# Nathan Lane isn't an actor; he's a ham.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 11, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695 "2010-04-11T03:36:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/41 "2010-04-12T17:49:08Z")

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> [@Bridget\_Burke](#):
>
> Darn, my opinions were discounted because I’m _not_ in the theater. Now somebody is put down because he _might_ be…

Not necessarily a put down.

Hypothetically, you might ask another poster for their perspective’s origins in order to decide whether or not to carry forward with a debate.

The other poster may already have their opinion set in concrete, and it may prove fruitless to try to engage in a debate, and maybe even inadvisable depending on the potential emotional baggage present.

Someone involved in Broadway productions may get a bit emotionally defensive (manifesting as a heated post) than other posters. Not saying that’s what happened here, but in the interest of fully understanding someones position on this topic, the question is not out of bounds.

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**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/42 "2010-04-12T19:04:09Z")

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> [@Walloon](#):
>
> Where did I put anyone down?

It was in your eyes, mon amour.

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/43 "2010-04-12T21:37:40Z")

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> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#):
>
> That pretty much sums up the current archetype/stereotype of the popular Broadway actor. Broadway is not entertainment for the general public anymore: it’s ritual for a subculture. The groups in the subculture, the ritual of the theater, and its tendency to be self-referential, define Broadway today.

I’m sorry but coming across as gay has nothing to do with Broadway or Broadway subcultures. Most Broadway stories have at least one romance in the tale, and possibly more than one, and I’ve never had any particular hardship in buying the love interest angle.

I don’t know whether you’re trying to imply that all male Broadway actors are gay, whether you think that the style of Broadway acting can lead some to think that the actors are gay, or whether you’re saying that Broadway producers can seem gay. Regardless of any of those, the point remains that Nathan Lane _always_ comes across as a gay man, which worked for him in Birdcage, but says something less than spectacular about his acting abilities.

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