Very few actors have been lucky enough to portray a fictional love scene with the person they actually love. More often than not, the people we see in movies and on TV are romantically paired with people they would never actually date in real life, and they have to test their acting chops by convincing the audience that they're truly in love with their on-screen partners. It can be hard enough to pretend to be attracted to someone in front of a bunch of cameras and crew members, but some actors and actresses have taken on the even more challenging task of portraying romantic relationships that contradict their sexual orientations.
Most of us could never imagine being able to feign romantic attraction to a person who didn't coincide with our preferred gender, but for many professional actors, it's just part of the job. These gay actors have portrayed heterosexual characters so well, many people don't even know that they're gay in real life. There are many straight actors who have also done a fantastic job portraying characters who prefer the same gender, and many of them have done such convincing work, they've led their fans to believe they're attracted to both women and men, just like these stars who are open about their bisexuality.
Take a look at some of these actors who have either confirmed their heterosexuality or only dated partners of the opposite gender, but played gay characters on the big screen. Some had an easier time than others portraying homosexual relationships in their movies, but all of them stepped out of their comfort zones to make their fans happy.
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1. Heath Ledger
Ledger cemented his reputation as a serious actor when he played Ennis Del Mar in the award-winning film Brokeback Mountain. He was only known to have dated women during his lifetime.
2. Jake Gyllenhaal
Gyllenhaal starred opposite Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain as Jack Twist. He stated that he's not sexually attracted to men, but said that he "didn't think [he] would be afraid of it if it happened."
3. Jim Carrey
Carrey can play both funny and serious roles, but he really ventured into new territory when he took the role of Steven Russell in I Love You Phillip Morris. He's dated and wed numerous women throughout his lifetime (including the famous Jenny McCarthy), but there are no records of him dating any men.
4. Lena Headey
The same woman who plays the powerful and terrifying Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones once played the character of Luce in the romantic comedy-drama Imagine Me And You. Though Luce is a lesbian, Headey's serious partners have all been male.
5. Paul Rudd
Back in 1998, this Perks of Being a Wallflower star played the gay George Hanson in The Object of My Affection opposite Jennifer Aniston. Since 2003, he's been married to Julie Yaeger.
6. Robert Pattinson
Pattinson played painter Salvador Dali in the gay romantic drama Little Ashes, but in real life, he's only known to have dated women, including his Twilight co-star Kristin Stewart.
7. Colin Firth
In A Single Man, Firth plays George, who is having trouble coping with the sudden death of his boyfriend. The actor himself, though, has been married to Livia Firth since 1997.
8. Robin Williams
Over the course of his lifetime, the late actor and comedian was married to three women. His character in the movie The Birdcage, however, is in a loving relationship with another man.
9. Chris Cooper
Unlike his character in American Beauty, it's doubtful that Cooper is hiding any secret feelings from his wife of 33 years.
10. Emily Blunt
Blunt plays a lesbian named Tamsin in My Summer of Love. Outside of fiction, though, the actress has dated singer Michael Bublé, and she's now married to actor John Krasinski.
11. Daniel Radcliffe
In the film Kill Your Darlings, the man who once played Harry Potter portrays gay poet Allen Ginsberg.
12. Bradley Cooper
In Valentine's Day, Cooper plays the role of the gay Holden, but the actor himself has only dated and married women throughout his adult life.
13. Sean Penn
Penn plays the titular character in the film Milk, which centers around the life of the first openly gay person to be elected to public office. Penn has dated and married multiple famous women, including Madonna and Charlize Theron, but hasn't had any offscreen gay relationships.
14. Leonardo DiCaprio
DiCaprio might be known for dating supermodels, but in Total Eclipse, he plays young poet Arthur Rimbaud, who gets wrapped up in a romance with his mentor, Paul Verlaine.
15. James Franco
In Milk, Franco plays the lover and campaign manager of the titular character. Franco has openly discussed his sexuality, saying that although his art might be "gay," he himself is straight.
16. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been married to Tasha McCauley since 2014, but his character in Mysterious Skin is a gay prostitute.
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