!

[@MrCobbsalad]

Especially a virtue signalling one like hanks. He needs to shut his gob

[@sarahdickson1724]

and yet they're banging on about reality being necessary in roles, actually, scratch that, seems more like they're playing at being someone who thinks that, guess that's showbiz eh? 😂

[@sharongriffin2673]

You should please redefine "we", a quantity of people , as "them" and "us", really. A quick look at viewer numbers on YT videos shows celebrities get millions of views promoting the agenda, while videos on politics and the state of the world get 8 to 80 thousand views. Conclusion, eighty percent of people are out of touch with reality, supported in their delusions by these "celebrities".

[@HonestBottom]

@@sharongriffin2673 Fair comment lol, by "we" I was making a desperate plea to anybody who'd listen 🙏. It's okay though, woke cinema is taking a deserved thrashing so they're stabbing themselves in the wallet nicely anyway.

[@sharongriffin2673]

@@HonestBottom LOL, yes, "politicians" and "celebrities", they've no need for brains at all.

[@lumpyfishgravy]

Callow's point that being gay doesn't make you similar to EVERY type of gay character is key - but in these days of identity politics deeply unfashionable. As if we are individuals!

[@austinbux]

The entire point of acting is to pretend to be someone you are not. Colin Firth in A Single Man was a brilliant portrayal of a gay man, along with countless other performances by heterosexual actors.

[@TheLadyDelirium]

I just finished watching the 2nd season of Bridgerton. The romantic lead is played by Jonathan Bailey, a gay man who had amazing on screen chemistry with his female love interest because he's a fantastic actor. I guess Tom Hanks wouldn't want him to have that role.

[@kevinmassey7675]

Baring in mind that most roles in films are for straight men , would gay only playing gay , and straight playing straight mean that lots of gay actors would not come out in fear of losing out on consideration for a lot of possibilities for work ?....

[@feanorian21maglor38]

Exactly. Very well put. It's nonsense.

[@scotlandtheinsane3359]

Well few are out and that's because (among other reasons) they only get gay parts afterwards...lol

[@bonniesteinke6624]

Rock Hudson 😄

[@sleevemcdichael5841]

We all know full well that this whole only gay men can play gay men only goes one way. Gay/trans/non-binary can play anybody just straight actors can't because leftist logic makes no sense. They just want to discriminate against specifically straight white males to reduce the roles they get.

[@scotlandtheinsane3359]

@@sleevemcdichael5841 You know what bores me to tears? People whining and playing the victim especially when they clearly aren't 🙄 From any side of the debate! And no way do (out) gay actors get to play anything they want. It's simply not fkn true, and 'non binaries' are mostly silly little straight girls with au-tism. Save the salty tears for something worth complaining about.. Cause this isn't it..

[@SuperDenglish]

What's the point of having actors if people are just playing themselves. The whole point of being a good actor is the ability to play people who are precisely not you.

[@glenp3985]

So sad and pathetic that you have to actually point this out. Education has clearly been an abysmal failure.

[@rbrowne2998]

Exactly! Russell Crowe played a mathematician, Ben Kingsley played a gangster, many b women have played the whenever Queen of England, but my fave was Keira Knightly who played a kick-a** bounty hunter. Be afraid! Be very afraid!

[@Libertariun]

Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in I’m Not There

[@David_Jones8112]

That's not being a good actor. It's the easiest to play someone the exact opposite of you.

[@barryjones8123]

Yes!!! It’s called acting for a reason.

[@rayfordham9230]

Mr Callow makes any roll he plays look natural and it was a pleasure watching his interview, calm collected and he got the point across with no word salad. Well said sir.

[@kenhaynes4259]

I thought that's what actings all about ? If you can't play the part, you're not an actor !

[@BruvaBob]

I'm wondering what Tom thinks of a black actress playing Anne Boleyn? So according to Tom gay actors cant play straight roles. Got it Tom!

[@feanorian21maglor38]

To be fair, that's not what he said. He said straight actors shouldn't take over gay roles that ought to be left to gay actors- he's trying to support gay actors. But this is wokedom going crazy. If they act well, who cares what someone's sexual preferences are? They are artists, in the business of pretending. It's getting ridiculous.

