18 straight actors who were praised for playing LGBTQ characters

Straight actor Hugh Grant took on the role of Clive in James Ivory's "Maurice."

Clive is a gay man who tries to suppress his homosexuality in Edwardian-era England. Grant's performance has been labelled as insightful and "intelligent," and in 1987, The New York Times critic Janet Maslin called Grant "so good."

Maslin said that Grant's Clive "embodies all the conservatism and complacency, not to mention all the hidden desire, that Forster saw as most repressive in the English society of his day."

Hilary Swank, who is cisgender, won an Oscar for playing trans man Brandon Teena in "Boys Don't Cry." Her performance here was called "the performance of her career" by film critic James Berardinelli. The film scores 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's critical consensus reading: "Hilary Swank's acclaimed performance pays fitting tribute to the tragic life of Brandon Teena."

In another Oscar winning performance, Theron plays serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who was bisexual. She won just about every award going for this role, which Roger Ebert called "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema."

Roger Ebert was also a fan of Cis actress Felicity Huffman's performance as Bree, a trans woman, in "Transamerica." Ebert wrote: "Felicity Huffman brings great empathy and tact to her performance as Bree."

Huffman nominated for an Oscar her performance.

Straight actor Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Lola/Simon, a drag queen in "Kinky Boots," which also stars Joel Edgerton. While the film itself received average reviews, Ejiofor's performance was hailed as "striking."

Roger Ebert wrote: "He plays the role not as a man pretending to be a woman, and not as a woman trapped in a man's body, and not as a parody of a woman, and not as a gay man, but as a drag queen, period: Lola, a tall, athletic performer in thigh-high red boots who rules the stage of a drag club as if she were born there, and is a pretty good singer, too."

Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, both straight, were both Oscar-nominated for their performances (Ledger in lead, Gyllenhaal in supporting) in this film about two men falling in love and continuing their affair for years.

The film scored 87% on Rotten Romatoes, with the site's critical consensus reading: "A beautifully epic Western, 'Brokeback Mountain''s gay love story is imbued with heartbreaking universality, helped by the moving performances of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal."

Harvey Milk is one of the most important gay activists in history, and straight actor Sean Penn won an Oscar for playing him. Penn's performance as Milk was hailed by Variety, with Todd McCarthy calling his performance "winning."

McCarthy wrote: "The show belongs squarely to Penn. Made to more closely resemble Milk via an elongated nose, which also makes his face look narrower, the actor socks over his characterization of a man he's made to seem, above all, a really sweet guy, but who crucially possessed the fearlessness and toughness to be a highly successful political motivator, agitator and, ultimately, figurehead of a movement."

Colin Firth earned his first Oscar-nomination for his performance in this special film that just so happens to be Tom Ford's directorial debut. Firth does typically-British emotional restraint so well, and The Austin Chronicle wrote that he "dons the role of George like a fine bespoke suit."

"'A Single Man is,' ultimately, Firth's tour de force," the review continues. "He slips into the raw role of George Falconer with exactly as much precision as George brings to becoming Professor Falconer (straight, no chaser), and the masks both actor and character share are uncommonly seamless."

Based in parts on some aspects of director Lisa Cholodenko's life, "The Kids Are All Right" paints a compelling and convincing picture of a middle-aged lesbian couple and their family.

Julianne Moore and Annette Bening play the couple, and even though both actors are straight, you believe in their relationship completley during ever second of the movie. Bening was even nominated for an Oscar her role.

Rogert Ebert wrote: "Moore and Bening are superb actors here, evoking a marriage of more than 20 years, and all of its shadings and secrets, idealism and compromise."

Both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara were Oscar-nominated for their roles as Carol and Therese, two women who fall in love in the 1950s.

Variety critic Justin Chang called their performances "brilliant."

