# Sexy Kirsten Vangsness **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134 "2014-01-30T16:27:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/21 "2014-01-30T20:02:51Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > Wow. Do you also have a problem with waiters pretending to be FBI agents and cashiers pretending to be doctors? > > There are a lot of gay actors throughout history, many of them playing straight leading characters. They must do a good job. I’ve never let someone’s personal life distract me from a character UNLESS they just did not play it convincingly. > > I CAN think of ONE instance when I did not take a character seriously as a straight lothario, and I found out the actor was gay on IMDB. It wouldn’t have bothered me if the acting was believable. So I didn’t think “how dare this homo pretend to have sex with the wimmenz.” I just thought the role wasn’t well played. Did I say that I would have a problem with any of those portrayals? If I explain any further is there any likelihood that you would be able to understand what I meant or would I be wasting my time? I’m serious. If you are going to ask fallacious straw man questions like these I’d like to make certain before I bother to respond again. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/22 "2014-01-30T20:10:03Z")
I think I understand now. > [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > Wow. Do you also have a problem with waiters pretending to be FBI agents and cashiers pretending to be doctors? > [@nevadaexile](#): > > Did I say that I would have a problem with any of those portrayals? Of course you didn’t. The entire point is that having a problem with any of those portrayals would be ridiculous. Nobody is suggesting that you have these views. We’re suggesting that homosexuals portraying heterosexual characters is equivalent to these other scenarios that you have no problem with. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/23 "2014-01-30T20:10:05Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > I’m not “confining” anyone to anything. Of course you are. By saying that you don’t believe out gay actors should play straight roles, you are arguing either that gay actors should not be out (which would mean that, for instance, if Tim DeKay wins an Emmy he may thank his wife, but Matt Bomer does he may not thank his boyfriend) or that gay actors should be confined to roles playing gays (in which case their possible roles are circumscribed greatly). Either way you are arguing for confinement. > [@](#): > > Most gay actors are closeted and probably will remain so if they wish to keep their careers. > That’s THEIR choice; not mine. > They are the ones choosing to work in a business where “make believe” surmounts reality. Um, yes. And so what? I knew nothing of Vangsness’ private life before reading this thread (and shall endeavor to forget what I’ve accidentally learned, like Sherlock Holmes and Copernicus). But her portrayal of a woman who is ambivalently in love with her best friend is entirely believable to me, either way. She’s a good actress, I’d say (though Garcia is sometimes too precious for my taste). When she looks at Morgan or what’s-his-name from Buffy with lust or affection or fear of rejection in her eyes, it’s entirely believable. The fact, if it’s true, that men don’t do it for the actress means she’s a BETTER actress than if she were emulating the feeling while actually thinking Shemar Moore is mattressable. > [@](#): > > I don’t care about performer’s personal lives. If they choose to make their personal life public, then they are asking that elements of that personal life be introduced into their careers. Ellen DeGeneres, for example, starred in a very odd film called _ **Mr. Wrong** _, where she portrayed Bill Pullman’s “love interest.” Except you obviously do, since you think gays and lesbians should be disqualified from playing straight roles. If you didn’t care about their personal lives, you wouldn’t care what roles they played. > [@](#): > > Rock Hudson starred in a number of great films and a a couple solid television series. Since his death, he has rarely been seen on television and his fame has dimmed even though he was a better actor than the majority of his peers. And his romantic films with Doris Day also seem exceptionally odd when viewed through the prism of what we currently know about him. I daresay that’s simply because Hudson’s heyday was in the 50s and 60s, half a century ago, and many young persons don’t care for the pacing of movies from that era. I don’t recall the last time I saw, say, a Sidney Poitier, Katherine Hepburn, or Spencer Tracy movie on any channel other those catering to fans of decades-old entertainment. It’s for the same reason, I expect. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/24 "2014-01-30T20:30:49Z")