[@elizabethmcloughlin1984]

This is all getting silly now. Acting is about playing a part, not who u are. But there r certain limitations. For example, several mths ago, was really looking forward to seeing a version of Romeo & Juliet on TV. Except, Juliet was played by a black actress with a strong African accent. It wasn't an African production, like Orson Welles' Black Macbeth back in the 1950s, which was brilliant. We were expected, with the Romeo & Juliet, to believe this stuff? We're talking about 2 aristocratic families in Renaissance Italy. So how come one of them was African? Got on my nerves so switched it off after 20 mins. Another box ticking that makes me angry is disabled actors who can barely speak. There's an actor in Emmerdale with cerebral palsy. The other "actors" interact with him like they understand every word he says. Poor young man is completely incoherent & can barely walk. But obviously ticks the boxes. How about this - I'm 74 yrs old - female, white, slim, dead fit - take my dog for walks about 6 hrs a day. Do u reckon the RSC would consider me to play Othello? Thought not. Apologies for banging on.

[@jaywalker1233]

@BruvaBob You’ve nailed it!

[@BruvaBob]

@@feanorian21maglor38 Not often I agree and disagree all in one comment! If straight can't play gay then gay can't play straight, no? If you don't agree please explain to me how one is ok to do what he wants but another is not. Let's put this another way, if your neighbour is allowed to take anything he wants from your house, why can't you take something from his house? It gets ridiculous in the end. Do gay actors need support? Are they not able to get work just because they're gay? I guess you're the kinda person who thinks black people don't know how to use a computer or to write out a form or have ID etc etc etc. I know plenty of gay peeps and not one of them is a weak 'please help as Im gay' person, in fact they find it offensive people think they need special treatment same too for my nonwhite mates. Please think before you type that kinda thing. But I do agree this woke shite is beyond hysterical now and anyone who follows history like I do knows this will end in a full swing back to the 60's and 70's once everyone gets beyond sick of being hammered by all this woke crap. I for one pray that doesn't happen

[@BruvaBob]

@@elizabethmcloughlin1984 Very well said!! I'm sure if they made a film about Shaka Zulu and a white guy played it they would be hysterical. I wish people would look up the definition of acting sometimes. I appreciate your comment and no its not banging on darling, you make valid points

[@teresaward8174]

What would Tom Hanks know about people.

[@alisonmcshannon1196]

Spot on Simon... Great performances go beyond the shell of our bodies and our way of being a person in the world xx

[@charlesburfoot1799]

For years gay actors played 'straight 'roles. The clue is in the name. They are actors

[@shaungillingham4689]

It's acting, the clue is in the name.

[@evolassunglasses4673]

This^^^

[@trevorhart545]

Brilliant Comment, sounds like an Al Murray comment!

[@shaungillingham4689]

@@trevorhart545 I suppose Tom hanks or any actor can't play a murderer, not having murdered anyone? Anyone should be able to act as anyone, it's fiction, make believe! I often see women, 5 foot nothings, kicking the crap out of some 6 foot 18 stone brick shit houses bloke, is that reality? Of course not it's all make believe. If you like the old comedians, Peter Sellers plays a bumbling accident prone North Indian that is mistakenly invited to a holiwood socialite party, its hilarious but now banned from TV, because he plays an Indian. I lived in India & he nails it! Ultimately he becomes the life & soul of the party. Its called "The Party". Woke ideology has fucked things up completely!

[@lescorlett4133]

So if staight men shouldn't play gay roles does that mean gay men shouldn't play straight roles? If so Sir Ian Mckellen, Sir Derek Jacobi, Denholm Elliot, Dirk Bogarde etc would never had careers in acting.

[@Josie545]

You forget that in the Woke world everything is one sided so they would not agree with that.

[@osamabinliner9781]

Was a good shout from simon callow about John Hurt playing Quentin Crisp brilliant performance

[@Josie545]

@@osamabinliner9781 yes I remember he certainly was good. You would never have thought he wasn’t gay

[@wayneperry7413]

First time I saw Russell Crowe in a film was playing a gay man.

