Hollywood movies that got LGBTQ+ representation right
After years of conversations, controversies, and criticisms, there's an increase in LGBTQ+ presence in Hollywood with actors from the community getting more opportunities in the industry and Oscars recognizing and honoring them as well. However, there's still a long way to go. We have curated some films that got the LGBTQ+ representation right with actors belonging to the community portraying queer roles.
'Pride' (2014)
Based on a real-life incident, gay actor Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Fleabag) portrays a gay bookshop owner, Gethin, in Matthew Warchus's 2014 British historical dramedy Pride. In the film, Gethin teams up with other LGBTQ+ activists to support the protesting miners in the 1980s conservative England. As Gethin, Scott also showed that gay characters need not necessarily be flamboyant to leave a long-lasting impact.
'The Normal Heart' (2014)
Jim Parsons, best known for playing Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, portrays gay activist Tommy Boatwright who fights for recognition of the rising HIV-AIDS crisis in the 1980s in Ryan Murphy's The Normal Heart. Regarding the role, he said, "I started consciously making the connection of what level of importance doing this part has to me as a gay man."
'Tangerine' (2015)
Mya Taylor plays trans sex worker Alexandra in Sean Baker's 2015 comedy-drama film Tangerine. It's an unconventional indie gem shot entirely on an iPhone that follows the chaotic Christmas Eve adventures of two transgender sex workers, Sin-Dee and Alexandra, in Los Angeles. However, Taylor said to THR that she did not transition to be a transwoman onscreen and wants to play "regular female roles."
'Love, Simon' (2018)
In his breakout role in Greg Berlanti's coming-of-age rom-com Love, Simon, gay actor Keiynan Lonsdale plays a gay teenager, Bram Greenfeld. A year prior to the film he came out publicly through social media. In an interview, he mentioned that the film doesn't just say, "It's OK to be this way," it says it's great and normal which he needed to hear.
'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' (2019)
Actor Adèle Haenel, who identifies as a lesbian, plays a young 19th-century lesbian character Héloïse in the French historical romantic drama Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Haenel's former partner and frequent collaborator Céline Sciamma directed and wrote the character Héloïse, who is against her arranged marriage and eventually falls in love with a female artist who is hired to paint her wedding portrait.
