It’s offensive to call actors brave for LGBTQ roles: Ellen Page

Los Angeles: Actress Ellen Page says she finds it offensive when people praise actors for being “brave” when they play a lesbian, gay or bisexual character.

Page, 28, plays Stacie Andree in Peter Sollet’s Freeheld, about a lesbian couple who challenge domestic- partner rights after one of them is diagnosed with lung cancer, reported Entertainment Weekly.

“I have a hard time when people call actors brave for playing LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) characters. I don’t really get that, because our job is to read something on a page,” she said. The Juno actress, who came out as a gay woman last year, said she would be more than happy to play gay characters for the rest of her career.

“When people are (called) brave in regards to playing LGBTQ people, that’s borderline offensive. I’m never going to be considered brave for playing a straight person, and nor should I be. Honestly, if I played gay characters for the rest of my career, I’d be thrilled.” Freeheld, which also stars Julianne Moore as Laurel Hester, is scheduled to release on October 2.

PTI