The whole point of acting is to pretend to be someone you're not, and sometimes that requires being put in uncomfortable situations. Many actors have had to film romantic scenes with people they would never see as a romantic partner in real life, and some have even played characters whose sexuality didn't match their own. Straight actors are applauded for their "brave" performances when they play gay characters (remember Brokeback Mountain?), but for some reason, when gay actors play straight characters, they never get the same recognition.
Now that American society is (finally) getting around to accepting and celebrating all kinds of love, more and more people are fearlessly revealing that they're about as straight as cooked spaghetti. The fact that so many celebrities have come out as bisexual or gay has helped support the notion that we should all be comfortable loving whoever we want, regardless of gender. And now that gay marriage is legal all across the country, both famous and non-famous same-gender couples can finally get hitched. You should see some of the adorable photos that resulted from the happiest day of their lives!
If you believe that all the straight couples that are portrayed on TV are played by straight actors, think again. These openly gay actors really showed just how talented they are when they agreed to convincingly take up the roles of straight characters. I think it's about time they get the same love that straight actors do when they play gay characters, don't you?
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1. Ellen Page
The actress came out publicly in 2014, but she's played multiple straight characters, including the pregnant titular character in the movie Juno.
2. Neil Patrick Harris
He might have played the womanizing Barney in How I Met Your Mother, but in real life, this actor has two kids with his husband, David Burtka.
3. Portia de Rossi
The actress is married to Ellen DeGeneres, and the stars have plenty of cats, dogs, and horses who live with them. On the small screen, though, de Rossi is best known for her role Lindsay Bluth Fünke (wife of Tobias Fünke) on Arrested Development.
4. Lily Tomlin
Tomlin has played multiple straight characters onscreen, among them Vivian Jaffe in I Heart Huckabees. In real life, though, she's been married to Jane Wagner since 2013.
5. Matt Bomer
The actor who plays the straight Neal Caffrey on White Collar has three kids with his husband, Simon Halls.
6. Robert Reed
Reed was most famous for his role as Mike Brady (husband of Carol Brady) in The Brady Bunch. He never publicly admitted that he was gay for fear that it might damage his career, but after his death in 1992, his former co-stars revealed that he had told them about his homosexuality.
7. Jane Lynch
This actress has been an out and proud lesbian for quite a while now, but she still didn't shy away from playing the role of Paula (who is very open about wanting to sleep with Andy) in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
8. Zachary Quinto
Quinto publicly came out in 2011. He played an openly gay character in the first season of American Horror Story, but in season two, he played the straight Dr. Oliver Thredson.
9. Jonathan Groff
Groff revealed that he was gay in 2009 and was in a relationship with fellow actor Zachary Quinto for a time. However, Jesse St. James, his character on Glee!, was chasing after Rachel Barry (Lea Michele).
10. Jodie Foster
The Silence of the Lambs actress has played numerous straight characters throughout her career, but when she came out in 2013, not many people were surprised. The actress has been married to Alexandra Hedison since 2014.
11. Victor Garber
His role in Legally Blonde might have been that of a creepy, womanizing professor, but Garber mentioned that he was gay in 2012. He's been married to his husband, artist and model Rainer Andreesen, since October 2015.
12. Alan Cumming
This actor is bisexual and has been married to Grant Shaffer since 2012, but many of the characters he's played (including Joe Therrian in The Anniversary Party) have only been interested in women.
13. Meredith Baxter
Baxter first made her homosexuality known to the public in 2009, and she married Nancy Locke in 2013. On the show Family Ties, though, she played Elyse Keaton, a straight, married mother of three children.
14. Wanda Sykes
This Curb Your Enthusiasm actress and comedian played the role of the straight Biggie Shorty in Pootie Tang. Shortly after marrying her wife, Alex Niedbalski, she publicly revealed she was a lesbian in 2008.
15. Guillermo Diaz
Diaz used to try to hide his homosexuality as he was growing up (which he says helped him improve his acting abilities), but is now very open about the fact that he's gay. He played the straight Guillermo Garcia Gomez on the TV show Weeds.
16. Rosie O'Donnell
The actress and television host has been "out" since 2002 and is a prominent LGBT advocate. She played the role of Betty Rubble in the 1994 live-action movie The Flintstones.
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