35+ Queer Characters Played by Straight Actors

In her personal life, Natasha Lyonne has been in a relationship with Fred Armisen since 2014. However, she’s also tackled queer roles more than once.

One of her most notable early queer roles was in the film But I’m a Cheerleader about Lyonne’s character Megan being sent to conversion therapy. Later on, she’d take on other queer roles including Nicky Nichols in Orange Is the New Black. Of course, you can also turn to films including Intervention, Modern Vampires, Sleeping With Other People, and more.

In 2009, A Single Man was released, based on the novel that Christopher Isherwood released in 1964. It follows a professor after the death of his partner.

Colin Firth stepped in as George Falconer, the main character in the film. In the end, he was nominated for Best Actor for his work in the film. Firth has described the film as “a beautiful love story between two men and I see no point in hiding that. People should see it for what it is.”

There are some queer characters that will simply never be forgotten. Among them is Xena: Warrior Princess and the star that brought the role to life, Lucy Lawless.

To be fair, the concept of Xena’s relationship with Gabrielle was intentionally left somewhat vague. Yet, the subtext was strong enough that fans widely accept the relationship as genuine, no matter if it was limited on-screen. Lawless herself once responded, “Gay. Definitely” when asked about their relationship once the finale aired.

In 2003, Brokeback Mountain hit theaters and cemented its place in queer cinema. However, neither of the leads for the film were queer themselves.

This included Heath Ledger’s Ennis Del Mar who falls in love with another man, Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Interestingly, it was his time to the set of Brokeback Mountain that led him to meet Michelle Williams, with whom he later shared a long-term relationship and a child.

Naturally, we can’t discuss Brokeback Mountain without noting that Heath Ledger is only half of the starring couple. As mentioned, Jake Gyllenhaal played the other lead.

When the movie was released, it’s no surprise that it was met with controversy and the leads were asked if they were worried about what the reactions to the film may be. In response, Gyllenhaal said that he was proud of the film and the role that he played in it.

Cate Blanchett has garnered quite a following for a variety of roles, including queer ones. While the actor herself is straight, she’s played a few iconic queer roles.

Namely, Cate Blanchett is well-known for her role as Carol Aird in Carol. In the movie, she’s a woman in a failing marriage who strikes up a romance with Therese Belivet, played by Rooney Mara. In the end, it was a movie that left its mark.

On the topic of Carol, it’s worth looking at the other actress who played across from Cate Blanchett. This time, it was Rooney Mara who was cast on the other side of this clandestine glove lunch.

In Carol, she plays Therese, the retail worker that finds herself caught up in a romance with Carol. This isn’t the only queer role that Mara has taken on either including her roles in Side Effects and Song 2 Song.

In 1996, Robin Williams starred opposite Nathan Lane in The Birdcage. Williams played Armand while Lane played his partner, Albert, who’s also a drag queen Starina at the club Armand owns.

The pair have a son as well who brings conflict into the story when he brings home his girlfriend’s bigoted parents, asking his fathers to hide their relationship from them. GLAAD once praised the film by saying, “The film celebrates differences and points out the outrageousness of hiding those differences.”

Tracie Thoms has shown her acting chops in more than one queer role. This included her roles in 9-1-1, UnREAL, and, of course, the RENT film.

In RENT, Thoms plays the role of Joanne who was in a relationship with Idina Menzel’s character. The two delivered an unforgettable performance for fans of the musical. Thoms has tweeted, “I do play lots of lesbians. Proudly, I might add. I did kiss Idina. And Besty. And Eden Espinosa. And Nichole Scherzy. I’m a lucky girl.”

Charlize Theron is another actress that surprises fans with all of the queer roles she’s played. Yet, the actress herself is straight.

Audiences have seen Theron get steamy with Penelope Cruz in Head in the Clouds, share a romantic relationship with her kids’ nanny in Tully, and more. She’s even dabbled in a darker role as the serial killer Aileen Wournos in Monster. In 2006, she won the GLAAD Vanguard Award.

Brianne Howey is a younger actress on this list but she’s already tackled a few queer roles in her repertoire. In fact, there are a few different ones to note.

For one, there’s her role on The Exorcist as Kat Rance, whose girlfriend dies in an accident. She shows up again in Batwoman as Reagan who admits feelings for the masked vigilante. There’s also her role as Whitney Taylor on Twisted.

Salma Hayek starred in the film Frida in 2002. The story of the movie follows the story of painter Frida Kahlo’s life, both personally and as an artist.

The film also heavily focuses on the relationships that Frida has with both her husband Diego Rivera — as well as other men and women. At one point, Frida even has a relationship with a woman that Rivera had an affair with. However, the movie focuses on many other aspects of the artist’s life as well as her orientation.

Whoopi Goldberg is no stranger to playing queer characters on screen. She started off with her portrayal of Celie in The Color Purple.

In 1995, Goldberg played the role of a lesbian in Boys on the Side and once again in A Deep End of the Ocean in 1999. Goldberg is a staunch ally herself and even won a GLAAD Vanguard Award in 1999.