Okay, let’s try a different analogy… Anthony Hopkins isn’t REALLY a violent sociopath- does knowing that ruin\*\*\* Silence of the \*\*\*_ **Lamb** _s for you? Henry Fonda wasn’t really the warm, loving family man he portrayed in numerous movies. Does that ruin his movies for you? Can a non-religious actor play a Catholic priest effectively? Speaking as a Catholic, I say “SURE, he can.” What say you? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/25 "2014-01-30T21:32:46Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Henry Fonda wasn’t really the warm, loving family man he portrayed in numerous movies. Does that ruin his movies for you? “People ask me from time to time what it was like growing up with Henry Fonda as my father. I say, Ever see Fort Apache? He was like Colonel Thursday.” ~ Peter Fonda ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/26 "2014-01-30T22:49:40Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Henry Fonda wasn’t really the warm, loving family man he portrayed in numerous movies. Does that ruin his movies for you? Now you’re edging into “actually, yes” territory. I would have difficulty suspending disbelief watching, say, Charlie Sheen play a doting, devoted father. Or Lindsay Lohan portray a teetotaller, or Paris Hilton play a virgin, etc… Some real-life traits of actors do interfere with their ability to pull off the opposite in a character. I don’t think the group of people who include “gay =\> straight / straight =\> gay” in that category is all that small. Maybe not the majority, but I would bet it’s a sizable chunk of the audience. For me, the Ellen Degeneres movie mentioned upthread was wholly unbelievable. From minute one I couldn’t buy into the story, solely because of her sexual orientation. This isn’t the case for all instances of gay actors playing straight and vice versa, but it sometimes is the case. Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother isn’t supposed to be believable as a womanizer, so for me that works. In contrast, Cam on Modern Family doesn’t work for me. He comes across (to me) as a mincing caricature. EDIT: I also have trouble buying into characters with radically different hair color than they normally have in real life. Even if their “normal, real life” hair color isn’t their natural color. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/27 "2014-01-30T23:17:47Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I would have difficulty suspending disbelief watching, say, Charlie Sheen play a doting, devoted father. Or Lindsay Lohan portray a teetotaller, or Paris Hilton play a virgin, etc… Some real-life traits of actors do interfere with their ability to pull off the opposite in a character. A distinction should be drawn between performances that fail because of a lack of skill on the part of the actor and performances that fail because of the audience’s refusal to separate the actor from the character. ---
**Author:** ![Rowanchilde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rowanchilde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rowanchilde)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/28 "2014-01-30T23:33:45Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Sorry…technically, the world would be “brown-eyed.” > > And I’m not a fan of openly gay actors pretending to be “straight.” If they kept their personal live personal, then I wouldn’t have an issue with it as what they are doing would be the “make believe” that it is. > > But after you have decided to “come out” and then you expect people to suspend their senses of disbelief…well…that’s asking a little too much. I’m speechless… In response to the thread’s question, I find smart and quirky to always be traits that are sexy… ETA: I’m a huge fan of Criminal Minds ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/29 "2014-01-30T23:37:01Z")
No link to a photo? ``` :confused: ``` ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/30 "2014-01-31T08:59:08Z")
> [@randompattern](#): > > No link to a photo? > > ``` > :confused: > > ``` Step 1: [Google Images](https://www.google.com/imghp) Step 2: type “Kirsten Vangsness” Step 3: Hit enter Repeat these steps, replacing the name Kirsten Vangsness with your celebrity of choice, to find images of any celebrity you please. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/31 "2014-01-31T20:45:33Z")
Way off topic, but the above post reminded me of it. I know a woman who just uses the internet for Facebook and when you tell her to Google something she is asking about, she won’t do it and seems quite proud of that. Guess she either wants to remain ignorant or wants everything spoon-fed to her. Or both. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134/32 "2014-02-01T15:54:33Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > And I’m not a fan of openly gay actors pretending to be “straight.” If they kept their personal live personal, then I wouldn’t have an issue with it as what they are doing would be the “make believe” that it is. > > But after you have decided to “come out” and then you expect people to suspend their senses of disbelief…well…that’s asking a little too much. It’s called “acting”. I’m reminded of Whoopi Goldberg mentioning when she wanted to audition for some part in a classic play. The response: “But, you’re black!” Her response: “It’s a PLAY, isn’t it?” I agree with Whoopi. If you can pull it off, all the better for you. I remember seeing Hal Linden (“Barney Miller”) and being disappointed that he wasn’t anything like Barney Miller. And then of course I smacked my forehead, since this was just a testament to his acting ability. He pulled off a believable character who was pretty much nothing like him. The best is when I see an actor I know very well and either don’t recognize him or her at first, of when I do, it doesn’t affect my perception of the role portrayed. Ben Kingsley is the best example I can think of for this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexy-kirsten-vangsness/680134.md?page=1)