Cate defends straight actors’ roles

CATE BLANCHETT has defended straight actors playing gay characters, vowing she will ‘fight to the death for the right to suspend disbelief’.

The actress spoke out as Hollywood faced growing criticism for giving LGBT roles to straight actors.

Avengers star Scarlett Johansson, 33, recently dropped out of playing a 1970s transgender Pittsburgh crime boss Dante ‘Tex’ Gill – who was born Jean Gill – after a backlash. But Miss Blanchett, a two-time Oscar-winner who played a lesbian in the 2015 film Carol, said she disagreed that a performer can form a deep bond with a character only if they have shared experiences, saying it defies the point of acting. Speaking at the Rome Film Festival, the 49-year-old Australian star added: ‘It also speaks to something that I’m quite passionate about in storytelling generally, but in film specifically, which is that film can be quite a literal medium.

‘I will fight to the death for the right to suspend disbelief and play roles beyond my experience.’