Thu 28 Jan 2016 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Sir Ian McKellen has spoken out about the lack of diversity in the Oscars, questioning why no gay man has ever won a main acting award. In an interview with The Guardian, the veteran actor says he has twice had a speech sitting in his jacket pocket at the awards saying, 'I'm proud to be the first openly gay man to win the Oscar’, but has never had the chance to read it. Mentioning that a raft of men, including Sean Penn, Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman, have won Best Actor awards for playing gay men, he said, "How clever, how clever. What about giving me one for playing a straight man?” "No openly gay man has ever won the Oscar; I wonder if that is prejudice or chance.” His comments come as Hollywood debates the diversity of the Awards, with many big name celebrities pointing out that no black actors are nominated this year for acting roles. He says, ”If you are trying to have a career, as a black or Hispanic actor in a state - California - where white people are now the minority, and you are being judged by an Academy where the vast majority are white, male, middle-aged and old ... well, perhaps that is the wrong yardstick."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 28th January 2016 - 1:32pm