For many queer film fans, the release of Ammonite was much anticipated. It starred Kate Winslet as paleontologist Mary Anning, opposite Saoirse Ronan’s Charlotte.

The film followed the story of the 19th-century lesbian couple as Mary falls for a woman who comes under her care, Charlotte. While the film wasn’t bad perse, it was criticized for generally falling flat even though the actresses both give excellent performances. Most viewers found that it was good but it could have been much better.

When Bound came out in 1996, it was highly praised. It’s also an entry by Lana and Lilly Wachowski, the famous sisters responsible for popular titles including The Matrix and V for Vendetta.

In Bound, Gina Gershon played Corky, an ex-con who starts a relationship with Jennifer Tilly’s character, Violet. That isn’t the only queer role that Gershon has had either. Interestingly, you can also spot her in the famous “The Puppy Episode” on Ellen.

Dame Judi Dench has tried out a number of roles in her career. So, it’s not much of a surprise to hear that she’s portrayed a few queer characters as well.

She appears in Iris as Iris Murdoch, a queer novelist, and The Shipping News where she comes in as a character’s lesbian aunt. In a bit of a darker role, she plays an older woman obsessed with a young woman in Notes on a Scandal.

Unfortunately, not every straight actor who has portrayed a queer character has done a good job. In fact, some are downright offensive. This was the consensus many people came to upon seeing James Corden’s performance in The Prom.

The character perhaps could have been saved by another actor but Corden’s over-the-top performance seems more based on stereotypes than a genuine portrayal of a fully fleshed-out queer character. In the end, most people panned Corden’s performance.

Sandrine Holt is recognizable for a number of queer roles throughout her career. This has included a few notable ones to consider. Most notably, she appears as a psychologist named Dr. Lisa Abernathy on Law & Order SVU.

The role marked the show’s first recurring character who identified as a queer woman. Fans of The L Word will recognize her from a complicated relationship with Helena Peabody as Catherine Rothberg in 2007.

There aren’t shoes much bigger to fill than the ones left behind by artist Freddie Mercury. The bi frontman of Queen has a legacy that lasts decades after his death. When the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody came out, Rami Malek took on the mantel of playing Mercury.

His performance led to him earning a nomination for and winning an Oscar for Best Actor in 2019. On the other hand, the film was criticized for taking some creative license with the story of Mercury’s life.

Penélope Cruz is another actress that’s tried out a lot of different roles in a variety of genres. This has included a handful of queer characters too. As we already mentioned before, Cruz starred across Charlize Theron in Head in the Clouds.

In one Oscar-winning performance in Vicky Christina Barcelona, she had a relationship with Scarlett Johansson’s character. She’s also played queer characters in All About My Mother and Elle et Lui.

Dennis Quaid starred as a gay man in a period film from 2002 named Far from Heaven. The film itself is set in the 1950s in Connecticut.

The film itself is actually more focused on Cathy Whitaker, Quaid’s character’s wife. However, it heavily focuses on the effect that Frank Whitaker’s relationships with men have on their lives. Quaid won awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Male, as well as other nominations for the role.

Olivia Colman is a prolific actress that has shown a lot of range over the course of her career. In 2019, one of those roles won her a Best Actress Academy Award.

In 2019, Colman took center stage as Queen Anne of England in The Favourite. Over the course of the movie, Queen Anne takes on a number of romances, including affairs with two different women in her court — Abigail Masham (played by Emma Stone) and Sarah Churchhill (played by Rachel Weisz).

There are few people at this point who haven’t heard of Killing Eve. The thriller paints quite a relationship between Sandra Oh’s Eve and Jodie Comer’s Villanelle.

Sandra Oh herself, though, isn’t queer but her role as Eve isn’t the first queer role she’s had either. In Tammy, you can catch her as Kathy Bates’ wife and she plays a lesbian once more in her role in Under the Tuscan Sun.

In 1991, the world got to see the dramatic tale of Fried Green Tomatoes on the big screen for the first time. Fannie Flagg released the novel in 1987.

Written by a queer author, Fried Green Tomatoes focuses heavily on the relationship of Ruth and Idgie. While the romance is notably turned down compared to the book, the implication in the film is clear. The role of Idgie Threadgoode went to none other than Mary Stuart Masterson.

Continuing to talk about Fried Green Tomatoes for a moment, Idgie wasn’t the only role filled by a straight actress. The role of Ruth Jamison went to Mary-Louise Parker.

In the film, Ruth is close to Idgie’s older brother prior to his death before later getting to know and entering a romantic relationship with Idgie. While both lead actresses were straight, the film won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film shortly after its release.

Suranne Jones has taken on more than one queer role over the years. Most recently, she’s often recognized for her work on the HBO series Gentleman Jack.

Yet, the role she plays in Gentleman Jack — based on a real-life counterpart — is far from the only one. In the series Strictly Confidential, she plays a bi therapist. Once again playing a bi character, she appears as a detective in A Touch of Cloth as well.

Speaking of Gentleman Jack, a major point at the beginning of the show is one of Anne’s former relationships. The ex in question was played by actress Jodhi May.

