Eric McCormack is very familiar with straight actors playing queer roles.
McCormack became a household name when he starred as gay lawyer Will Truman on the groundbreaking sitcom Will & Grace. Now, he’s been asked about the debate around whether gay characters should be played by gay actors.
“That’s a tough one for me, because I didn’t become an actor so that I could play an actor,” McCormack said when asked on ITV’s Good Morning Britain about the issue. “There’s no part I’ve ever played where I wasn’t playing something I’m not. It’s part of the gig. And I’ve always said, if gay actors weren’t allowed to play straight actors, Broadway would be over."
“So this is what we do," he continued. "I’d like to think that I represent it well. I came from the theater, 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."
"I would like to think in general that the best person for the role, the one that comes in and knocks it out of the park, is the one that gets the part,” he added.
Will & Grace starred McCormack and Sean Hayes as its two main gay characters. Hayes, who was not out at the time, played Jack McFarland, and was nominated for seven consecutive Emmys, winning one. McCormack was nominated for four Emmys, winning in 2001.