Of Mara, Chang wrote: "Mara is as no less mesmerizing here than she was in 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' ... and she seems born to the role of someone who seems at once knowing and naive, guarded yet unafraid to pursue what she really wants in life. Some of the film's most moving moments find Mara simply peering out at the great nocturnal expanse of Manhattan."

He added: "Blanchett fully inhabits the role of a woman who turns out to be much tougher and wiser than those luxurious outer garments would suggest. As a study in the way beautiful surfaces can simultaneously conceal and expose deeper meanings, the actress's performance represents an all-too-fitting centerpiece for this magnificently realized movie."

Eddie Redmayne's casting as trans woman Lili Elbe sparked controversy at the time, and speaking to GQ, Redmayne has since said he's unsure if he should ever have accepted the role.

However, Variety's Peter Debruge handed out praise for his performance, writing: "For an actor, there can be few more enticing — or challenging — roles than this, in which the nature of identity, performance and transformation are all wrapped up in the very fabric of the character itself, and Redmayne gives the greatest performance of his career so far, infinitely more intimate — and far less technical — than the already stunning turn as Stephen Hawking that so recently won him the Oscar."

Meanwhile, Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus reads: "'The Danish Girl' serves as another showcase for Eddie Redmayne's talent — and poignantly explores thought-provoking themes with a beautifully filmed biopic drama."

"Moonlight" made history as the first ever LGBTQ movie to win best picture at the Academy Awards. The film follows the tale of Chiron over three different periods of time; when he is a child, when he is a teenager, and when he is an adult, each played by a different actor.

While all three performers are good, Trevante Rhodes' portrayal as the adult Chiron stands out as particularly excellent. While Rhodes himself is straight, he used the experiences of a gay friend of his as a source of inspiration.

The Hollywood Reporter critic David Rooney wrote that it's the "sensitivity" and "understated rawness" of Rhodes' performance that makes the film "so emotionally satisfying."

Rooney also wrote that Rhodes is "extraordinary in the self-exposure he achieves with minimal outward display."

Timothée Chalamet's performance in this exquisite movie launched his career into super stardom. Playing Elio, Chalamet is so convincing as a young man falling in love with an older man, obsessing over every painstaking detail of the process, as one usually does when falling in love for the first time.

The Economist wrote that Chalamet "evokes so many shades of humanity, portraying a path of youthful self-discovery that is more raw, unhinged, and ultimately honest than many actors could manage."

Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter called Chalamet's performance "breathtaking" in its review: "The true breakout of the film is 21-year-old Chalamet," the review states. "Elio is someone who is experiencing a lot of things for the first time, for which he barely has any words, but Chalamet's face and body language turn his character into an open book."

The review also calls the final, one-take, wordless shot of the film (all a close up of Chalamet's Elio) "so mesmerizing that it immediately cements his status as one of the world's brightest young talents."

"Love, Simon" was a groundbreaking movie purely for exisiting — it was the first ever mainstream romantic comedy with a lead character who he is gay, and where the story is about gay love.

While it would have been great for a gay character to take on this groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind role, Nick Robinson's performance is undeniably touching.

Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood wrote: "Robinson nails the role with natural hangdog looks and an appealing personality that can't help but make the audience root for his eventual happiness."

Taron Egerton took on the daunting role of Elton John in this biopic that isn't really a biopic. It's a fantasy musical, but unlike "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Rocketman" doesn't straight-wash this movie (at least for the most part). There are even gay sex scenes — hooray!

Egerton's performance was called "terrific" by The Guardian, while The Chicago Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper wrote that "it's a lovely, powerful, resonant performance."

Roeper continued: "From the moment Taron Egerton strides into the film ... we believe Egerton as Elton. We believe him as the painfully shy prodigy Reginald Dwight, desperate for his parents' approval; as the genius who sits at the piano and finds the perfect notes to breathe lasting musical life into Bernie Taupin's brilliant lyrics; as a master showman in command of the worldwide stage, and as a man who nearly kills himself because he's been conditioned to believe no one will ever really love him."

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