13 Actors Playing Against (Sexual) Type

Inspired by the controversy Newsweek stirred up when it ran a review slamming Sean Hayes’ portrayal of a straight man in Promises, Promises, CNN offers up a list of 13 actors who have played roles counter to their actual sexual orientation:

• Portia de Rossi: Played it straight on Ally McBeal before anyone knew she was gay, and has continued to play straight roles since coming out—including the flirtatious Bluth sister on Arrested Development.
• TR Knight: His Grey’s Anatomy costar Isaiah Washington famously made a homophobic slur against openly gay Knight, who played a straight doctor on the show.

• Will Smith: Played a gay con artist in Six Degrees of Separation.
• Eric McCormack: Will, the gay title character in Will & Grace, is straight in real life.
• Neil Patrick Harris: The gay actor plays one of the straightest characters on TV, womanizer Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother.
• Cynthia Nixon: Has played straight Miranda Hobbes in the Sex and the City franchise before and after coming out as a lesbian.

For the complete list, click here. (More Sean Hayes stories.)