Nathan Lane on why he didn’t come out after The Birdcage: “You might as well said ‘I love c*ck'”
Nathan Lane reflected on his journey as gay actor in Hollywood.
Mark
In those days, you might as well say: ‘And by the way, I love c*ck.’ But I wasn’t ready; I wasn’t brave enough [to come out in 1996 after The Birdcage]. I was a character actor. I wasn’t thinking I was going to become a leading man. For better or worse, that’s what I did.
[Once he did come out in 1999] Then it was like: ‘Yeah, big deal, we already knew.’ So there was no winning that one.
[What he wishes he told Oprah in that infamous interview] If you’re asking me why I’m good at it in the movie, it’s because I’m a wonderful actor. And if you are asking me if I’m gay, the answer is yes.Nathan Lane speaking to The Guardian about his journey as a gay actor in Hollywood.
Lane is currently starring in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman on Broadway.
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Nathan Lane was told he’d be more successful if “you weren’t so open about your lifestyle.”