[@somebodyelseuk]

@@osamabinliner9781 Disappointed he didn't point out what a great job John Hannah did opposite him. Gay character, straight actor.

[@SandraHof]

With Mr Hanks’ reasoning, three characters on the TV show "Frasier", Niles, Bulldog and Martin, should have been played by heterosexual men instead of by three men who were actually homosexual.

[@margaretflounders8510]

Except Martin wasn't gay he had cancer and so believed he couldn't have children..

[@wayneperry7413]

@@margaretflounders8510 Hmm, think you might want to research that a little further, I respect he didn’t feel it was anyone else’s business, but I can guarantee you 100% he indulged in homosexual practices (and no, I’m not to going to divulge how I know)

[@nockianlifter661]

If an actor can’t play a gay character, then by inference they cannot play any other character than themselves. Well done Hanks, you’ve just put yourself and all your fellow performers out of work.

[@Keith-sh4lo]

It's also because tom Hank's gay role in that movie was so full on and hiv and death and crazy sh1t as well. The undertone is that that's why he doesn't want to.

[@anthonygriff668]

I didn't know Tom Hanks was a toy cowboy. I demand they get an actual one to do the part. These people are just so ridiculous it's untrue, where do you draw the line, or is there no line to draw?

[@noelward8047]

@@anthonygriff668 Don't bring lines into it ... things are bad enough Haha

[@anthonygriff668]

@@noelward8047 Oops, I never thought of that. I suppose I'm just too innocent. 🙃

[@paddymallory4080]

I was under the impression that’s what acting was, playing something you’re not

[@dangermouse6561]

Maybe if Mr. Hanks feels so strongly he should give back his proceeds from Philadelphia?

[@MegaTaupo]

Yessss... reparation!!

[@presstodelete1165]

You clearly can't play a death scene until after you have experience #livingPrivelidge

[@tristandunn4628]

Well said. These people are acting (pretending to be someone). What they are in real life is irrelevant. OK, a US Sitcom may not have as much clout here, but to give another example, Eric McCormack in Will and Grace was totally credible. Also, the grief that Ruby Rose (Battwoman) got for not being gay enough was totally preposterous. As a guy in his late 40s, I'm not familiar with her work outside of that role, but I thought she was absolutely brilliant for that part. What her sexuality is outside of that is irrelevant, and no one else's business. Getting back to Dustin Hoffman, was his part in Rainman offensive? Should only autistic people play autistic roles?

[@Redrosewitch]

Agreed. People with Autism are all individuals. It's called The Autistic Spectrum for good reason. Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man is in no way an illustration of all Autistic people. Because they are all individuals. And given how Mr Hoffman often approaches roles. I'm sure he's reflecting how it affects a few people.

[@TheFith67]

Patrick Swayze and Bruce Willis were just pretending to be ghosts in the films. As far as I know Sigourney Weaver wasn't really an interstellar space explorer either. It's that acting thing they do, that confuses us all.

[@BruvaBob]

Ohhh man my bubble is burst lol I was hoping to apply for the space marines and go fight those aliens!

[@TheFith67]

@@BruvaBob Well 2022 isn't over yet, and stranger things have happened lol

[@dennisthompson2350]

Have always enjoyed Simon Callow’s acting, regardless of the character he is playing. He is a consummate professional actor

[@stevenpayne8023]

Interesting comments from Tom Hanks. How ironic that gay actors have been playing straight men on and off the screen since the birth of Hollywood.

[@ancietman]

I expect most gay actors will agree with Simon. It will be Hanks virtue signalling that is just saying it to make him feel good about himself.

[@banginghats2]

@@ancietman And try to gain favour with his social circle, especially his gay friends, and keep in with the Hollywood wokerati.

[@stevenpayne8023]

@@ancietman I agree

[@CoffeeConnected]

In fact isn't acting a profession where gay people are over-represented compared to the percentage of the national demographic? They certainly can't be all playing just gay characters.

[@elirien4264]

But that's different....somehow.

