I met Bernardo Villela on Twitter. Many of you who follow me on Twitter (3128 of you’s!) know that on Twitter, fluently, I tweet links to news items that I feel may be interesting to my actor reader base, and the other creatives who tweet with me. Out of all those many people, some I connect with more personally. Bernardo is one of them.
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When I originally tweeted out the link, to the The Guardian interview with actor Rupert Everett , where Mr. Everett admonishes gay actors not to come out…I heard from Bernardo right away. There’s all kinds of ways that people respond on Twitter, some retweet my links, and some write to me directly, on Twitter.
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Coincidentally, I had recently done the opposite: I had followed 2 Twitter links of Bernardo’s, just prior. One was to a YouTube video of his about a Delaware theatre ensemble. The second was a writing piece, of Bernardo’s, in the Wilmington Movie Examiner.
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So I asked him if he’d like to write something about his reaction to the Rupert Everett piece. Here is what he sent.
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Thank you very much for your contribution to Hollywood Actor Prep, Bernardo!
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By Bernardo Villela
Much is being made about Rupert Everett’s recent interview in which he advises young gay actors to stay in the closet. The first thing that comes to mind when hearing that is always consider the source of such advice, which I will expound upon later.
First, I think it is important to note one thing. It does matter to an extent, in my opinion, what you seek to do in entertainment as to howoutspoken you are. Everett was quoted in many publications as saying he wanted to be a gay Bond. It was a miscalculation on his part: one, because he was putting out in the media as a desired project and two, due to the fact that he was dealing with an iconic figure and changing the nature of the James Bond series in that way is no more realistic now than it was then- regardless of whether or not it’s a good idea. The reason it’s a miscalculation mostly was because he was just saying it and there was little to no evidence that he got past writing it (http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0080199/). What this does highlight is that you can be out and outspoken when you are behind the scenes.
Gus Van Sant, John Waters and Joel Schumacher amongst others have been out and making films for a long time and there’s a reason for that because they make them. They express themselves through films and don’t, in most cases sell, them. Actors do and the sad reality is that it becomes harder to sell a romantic comedy with an openly gay actor as the lead, again not to say an openly gay actor can’t succeed.
Rupert Everett came out in 1989 and also consider that he has been quoted as early as 2005 as saying it’s the biggest mistake he made in his career. Ellen DeGeneres came out in 1997 and it was necessary at the time that her show become about her character’s and her revelation, however, that ultimately is what lead to it’s cancellation. As big a milestone as it was for many it was when the show jumped the shark. Yet Ellen laid low for a while and eventually came back and bigger than ever. She never made her sexuality an issue again until she had a foothold on daytime, which is just an extension of her doing standup so I refuse to not see that as performance.
A perfect example of it’s not about coming out but about what you do once you’re out there is the whole Adam Lambert kerfuffle. I will readily admit that I almost never watch American Idol except for audition specials until my ears bleed and then I change the channel, however, you inevitably hear people talking about it and I once heard four women of varied ages all acknowledge that they knew he’s gay even before he was out but it didn’t change their opinion of him. Going over the top and too risque on national television in your first huge performance, however, can alienate people. What you do in your act is up to you as performer but don’t act surprised if people are turned off, even Madonna wasn’t always shocking on TV check her SNL performance she sang “Bad Girl” on a sitting on a stool, sometimes talent is enough.
Just scanning articles related to Rupert Everett on the IMDb you can see that he had falling outs with Julia Roberts, Madonna and Colin Firth, the last being on the set of a film. This kind of history doesn’t help. Producers and directors don’t want someone likely to cause tension on set. It should also be noted that Sir Ian McKellen came out a year before Rupert Everett did but he was 49 when he did so, at least publicly. So having a track record doesn’t hurt but other people have done so at the height of their career (Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell).
It also didn’t seem to be a hinderance to Anne Heche, Ellen’s first romantic link, it even propelled her to her one big silver screen appearance in Six Days and Seven Nights with Harrison Ford. I think anyone who remembers that time knows that it was the box office and her interviews that made her no longer a desirable starlet not her sexuality.
So where does all this seemingly contradictory information lead to? As with anything, especially a topic such as this, there are no easy answers:
First, take any and all advice on a subject so important with a grain of salt. Rupert Everett is speaking from his own personal experience and I do not begrudge him those feelings. However, I feel that part of what he perceived to be homophobia might’ve just been a reluctance to give him work based on his history or for performance reasons, the old casting axiom is still very true “You just never know and several factors could lead to a casting decision.” Though I think he means well, he is basing it on his experience and if no other actors come out there’s less chance for progress in LGBT rights. I hate to put that high a value on it but it’s true. The easiest ways to change attitudes are having people say “Well, so-and-so’s gay so maybe I’ll think that over.” People are fickle. In some cases it does seem to work in favor of a performer, Neil Patrick Harris seems to have gotten exponentially more popular since he came out.
The bottom line is, it should and must remain a personal choice and the best consul one can offer is to treat the public coming out similar to “private one” (i.e. friends and family) if you just can’t live in the closet any longer absolutely come out, it’s doing more harm than good. If you are a guarded person and can avoid the question like many actors have over the years it’s your prerogative to do so.
I think part of why we have discovered many actors are gay later in their life or career is not just a societal change in the acceptance of such information but also because many people have those that matter most know and those that don’t matter needn’t know. It’s a personal decision and not a business decision in my estimation. You must be absolutely certain. If you are fine leaving your private life private and want to make a go at it, kudos and similarly if you feel you can’t have that burden I say unburden it so long as you’re prepared to deal with the consequences because for every success I am sure there are many more who are not. If you are content with whatever you are able to achieve and are not prone to ask “What if?” go for it.
I think the one thing that can be most definitely noted is that if you reach a certain point and then come out from cases that I am aware of it has not been a hinderance. If you’re just starting out I can’t be sure it might be best as a business decision, if you must look at it that way, again it’s personal, leave it on a need to know basis, if you can deal with that.
Rupert Everett’s statement is that of a defeated man who is no longer willing to fight. He is seeking to guide others saying essentially “When you pick your battles, don’t pick this one.” I think it’s a rather backward statement for LGBT rights. You can come out if you so choose you just need to be more careful of what you say and do because like it or not that stigma exists. Perhaps Adam Lambert was being more calculated than I give him credit for and wanted to create a ruckus but it’s food for thought, if it was Britney Spears doing the same thing with her male dancers it’s not as big a deal on the news the next day. That’s the society we live in, sad but true. If you feel you must come out but at the same time you must realize what that means.
Ellen is probably your prime example. Few will likely face the examination she faced being a trailblazer but note how her comeback came. She was still the same person and without saying so reminded people of that fact and that she was beloved and only because she has a talk show do issues even get mentioned. Being political is dangerous and polarizing look at Sean Penn- endlessly talented and fiercely political such that his roles are few and far between not just because he’s selective I’m sure.
Examples can go on forever and there are never any guarantees about perception, or work, or attitudes. Come out if you have to but just know the rules. Hollywood, like high school, like life has different rules for different people when it so chooses . Some rules are always the same: make friends not enemies, do unto others as you would have others do unto you, etc. Hollywood’s a game, know that you’re always playing learn the rules and play by the rules- your life, however, is your own and you make the rules there. The decision is in your hands and needs to come from within and not from others. Choose wisely but choose for yourself; listen to nothing but your heart.
Bernardo Villela is a writer, director and editor. His first short film “Suffer The Little Children”, won 4 awards, and was selected to 14 festivals worldwide.
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