Huzzah! Colman Domingo Makes History With Oscar Nomination
With today's Oscar nomination announcements, "Rustin" star Colman Domingo has already won. His portrayal of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin has made him the second openly gay man to earn a nomination for playing a gay character.
As reported by the New York Times, there is a long and somewhat controversial history of straight actors playing gay characters and getting lots of accolades for it. However, Domingo's nomination is even more special.
Ian McKellen reportedly was the first in 1999 for his portrayal of James Whale in "Gods and Monsters." Whale was the director of the "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein" films of the 1930s horror films.
Additionally, Andrew Scott could have joined the ranks for his role in "All of Us Strangers," but was not nominated.
However, when it comes to straight actors being nominated for there have been more than many.
"William Hurt won in 1986 for portraying a transgender woman in "Kiss of the Spider Woman"; Tom Hanks in 1994 for his role as a lawyer dying of AIDS in "Philadelphia"; Sean Penn in 2009 for playing Harvey Milk in "Milk"; Jared Leto in 2014 for playing a transgender woman in "Dallas Buyers Club"; Rami Malek in 2019 for his turn as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody"; and last year, Brendan Fraser for playing a 600-pound gay man in "The Whale" — to name a few," NYT reports.
And let's not forget Bradley Cooper, who was just nominated for his portrayal of Leonard Bernstein in "Maestro."
McKellen famously dissed the imbalance of straight people winning Oscars for playing gay people. He urged, "How clever, how clever. What about giving me one for playing a straight man?"
Yes, how about it?
"No openly gay man has ever won the Oscar," said McKellen. "I wonder if that is prejudice or chance."
You can judge for yourself by watching "Rustin" on Netflix.