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

You know what I like about gay actors like Simon, Sir Ian McKellen etc? They don't rely on their sexuality to get roles. They get roles because of their talent. AS it SHOULD BE. If 'marginalised' people are given roles just because of their sexuality, race, etc etc, all that's happening is their talent is relegated to being irrelevant. Imagine going for a job interview and being told "You weren't the best candidate for the position, even though you've got good qualifications, but we're giving you the job anyway because we felt sorry for you, and thought nobody else would hire you." Because that's always a good work motivator: being a pitty hire.

[@bigbarty8648]

Apparently they are struggling to find someone to play the role of Quasimodo in a remake of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". 😊

[@DavidSmith-ku8kw]

I have a great deal of respect for Simon Callow. His Dickens tour was superb.

[@martincampbell4420]

Saw his Dickens show in Glasgow in 2001. He was incredible. The Bill Sikes and Nancy scene especially. Met him at the stage door soon after the show finished. He was really friendly and kind. And he gladly signed my program, which I still have 😊

[@tx3851]

Love Mr Callow....If Tom Hanks wishes to live by his words, then donate all monies he received from Philadelphia....Mr Callow is such an intelligent human being....

[@Keith-sh4lo]

And orange and beautiful and wearing a salmon coloured shirt like Ross in that episode of Friends.

[@mickyvionsellinas6743]

Here here

[@Paul-sj5db]

Not to mention all the money he made from the other parts he played when he wasn't a pilot, captain, or child in a man's body. Actually that last one might be accurate.

[@davidbrear8642]

Ironically, Laurence Olivier was obliged to pretend publicly to be straight, even though it was an open secret amongst those who knew him, that he was not. Olivier is reputed to have suggested to 'Method Actor,' Dustin Hoffman, that he should 'try acting,' when Hoffman turned up genuinely exhausted on the set of 'Marathon Man' having not slept for several days, because the character he was playing was supposed not to have slept for several days.

[@musashidanmcgrath]

Loads of the leading men back then were 'secretly' gay.

[@j.burgess4459]

He’s right. If an actor has to 'be" gay in order to play a gay character then Mr Callow would (by the same logic) have to "be" an Edwardian Clergyman in order to play Rev Arthur Beeb in "A Room with a View", wouldn't he? For that matter, Mr Hanks would have to "be" a 1940s American Army officer to appear in "Saving Private Ryan", or a 1930s gangster to appear in "The Road to Perdition"...etc....etc...

[@Keith-sh4lo]

Simon callow was mostly just a gay guy in room with a view drooling over 2 young buff guys and running around nude with them and stuff. The vicar outfit was mostly incidental. Like in a p0rno.

[@brianwaugh548]

Spot on.

[@elenaabbott]

Or he’d have to have really been a gay man to play a gay aids victim in “Phillidelphia” a roll he absolutely aced but maybe he regrets that now.

[@tombrunila2695]

In "La Cage aux Folles" from 1977, Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault played two gay men, and they were absolutely hilarious!. Neither of them were gay! The film was later made in the USA as "Birdcage"!

[@margaretflounders8510]

Loved that film..was Robin Williams gay? Or transgender, or really an Alien? He's played all 3...

[@tombrunila2695]

@@margaretflounders8510 , Robin Williams was a very talented actor and comedian! He didn't have to be something to act being one!

[@paulmurgatroyd6372]

Tom Hanks was never an astronaut and didn't have any of the training or experiences of one, but it didn't stop him taking the cheque from Ron Howard.

[@willatno2]

So we should actually only get animals to act themselves rather than get an actor to provide voiceovers ??

[@markbeetham5118]

You'd have a devil of a time trying to find a real vampire

[@BlookbugIV]

Anyone who hasn’t had their mind poisoned with idpol disagrees with Hanks

[@dunnymonster]

I agree with Tom, the Planet of the Apes films should be withdrawn and reshot using real Chimps, Gorilla's and Orangutans ☺️

[@stephenbrookes7268]

It seems luvvies, that 3 years at RADA were completely wasted. Now I am only able to play a newly qualified, resting actor!

[@trevorhart545]

Currently re-watching Simon in "Chance in a Million" as Tom Chance. As good as I remember watching the original broadcast.

