Entertainment
Darren Criss says he’s done playing gay characters
Darren Criss‘ career has seen him take on several notable gay roles, like well-dressed Blaine Anderson on Glee and famed killer Andrew Cunanan on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
But in a recent interview with Bustle, the 31-year-old actor has said that he will no longer play gay characters.
Related | Darren Criss admits he’s ready to get naked again on-screen
“There are certain [queer] roles that I’ll see that are just wonderful,” he said. “But I want to make sure I won’t be another straight boy taking a gay man’s role.”
And while Criss acknowledges that playing queer characters has been a “real joy,” he admits that “he now doesn’t feel comfortable taking these roles.”
“The reason I say that is because getting to play those characters is inherently a wonderful dramatic experience,” he added. “It has made for very, very compelling and interesting people.”
According to this year’s annual GLAAD “Where We Are on TV” report, just 75 series regular characters appearing on primetime scripted programming were LGBTQ. That’s 75 out of 857 regular characters.
What makes it even sadder perhaps is that it’s the highest percentage in the 14 years since GLAAD began releasing the report.
Fans of Netflix’s Special are in for a treat because the show has been renewed for a second season and the show’s creator and star, Ryan O’Connell, has promised “a lot more gay sex.”
The groundbreaking series, based on O’Connell’s 2015 memoir I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves, follows character Ryan Hayes, a gay man with cerebral palsy who decides to reinvent himself and live the life he wants.
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, O’Connell revealed his frustration that more shows don’t depict the reality of “sexual experiences for gay people, many of whom grew up with little to no education.”
In the new season, he plans to change that. “I think anything that still has a stigma attached to it just naturally excites me,” he told EW. “I think there shouldn’t be any of that, especially with gay sex. I’ve had to suffer through so many straight sex scenes and now everyone else has to pay.”
Related | A gay man slept with his straight roommate and now things are super awkward
Referencing his own sexual experiences as a young gay man, he added “I remember when I started having sex when I was 17 — not to brag — I didn’t know anything about anal sex at all.”
“I went to Barnes & Noble and got this book called Anal Pleasure and Health that was for straight people. L-O-actual-L… For like three months, I thought you could only have sex on your stomach.”
Special season 2 currently doesn’t have a release date, but season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.
We’re all very familiar with the classic Disney characters and what they look like. We also understand that most of Disney’s highly-famous characters are women – as they should be!
But have you ever wondered what Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Elsa from Frozen might look like as men? What about Belle from Beauty and the Beast or Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty?
Wonder no more thanks to a Canadian digital artist by the name of Sakimi Chan, who gender-bent your favourite Disney characters in these gorgeous illustrations.
Wonder no more thanks to a Canadian digital artist by the name of Sakimi Chan who
Belle and Beast from Beauty and the Beast
Elsa from Frozen
Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Ursula from The Little Mermaid
Pocahontas from Pocahontas
Ariel from The Little Mermaid
Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations
Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty
You’ll also love | Here’s your first look at Nicole Maines as TV’s first transgender superhero, Dreamer
This article was originally published on January 21, 2019.
Hollywood is filled with some of the most drool-worthy abs around, right? From Marvel stars Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt to athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham, it’s a veritable thirst-trap.
Use your keen eyes to take our quiz below and see if you’re able to identify these famous celebrity abs!
What was your score?
Can’t get enough?
Ryan O’Connell says ‘Special’ season 2 will have “a lot more gay sex”
Fans of Netflix’s Special are in for a treat because the show has been renewed for a second season and...
These gender-bent Disney characters are going to make your heart race
We’re all very familiar with the classic Disney characters and what they look like. We also understand that most of...
5 best booty exercises for men to strengthen and shape their glutes
We all know that big, round butts have made a resurgence in popularity in the last few years, thanks in...
This Grindr chat between two bottoms is all kinds of right
Not all Grindr experiences are horrible. This chat between two bottoms on the gay social app prove just that. In...
5 basic reasons sleeping naked is the way to go
We all know how good sleeping naked feels and anyone who tells you they hate it is probably lying. But...
Quiz: Can you guess these celebrity abs?
Hollywood is filled with some of the most drool-worthy abs around, right? From Marvel stars Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt...
Just 55% of Americans believe LGBTQ people “face a lot of discrimination”
With rising support for marriage equality and the LGBTQ community comes a bit of a distorted view on the issues...
‘Gay gene’ search reveals not one but many – and no way to predict sexuality
The biology of same-sex attraction seems to involve a host of genes. It has long been clear that a person’s...
BLACKPINK’s ‘Kill This Love’ music video just broke a massive YouTube record
BLACKPINK is in your area and they aren’t playing around. Their new music video for ‘Kill This Love’ has broken...
‘Game of Thrones’ star Sophie Turner: “I love a soul, not a gender”
Sophie Turner, known for her roles as Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones and Jean Grey in the X-Men movies...