British actor Rupert Everett has branded worries about ‘cultural appropriation’ in films as ‘just bulls**t’, taking a swipe at activists who he claims are ‘in charge’.
Sharing his thoughts whilst promoting his new novel, The American No, at the Cambridge Literary Festival, Everett told the crowd that the LGBTQ+ community ‘want to have exclusively gay people playing gay people and camels playing camels.’
He also said that it was ‘anti-acting’ to block actors from specific roles because their sexual orientation or gender didn’t line up with a certain character.
The film star, who is gay, argued that he along with other homosexual thespians also have the right to portray the love interest of a straight person.
The 65-year-old also stated that it ‘would be great…if acting was just acting’, before adding that sexuality did not encompass the entire human experience.
‘It’s just one part. I think that being an actor, you should be thinking of trying to play as much as possible,’ he said according to the Telegraph.
The actor, who previously portrayed Julia Roberts’ gay best friend in My Best Friend’s wedding, believed that homosexual actors had previously experienced ‘a more accepting moment’ in the industry.
He then took a swipe at activists, who he believes are currently ‘in charge’ in the entertainment sphere.
Rupert Everett (Pictured) has hit out at ‘cultural appropriation’ worries in acting, branding them as ‘just bulls**t’
Sharing his thoughts whilst promoting his new novel, The American No, at the Cambridge Literary Festival he claimed ‘activist are in charge’
Elaborating on his argument, he explained that he did not wish to see actors to be ‘pigeonholed’ in the same roles repeatedly.
Giving an example to the crowd, the 65-year-old said that as a Catholic he would not want to always play characters who shared the same religious preferences to him.
He continued: ‘Acting is meant to be people inhabiting people who they don’t know. And just playing the same old person that would be a little bit boring.’
When a member of the crowd said they believed certain minorities should portray stories from their communities, the actor disagreed.
He argued that those making the films should be able to choose who they want to portray certain characters, before quipping what the point of being an actor is if one lacks the versatility to play characters from different backgrounds.
He also dubbed protests sparked by Scarlett Johansson’s decision to portray a transgender character in Rub & Tug a ‘mistake’, saying that it wasn’t ‘peacemaking’.
The Avengers actress later decided against taking up the role in the movie.
Whilst expressing his love and admiration for transgender people, including three of his friends, Everett said the community has on occasion ‘overstepped the lobbying’.
‘Movies are made in Hollywood on the name of the star. That’s how it is,’ he said.
It comes after the actor admitted that wild sex in his youth was ‘fraught with danger’ amid the AIDS epidemic.
The actor, 65, spoke in a candid new interview about his sexual awakening in London which despite the dangers he said he still found ‘thrilling’.
Rupert – who is now happily married to husband Henrique, a Brazilian accountant – also spoke about dating women in his youth as it was more acceptable at the time.
He dated the likes of Bianca Jagger, Susan Sarandon, Paula Yates, Béatrice Dalle ‘with varying degrees of success’ – but always knew he was gay.
Rupert Everett has admitted that wild sex in his youth was ‘fraught with danger’ amid the AIDS epidemic
The actor, 65, spoke in a candid new interview about his sexual awakening in London which despite the dangers he said he still found ‘thrilling’ (seen in 1987)
Of his sex life he told The Times: ‘I was stupid. I can’t really understand it and don’t admire it… I thought sex was my liberation from a military middle-class background, but it was fraught with danger, not only from AIDS.
‘I was walking on razors without knowing it. I can’t really relate to myself as a young person any more.’
However he added: ‘It was really fun and thrilling. I was so into gay sex I didn’t mind who I had it with.
‘I wasn’t one of those people who just wanted to meet good-looking people. I wanted to meet anybody. It felt so new and fresh and rebellious.’
He added that at that time it was still not widely acceptable to be gay and that in terms of any potential physical or verbal abuse he would get he ‘had to be ready for anything’.
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