Richard Chamberlain, who just guest-starred as a straight villain in Chuck, and is currently playing the role of a gay man who is HIV positive in the television series Brothers and Sisters, isn't single. He isn't looking. And he's pretty firm in his belief that gay actors should stay in the closet. Or so he told The Advocate, anyway.
“Despite all the wonderful advances that have been made, it's still dangerous for an actor to talk about [their sexuality] in our extremely misguided culture,” said the 76-year-old actor, who came out at 69 in his memoir Shattered Love. “There’s still a tremendous amount of homophobia in our culture. It’s regrettable, it’s stupid, it’s heartless, and it’s immoral, but there it is.”
While he doesn't feel he's lost leading-man roles because of his sexuality, Chamberlain thinks the possibility is a very real one. And with that, and the current climate, he says, it's silly for any actor not to concern himself with who knows about his sexuality. “Personally, I wouldn’t advise a gay leading man–type actor to come out.”
And here we all thought Hollywood was enlightened. Who knew?
“Despite all the wonderful advances that have been made, it's still dangerous for an actor to talk about [their sexuality] in our extremely misguided culture,” said the 76-year-old actor, who came out at 69 in his memoir Shattered Love. “There’s still a tremendous amount of homophobia in our culture. It’s regrettable, it’s stupid, it’s heartless, and it’s immoral, but there it is.”
While he doesn't feel he's lost leading-man roles because of his sexuality, Chamberlain thinks the possibility is a very real one. And with that, and the current climate, he says, it's silly for any actor not to concern himself with who knows about his sexuality. “Personally, I wouldn’t advise a gay leading man–type actor to come out.”
And here we all thought Hollywood was enlightened. Who knew?
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