IF THERE is one job where being gay shouldn't be a problem, it's a career in showbusiness.

The industry is probably bursting at the seams with actors waving the pink flag, yet there are very few out and proud stars. Although there are plenty of rumours.

So what's stopping actors in film and TV leaping out of the closet and wearing their sexuality on their sleeves if they so wish?

Newsweek writer Ramin Setoodeh touched on a very raw nerve last week after suggesting gay actors simply can't play straight roles.

In the article he referred to Will and Grace star Sean Hayes' Broadway performance as “insincere” and “unintentionally camp”.

While some, such as Glee creator Ryan Murphy, have called for a boycott of the magazine, I believe Setoodeh has, in fact, unintentionally highlighted a very important point.

The reason there are so few openly gay stars is because of an entrenched homophobia which dictates that homosexual men are incontrovertibly effeminate and therefore unconvincing in more masculine roles.

So for an actor to be openly gay would be tantamount to career suicide in Hollywood.

Bizarrely Setoodeh is gay himself. But it doesn't make his comments any more valid.

Why is it any more convincing for a straight actor such as Jake Gyllenhaal to play a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain? Or for Colin Firth to play a closeted college professor in this year's A Single Man?

Acting is, afterall, about just that. Who an actor chooses to sleep with is completely irrelevant to the question of whether his or her performance was believable or not.

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Among the few successful out gay actors, most are perfectly capable of playing straight characters.

No-one would dare question Ian McKellan's ability to play it straight, but still many stars such as Rupert Everett and Stephen Fry have been pigeon-holed as a result of their sexuality.

Homophobia remains a despicable reality in the film and TV industries and because being gay is easily hidden, unlike the colour of your skin or gender, it is also easy to ignore the problem.

However, if showbusiness wants to prove its as progressive as its films suggest it should be, stars should be judged wholly on their acting skills without prejudice of any kind.

This column in no way reflects the official position of News Shopper or its parent company.

What do you think? Can gay actors play straight roles? Is it homophobic to suggest they can't? Why are there so few openly gay film and TV stars? Add your comments below.

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