There’s more to this actress’ queer roles than the tense relationship she has in Gentleman Jack. May has also portrayed Susan Gilbert in A Quiet Passion, Lea Papin in Sister My Sister, and has a queer romance in Sleep With Me on top of that.

One more actress from Gentleman Jack, we can turn to Anne’s current paramour, after her relationship with Jodhi May’s character who just so happens to also be named Ann.

Ann Walker is the main love interest in Gentleman Jack and she’s played by Sophie Rundle. Throughout the first season, Ann and Anne strike up a relationship that goes through a variety of struggles back in the 1830s. In real life, Rundle is in a relationship with fellow actor Matt Stokoe.

In Netflix’s Halston, the story follows the fashion designer and was meant to really showcase Halston himself. For the role, they called on Ewan McGregor. It wasn’t the first queer role the actor took either.

Before this, the star was one of the leads in the movie I Love You Phillip Morris as a man who falls in love with a conman that he meets in jail. The plot follows a real story based on the book I Love You Phillip Morris: A True Story of Life, Love, and Prison Breaks.

So, who could possibly play a dramatized version of Steven Jay Russell in I Love You Phillip Morris? None other than Jim Carrey stepped up to the role.

Throughout the film, we get a chance to see not only a peek into Russell’s crimes and prison escapes but him starting to live his life as an out gay man. Eventually, this includes the ongoing relationship with Phillip Morris, Ewan McGregor’s character. Audiences generally liked the movie, too.

Today, there are few Emily Blunt fans who don’t know her relationship status. After all, she does make movies like A Quiet Place with her husband John Krasinski.

Still, that doesn’t mean Blunt hasn’t had other relationships on screen. Back in 2004, Blunt was in a movie titled My Summer of Love. The film followed a love story between two women and Blunt took on the role of Tamsin. The film was actually Blunt’s first theatrical film!

Much like The L Word, Lip Service was a much shorter-lived show that focused on a queer friend group as they navigated their lives. Of course, there’s plenty of drama to keep things lively.

For a time, Laura Fraser played Cat MacKenzie, one of the main cast members who had a relationship with Heather Peace’s Sam Murray — as well as an affair with Ruta Gedmintas’ Frankie. Fraser has also appeared as a queer character in Nina’s Heavenly Delights and The Investigator.

Fans of The L Word will most likely recognize Sharah Shahi as Carmen De La Pica Morales, the DJ, and near-wife of series mainstay Shane McCutcheon.

All in all, Shahi was on The L Word as Carmen for a total of about two seasons. Shahi has played more queer roles than just Carmen, though. In addition, she’s recognizable for another role in the show Person of Interest as Sameen Shaw, a bi character.

The Fosters was a popular show on ABC Family — now Freeform — that had plenty of loyal viewers. The show centered on a family led by the couple including Stef and Lena. Stef was played by Sherri Saum who isn’t queer herself.

It was a role that she would later reprise in Good Trouble, a spinoff of The Fosters. Saum appears in Grey’s Anatomy as a queer character as well in both the 16th and 17th seasons.

A huge focus of American Horror Story: Cult is the relationship between Allison Pill and Sarah Paulson. In true American Horror Story fashion, that relationship is far from perfect.

It wasn’t the first time that Allison Pill played a character in a queer relationship, however. Pill played across from Floriana Lima’s character in a romance in The Family and took part in the Milk cast as Anne Kronenberg. In Vice, she portrayed Mary Cheney.

Kathy Bates has been in a few different pieces of queer cinema. For instance, she played the listener to the love story of Ruth and Idgie in Fried Green Tomatoes.

As for roles in which Kathy Bates directly played a queer character, there are a few to consider. For one, we already mentioned that she played a lesbian in the movie Tammy and she later played a gay character named Libby Holden in Primary Colors.

In 2018, Darren Criss took home a Primetime Emmy for his work playing Andrew Cunanan. It was followed by a Golden Globe a year later.

Both awards came from his performance in Ryan Murphy’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Despite the success, Criss has since said that he won’t take on any more gay roles — which he shared comes from his belief that those roles should go to gay actors.

The release of Interview With the Vampire marked an important moment in the history of vampire films. The book itself was impactful in its own right too. The film also tackled the relationship between Louis and Lestat.

While there isn’t a moment where it’s addressed by name, it’s clear that Lestat and Louis are romantically linked and the two even spend time raising a child together, in a way. The role of Lestat ultimately went to Tom Cruise.

Like many other roles that we’ve looked at on this list, Tom Cruise couldn’t play both halves of the couple on his own. They still needed an actor to play Louis. In 1994, this led to the casting of Brad Pitt across from Tom Cruise.

Together, the two made quite the headline pair for Anne Rice’s plan to bring her style of gothic horror to the big screen. By the time they adapted another novel from the series, neither actor reprised their roles.

Uma Thurman has made a name for herself with a variety of roles over the years. Who could forget Pulp Fiction or her role as Poison Ivy?

On top of that, you can catch Thurman in quite a few queer roles as well. She’s been in queer relationships in titles such as The Con Is On, Henry & June, and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. All in all, queer romances aren’t something the actress shies away from on-screen.