The Hollywood actors who refused to play gay roles with often embarrassing reasons

The internet is constantly on the backs of straight men who play gay roles, but we rarely ever hear about the straight actors who outright refused to play gay. 

Don’t get me wrong; each to their own. As an actor, what roles you pick up is solely up to you and your team. But if you’re open to playing a Nazi, a criminal, or a terrorist, refusing to play gay is just a little odd. 

On TikTok right now, a few accounts are sharing a list of actors who refused to play gay roles. Names on the list include Tom Holland, Sebastian Stan, and Robert Pattinson, but it’s a complete fabrication. Made up. Not real. A total lie. 

But it did get me thinking: What actors have refused to play gay roles? I did some digging. 

Eddie Murphy compared kissing a man to eating bugs 

Credit: Netflix

Way back in 1990, in an interview with Playboy, Eddie Murphy revealed the few things he refuses to do on film. Not all of them were created equal. 

“Would I play a homosexual? Why? I’ a comedian. It would just have to be a movie where I say, ‘hey this is great, I’ve really got to do this.’ But I don’t think I could do some movie where I was kissing some guy and sh*t like that,” he said. 

“I read something about a sequence in An Officer and a Gentleman where they had to eat roaches. I ain’t eating no butt and I ain’t kissing no man. Sorry. If I’m not an actor because of that, so be it. And if you want to go to the movies and see me eat a bug and kiss a man, you have a problem, not me.”

Al Pacino also wasn’t game 

Credit: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures

When he was asked to kiss male actor Chris Saradon in Dog Day Afternoon, Al Pacino refused. He said it was “exploitative” and “pushing the gay issue” on audiences. 

Samuel L. Jackson won’t kiss a man on screen

Credit: Disney

Samuel L. Jackson is iconic, which is why this is so disappointing.  

When asked what he wouldn’t do, he told Playboy in 2013: “Probably dress up as a woman and kiss another guy.”

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He later admitted he “might” play gay if the role was right, but that was over 10 years ago. 

Luke Grimes fully left a show over it 

Credit: HBO

During filming of True Blood, Luke Grimes quickly realised where his character’s story was heading. His character was set for a gay romance, so he left. HBO claimed it was down to “creative differences”, which might be putting it lightly. 

“He countered that he would be willing to play the role if Lafayette were attracted to him, but not if the attraction was mutual. He also did not want to do any same-sex kissing or sex scenes,” an on-set source said at the time. 

Will Smith admitted he was ‘very immature’ 

Credit: Sony

Will Smith has played some pretty standout characters over the years, and he even played a gay character in Six Degrees of Separation. However, he outright refused to do a kissing scene, and they were forced to bring in a body double. 

“It was very immature on my part,” he later admitted. “I was thinking, ‘How are my friends in Philly going to think about this?’ I wasn’t emotionally stable enough to artistically commit to that aspect of the film.”

Mark Wahlberg was ‘creeped out’ 

Credit: Apple TV

Oddly, Mark Wahlberg was approached to star in Brokeback Mountain; can we just thank the Gods he wasn’t cast. 

“I met with Ang Lee on that movie, I read 15 pages of the script and got a little creeped out. It was very graphic, descriptive – the spitting on the hand, getting ready to do the thing,” he said. “I told Ang Lee, ‘I like you, you’re a talented guy, if you want to talk about it more…’ Thankfully, he didn’t. I didn’t rush to see Brokeback, it’s just not my deal… Obviously, it was done in taste – look how it was received.”

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Featured image credit: Disney/HBO/Universal Pictures