I’m not sure if this should stay in Café because it is related to acting or in some other forum but here goes:
How do actors comfortably perform parts that are counter to their sexual orientation? Rock Hudson with Doris Day or Susan St. James (multiple times), Heath Ledger with Jake Gyllenhall in Brokeback Mountain, T. R. Knight with Sara Ramirez in Grey’s Anatomy, etc?
I realize they are acting but isn’t there some level of repulsion to overcome? I’m a heterosexual male and do not find the idea of kissing another man at all appealing. Actually, the thought of actually doing it is a little disgusting to me. Please do not take this to mean I am homophobic. It just means I’m not turned on by guys, just like I’m not turned on by women with whips or doing dress-up fantasy acts with my wife.
So, what do the actors do to overcome the feelings? Do they think, “OK, I’ll just pretend it’s a really hairy girl?” or, “I’ll just close my eyes and think of Fred.” Do actors ever turn down roles because the parts require them to perform homosexual/heterosexual acts? Does this cause them problems?
If the mods think this should be moved, please feel free.
It’s just, as you said, acting. I did a lot of community theater when I was younger and although I never had to kiss another guy, I kissed several women that I was in no way attracted to. And kissed them quite convincingly
Actors do all kinds of things in a role that they would never do in real life. It becomes kind of dissociative: you become your character, and you can suppress (or forget) that you’re “really” heterosexual. Or whatever it is about the character that isn’t really you.
Yes. I am totally turned off by BDSM (not by SDMB, though). Pain and humiliation are not erotic to me. And the idea of dressing up as the shepherd boy while my wife is the milkmaid seems silly, not sexy. Everyone has their turn-ons and kissing a guy is not one of mine.
I had been in high school and community theater plays and had to kiss a few girls along the way but it was still kissing a girl. The thought of kissing a guy is just gross to me. Again, YMMV. If you are guy who likes kissing guys, more power to you. It’s just not my cup of tea.
IIRC, Peter Finch was asked the question after appearing in Sunday Bloody Sunday in 1971 (when two men kissing was even more shocking than it is today). He said something like, “I closed my eyes and thought of England.”
Interestingly, the IMDB says that Ian Bannen was first cast in the role, but was so nervous about the idea that he couldn’t concentrate and was fired. That’s one reason why you’ve probably heard of Peter Finch as an actor, and why you probably haven’t heard of Ian Bannen.
But it’s an actor’s job to pretend. And pretending to kiss another man is no different than, say, pretending to be Adolph Hitler in a historical film.
Almost any actor will tell you that when they are in one of those kissing or sex scenes, it has absolutely nothing to do with being attracted to each other. It’s just a job and between all the makeup, the lights, the crew, the director telling you what to do…there is no romantic or sexual componant in virtually every case. Whether it’s guy on guy, guy on girl or whatever, it’s just a job.
I’ve heard of actors turning down roles with same sex romantic scenes because they were afraid of the public perception of them or that it could hurt future career opportunities, not because they had some personal revulsion to those scenes.
Sounds to me like acting is not really what you’re suited for if you are unable to seperate yourself from the character you are portraying. (This is only my opinion based on the above quote)
In essence, yes. One basic acting technique is to associate your actions with something you know. So if your character needs to kiss someone, think of your crush. If your character needs to cry over a death, imagine that your mother just died, etc. Of course this is only a basic technique and wouldn’t work with Brokeback Mountain, because the characters would be missing the fear behind their lust. A good amount of disgust was probably healthy for that role.
And you’re probably not alone, statistically speaking. And there are probably a lot of actors who agree with you. And those actors don’t take parts that require them to do intimate scenes outside their orientation. The actors you mention are, while straight, obviously not overwhelmingly repulsed at the idea of kissing a man. But the majority of roles don’t involve kissing anyone at all, and you can certainly make a career as an actor while staying in your comfort zone.
Plenty of actors turn down roles they aren’t comfortable doing. And some of those don’t get any work anymore because it’s always easy to find someone who will do the work.
“Okay, I’ll pretend it’s a really hairy girl” is ridiculous. Any actor who has been working well with a director has learned how to get into the head of the character they are portraying. It would be counterintuitive to the performance if they “pretended it’s somebody else.” They are probably too busy trying to realistically be the person who wants to kiss the other character. Days and days, of preperation goes into assuming the role of a character. The actor is probably concentrating so much on the nuances of his/her performance, that “Ew, I utterly despise my co-star” is probably way down on the list of things running through his/her head at the time.
Kissing someone is just a technical part of a performance. If you’re headspace is still way back at “Oh, yuck, I’m kissing a dude,” then really, your understanding of the role and your level of performance is probably really poor.
My buddy’s girlfriend had a love scene in her last indie flick. She said that the job requires you to get used to doing things that you would normally do: physically, emotionally, and intelectually. She you don’t really think about it after awhile because you’re just to damn busy being someone else.
To clarify, I am disgusted at the thought of me doing it. If someone else likes it, fine. Not my bag, baby.
I couldn’t eat a live bug although some people do it all the time (I’m not just talking about Fear Factor but certain cultures think nothing of it and consider it a delicacy). I am disgusted by graphic violence in movies but some people love Saw and movies of that sort. Some people find oral sex disgusting because of smell, taste, whatever. Some people love broccoli or liver and the thoughts of those things makes me nauseous. Everyone has their own levels of acceptance. I couldn’t kiss a guy. Does that make me wrong or homophobic? Hell, no! It makes me a human with my own particular likes and dislikes.
I enjoyed the plays I was in and had a blast doing them. But if you were told to eat dog shit like they did in Pink Flamingos could you do it because it was a part and you were an actor?
:smack: Dammit, that was “You get used to doing things you wouldn’t normally do.”
Bascially, she said you start thinking of your body as a tool for the art form (acting).
So many of your personal preferences and boundaries take a backseat to the integrity of the artwork in which you’re participating. You’re too busy getting the job done (of portraying another individual.)
Yeah, I think we got that. No one has suggested you even might be homophobic except for you. A few times. Careful, or we’ll slide right into “doth protest too much” territory.
Precisely, but an actor who is very competent as his/her craft has learned how to assume the psyche of someone else and can ignore their own preferences because they are taking on the physical requirements of the role.
Your question has been answered. An actor’s body is the tool they use for their artform. They learn how to extend themselves beyond their own personal preferences and boundaries.
I often wonder what was going through Rock Hudson’s mind on the set of “Pillow Talk”. I’d go in to detail, but I don’t know how to do spoiler tags (I suck). Suffice it to say the scene in the piano bar had to have made him uncomfortable.
Well done.