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.
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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.
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