[@patriotunion7211]

Hanks should probably not have stareed in Saving Private Ryan since he's never been a soldier in WW2, by his logic!

[@phillyb8347]

The only role he would have been allowed to play by his own logic is Forrest Gump. 🤣🤣

[@planetdashcam2074]

It's crazy. It's like saying sly stallone shouldn't of played rocky because he wasn't a boxer.

[@JessieCori]

I wish Tom Hanks had some integrity.

[@BlueShadow777]

Brilliantly said by Callow.

[@paulcowell7588]

Good to see Simon callow looking so fit and well...

[@petertyckare3432]

I hope all actors stop talking politics and start playing in REAL MOVIES otherwise it will be an endangered profession.

[@sirbasilflapjack671]

Tom Hanks was also wrong to play an army Ranger Captain who stormed Omaha beach, as he has never done that. Saving Private Ryan should have starred only the men who served during the Normandy invasion. Now that would have been a spectacle back in 1998.

[@kaye666]

Haha yes!

[@Grk149]

With so many actors these days literally playing themselves (and acting the same in every role they play), no wonder they have forgotten what an actor is supposed to be. These days it’s more about driving a message and scoring representation points than telling a story well.

[@somebodyelseuk]

Couldn't have put it better myself.

[@neilblackman8749]

So can a kid fiddler play a respectable man in society like Tom Hanks

[@SandraSmith-vb5pf]

Simon Callow looks Extremely Healthy Wealthy and Happy🇬🇧 🌈🇬🇧 💙❤️🤍Wonderful Voice and Attitude Excellent Interview ThankYou 🕊🕊🕊🙏👏👍

[@chappo4845]

Unfortunately after a career of rarely, if ever, being told no it's not surprising that actors can be so far out of kilter. Parents take note.

[@jaymac7203]

It's called acting! How is this even an issue?

[@terrortorn]

Toms heart isn't in the right place he's completely detached from reality and good reason.

[@ohsweetmystery]

Yes, it's a kind of virtue signalling to always assume no one is an idiot or a jerk. Tom Hanks is both.

[@joyelmes7814]

He is playing along with the latest game. Should be ridiculing it all, it is utterly ridiculous. I have never seen Hugh Grant act, he always plays the same character, himself.

[@Paul-sj5db]

I'm very upset to learn that he wasn't actually castaway onto a desert island for years. The deceitfulness of these people pretending to be someone they're not and doing things that they've never really done is off the charts.

[@jamesbenjamin5746]

The fact that this is even a debate shows you how far this silly idea has taken route 🤣 it's called acting

[@marys6800]

I have films on DVD where gay men play straight romantic parts with women as their leading ladies. The man who played Bingley in Pride and Prejudice with Kiara Knightly, is married to a man and has two children.

[@drew8958]

Well said ! Acting is exactly that! It is like aggressive cockneys in East Enders ! They are not acting !!!! I am surprised Tom Hanks said this.... He is an amazing actor and play a gay man very well. It certainly drew me to tears with his performance🙂 What next Tom? Drug dealer must be a real drug dealer when the camera stops rolling ? Actors must not ACT?

[@stevebird7265]

Tom Hanks should not have played the roles in most of his films then! He is not a soldier, sailor, detective or any other of his characters!

[@harrydavey9884]

In that case, shouldn't Tom Hanks also stop playing brave men, non-pedophiles and smart people?

[@phildavey4322]

Absolutely ludicrous. They are actors, the clue is in the name. Would Tom Hanks be unable to play his part in Perdition because he is not a hit-man?

[@EVALLOYD]

To follow Tom Hank's logic, only straight men can play straight roles?

[@TheFiddle101]

The essence of acting is to act. Good for Simon. He was wonderful as Brenda Blethyn's boyfriend in Chance in a Million.

[@magicsparks2002]

Didn’t Johnny depp say all his characters are gay? I don’t agree they all are obviously chocolate would be one, I guess he means the more flamboyant parts he’s played. Then you have someone recently say “the man who convinced the world he has scissors for fingers” some people can’t distinguish between the “act” of the actor and the real person, it is a bit disturbing when someone can’t distinguish the two. But it’s a compliment of their acting skill that they can become another person and convince the world for a moment they are that person.

