Supplemental Post #4 - KC Chow

In the prompt for our multimedia project, it stated that we had to choose a star whose image functioned via cultural contradictions as Dyer wrote, not focusing on ones whose contradictions were a conscious decision. The latter got me thinking about stars who almost deliberately contradict as well as a conversation we had in lecture about masculinity. With this, Luke Evans sprung to mind.

Though Luke Evans was one of the few handful of male actors to come out openly as gay in the late 90s/early 2000s, a time when that wasn’t so commonplace or accepted, his career suffered a bit probably because Hollywood didn’t know what to do with him.

Ever since pronouncing his sexuality and not seeing a boosting result, Evans has kept it extremely dialed down; he no longer talks about it publicly to the point where today it’s not common knowledge that he’s gay unlike celebs such as Ricky Martin and Zachary Quinto who actively display their orientation (ie. posing on queer magazines, speaking at queer events, etc.). Though male stars who currently openly discuss their sexuality occasionally take straight roles (ie. Jim Parsons as Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory, or Quinto as Spock in the Star Trek films), they don’t counter their personal image so starkly as Luke Evans does.

He doesn’t just take straight roles, he takes the most hyper masculine roles available, characters who are known for being masculine (not just a man). Think his characters in 2014’s Dracula Untold or in last year’s Beauty and the Beast as well as Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. Dracula is a literal lady killer who uses his sexuality to lure women, Gaston is too masculine for his own good (alienating Belle with his sense of male entitlement), and the titular Marston is known for being into kink and proposes that he and wife be swingers with his younger female student.

Luke Evans as Dracula in 2014's Dracula Untold (LEFT), Gaston in 2017's Beauty and the Beast (MIDDLE), Professor Marston in 2017's Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (RIGHT)

In an age where queerness is not only embraced but capitalized on, do you think Luke Evan’s career would skyrocket or suffer if he didn’t actively contradict his actual sexuality through his film roles? Especially now, it’s cool or celebrated if straight male actors queer-bait, such as when Ryan Reynolds and Andrew Garfield orchestrated a kiss at an awards show.