Harry Hamlin’s historic 1982 film Making Love – the first mainstream Hollywood movie to address homosexuality – celebrated its 40th anniversary over the weekend, though Hamlin believes the film ‘ended’ his film career.
The 70-year-old actor played Bart, a gay novelist who falls for an L.A. doctor Zach (Michael Ontkean) whose marriage to a TV executive (Kate Jackson) starts crumbling as he confronts his repressed attraction to men.
While the film was groundbreaking for its portrayal of gay characters, Hamlin revealed in an interview with People that he thinks it ultimately ended his film career.
Historic: Harry Hamlin’s historic 1982 film Making Love – the first mainstream Hollywood movie to address homosexuality – celebrated its 40th anniversary over the weekend, though Hamlin believes the film ‘ended’ his film career
Ended: While the film was groundbreaking for its portrayal of gay characters, Hamlin revealed in an interview with People that he thinks it ultimately ended his film career
‘I was told by a lot of people, you can’t do that movie. I think it had been offered to pretty much everybody in town and everyone had turned it down because they thought it might be damaging to their careers,’ Hamlin revealed.
‘I didn’t see it that way. I was looking for something serious and something meaningful, rather than doing a movie about vampire bats invading a small town in in the Midwest, which is the type of fare I was being offered at the time,’ he added.
He also called the film, ‘way ahead of its time,’ and while his friends were telling him not to take the role, his agent was supportive.
Offered: ‘I was told by a lot of people, you can’t do that movie. I think it had been offered to pretty much everybody in town and everyone had turned it down because they thought it might be damaging to their careers,’ Hamlin revealed
Ahead of its time: He also called the film, ‘way ahead of its time,’ and while his friends were telling him not to take the role, his agent was supportive
‘He said I was somewhat Teflon because I was out in the press having had a son with Ursula Andress,’ he said of his now-41-year-old son Dmitri Hamlin.
The actor add that his agent said, ‘Everyone knows you’re straight so you’re going to be okay,’ though he, ‘didn’t really pay much attention to any of that noise.’
‘I thought it was interesting and bold. I was attracted to that,’ Hamlin said of the role.
Bold: ‘I thought it was interesting and bold. I was attracted to that,’ Hamlin said of the role
Still, he concedes that making the film and the response to it, ‘ended my film career.’
‘For years, I’d think was that the reason why I stopped getting calls? And finally realized that was the last time I ever did a movie for a studio,’ Hamlin said.
He added that he’s made independent films since Making Love, but never another studio film, which was all he was making before Making Love.
Ended: Still, he concedes that making the film and the response to it, ‘ended my film career’
‘I had been doing nothing but studio films and basically going out on all the castings for all the movies. That stopped completely,’ he revealed.
As for the film itself, he explained, ‘It never really got the attention that I think it probably deserves, given the time in which it was released.’
When the film was released on February 12, 1982, Hamlin said, ‘the movie was panned and my performance was ignored.’
Panned and ignored: When the film was released on February 12, 1982, Hamlin said, ‘the movie was panned and my performance was ignored’
He added that the film studios were a ‘closed system’ and that if they saw him playing a gay role there might be ‘confusion’ about his sexuality and, ‘they didn’t want to take the chance.’
‘If they were contemplating having me be a love interest to a young female star, the thought was, “How is the audience going to react?” Even though I was straight, I think the perception at the time was that anybody who could play gay must be gay,’ Hamlin said.
Still, despite Making Love ending his film career, Hamlin has no regrets and is proud of the work he did, before going on to becoming a household name with the hit NBC series L.A. Law.
Confusion: He added that the film studios were a ‘closed system’ and that if they saw him playing a gay role there might be ‘confusion’ about his sexuality and, ‘they didn’t want to take the chance’
Household name: Still, despite Making Love ending his film career, Hamlin has no regrets and is proud of the work he did, before going on to becoming a household name with the hit NBC series L.A. Law
‘Regardless of the effect it had on my film career, I went on to have a great career — and I still do. I’m very proud of having done that movie,’ Hamlin said.
‘People come up and thank me for making the film and say they were affected by it and that it helped them come out or it helped them talk to their parents about their sexuality,’ Hamlin added.
‘Very rarely does one have an opportunity to have that kind of effect out there in the zeitgeist,’ he noted.
The new Academy Museum in Los Angeles recently announced a 40th Anniversary screening of Making Love on June 23 with a Q&A to follow with Hamlin.
Proud: ‘Regardless of the effect it had on my film career, I went on to have a great career — and I still do. I’m very proud of having done that movie,’ Hamlin (with wife Lisa Rinna above) said
Screening: The new Academy Museum in Los Angeles recently announced a 40th Anniversary screening of Making Love on June 23 with a Q&A to follow with Hamlin
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