[@howardbowen-RC-Pilot]

That's what is called acting. In Hollyweird terms unless we find some Vulcans to act, science fiction is over.

[@peterd788]

I've never killed anyone but if I had some sort of talent I'd happily play a serial killer.

[@fatClyde]

His heart may be in the right place but his brain clearly isn't

[@eyden1562]

I don't ever remember Tom Hanks being mentally challenged yet he also played Forrest Gump. I don't remember him ever being marooned on a desert island, yet he can play someone who did. The idea that an actor has to relate to the experiences of the character in order to play said character is COMPLETE HYPOCRISY

[@Markmywords803]

Did Eamon totally make that version of the Dustin quote up?😃

[@liahurst8575]

Actors pretend to be someone else when they act, it's that simple.

[@anonUK]

Can an actor born after 1600 perform in a Shakespeare play?

[@manofbeard]

The guy who plays Cam in modern family is straight in real life. His portrayal of a gay man is fantastic.

[@notabiologist9865]

So Tom Hanks should only play roles based on men that haven't had a normal life, a normal job or experience outside of the celebrity bubble in the last 40 years?

[@bootneckbonz]

Remember that time Zac Efron murdered all those women when auditioning for the part of Ted Bundy? Nope, me neither. Some people suck.

[@pickleperryemz]

Finally some common sense, thank you Simon Callow. If apologists like Tom Hanks got there way then are they going to argue real paedophiles play those characters alongside children in films?

[@richardballinger517]

Isn't the idea of acting to portray a role whatever it is?

[@marcturner5809]

Isn’t that what actors do, they act

[@I_Don_t_want_a_handle]

Callow has played straight roles, can he no longer?

[@keithdavies1395]

It's called ACTING Tom,get a grip,there's a clue there somewhere!

[@alfredroyal3473]

Yet C5 cast a black woman as Ann Boleyn!

[@malcolmarchibald6356]

Should we vacate Broadmoor for murderers? Surely, as an excellent actor himself, Habks knows he is spouting spheroids.

[@Bungle-UK]

Isn’t the whole point of being an actor that you’re pretending to be someone/something you aren’t?

[@fabiosplendido9536]

I agree with Tom Hanks. If there is one thing we don't need in this world then that is a bunch or actors going around pretending to be something they're not.

[@ivansmith2572]

He didn't think that comment through. Didn't he realise he's been acting all his life

[@arfurwitt6221]

Would Tom Hanks also agree that Gay actors should only play in gay roles.we cant have them playing in straight roles as they have no life experience to draw upon.

[@JessieCori]

Absolutely idiotic to claim that straight can't play gay!

[@ancietman]

Does that mean that the Ugly Sisters in panto will always have to be played by women?.

[@terryreknaw6152]

Yeah and ugly ones as part of inclusion 🤣👍

[@cree878]

So Anne Boleyn who was white can be played by an actress who is black but a straight person can’t play a gay role 🤣

[@adamgrimsley2900]

Slams? These headlines are pathetic

[@DerekTJ]

Beautifully articulated. If Hanks was honest, he'd tell us its about his reputation and not his principles.

[@thom2185]

That awkward moment when someone reminds Tom he won an Oscar for playing a gay man with aids .

[@alanmorris1831]

The heterosexual John Hurt played a very effeminate homosexual, Quentin Crisp. He also played the horrendously disfigured Joseph Merrick, (the so called Elephant man), and jockey Bob Champion, who had cancer. All of which he did brilliantly. It's called acting.

[@CoffeeConnected]

It's such a weird demand because gay actors are never told that they can't play straight characters.

[@exgren]

So, tom cruise is a real navy pilot... Who knew

[@Emma-ex8gx]

Tom Hanks is a lefty berk, you only have to see his reaction to Ricky Gervais' golden globes speech. I bet he wouldn't say Gay people can't play straight.

[@robnevin01]

Well said Simon Callow..a voice of reason in our mad world....thank you for your honesty...

[@evitasdad]

So, Tom, gay actors should not play straight roles then?!!