Tom Hanks: Best Actor for gay role While Sean Penn is a serious contender for the coveted Best Actor award at today's Academy Awards, for his stunning portrayal of gay San Francisco activist and politician Harvey Milk in Milk, he is not the first actor to be nominated for a LGBT role. Penn follows on from a long list of actors who have been nominated, and have sometimes won, Oscars for portraying glbt characters in the movies. With apologies for any we have missed, here's a backwards glance at actors representing glbt folk, some good and some bad, who have made it to Hollywood's Oscars ceremonies over the years. 1968: Estelle Parsons - nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her role as the upbeat lesbian friend of Joanne Woodward's title character, in Rachel, Rachel. 1971: Peter Finch - nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a gay doctor involved in a bisexual love triangle, in Sunday Bloody Sunday. 1975: Al Pacino - nominated for Best Actor for his role as a gay man who attempts to raise money for his male lover's sex change operation, in Dog Day Afternoon. 1975: Chris Sarandon - nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Al Pacino's highly-strung lover, in Dog Day Afternoon. 1977: Marcello Mastroianni - nominated for Best Actor for his role as a depressed middle-aged gay man who teams up with a depressed woman on the day Hitler visits Rome, in A Special Day. 1981: James Coco - nominated for Best Supporting Actor as Marsha Mason's gay best friend, in Only When I Laugh. 1982: John Lithgow - nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a six-and-a-half-foot ex-pro footballer transsexual woman, in The World According to Garp. 1982: Robert Preston - nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a flamboyantly gay theatre veteran and mentor, in Victor, Victoria. 1983: Cher - nominated for Best Actress for the role which first proved her acting credentials, as the blue-collar lesbian best friend of Meryl Streep, in Silkwood. William Hurt: Best Actor for gay role 1985: William Hurt - won Best Actor for his portrayal of a hopelessly romantic, effeminate gay man, in Kiss of the Spider Woman. 1990: Bruce Davison - nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a gay man whose lover is dying of an AIDS-related illness, in Longtime Companion. 1991: Tommy Lee Jones - nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as a decadent gay man who may or may not have been a CIA spy, in JFK. 1992: Jaye Davidson - nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the partner of a British soldier, in The Crying Game. 1993: Tom Hanks - won Best Actor for his performance as a gay lawyer fighting an unjust sacking because of his HIV status, in Philadelphia. 1997: Greg Kinnear - nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Jack Nicholson's down-on-his-luck gay neighbour, in As Good as It Gets. 1998: Ian McKellen - nominated as Best Actor for his portrayal of elderly gay filmmaker James Whale, in Gods and Monsters. 1998: Kathy Bates - nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the future president's lesbian hatchet woman, in Primary Colors. 1999: Hilary Swank - won Best Actress for her role as young woman living as a male whilst preparing for sex change surgery, in Boys Don't Cry. 2000: Javier Bardem - nominated for Best Actor for his performance as gay Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas, in Before Night Falls. 2002: Ed Harris - nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a gay poet in the final stages of HIV-related illness, in The Hours. 2002: Nicole Kidman - won Best Actress for her portrayal of Virginia Woolfe, in The Hours. 2002: Julianne Moore - nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of an 'experimenting' housewife who kisses Toni Collette, in The Hours. Charlize Theron: Best Actress for bisexual role 2003: Charlize Theron - won Best Actress for her portrayal of bisexual American serial killer Aileen Wournos, in Monster. 2005: Philip Seymour Hoffman - won Best Actor for his portrayal of gay author Truman Capote, in Capote. 2005: Felicity Huffman - nominated for Best Actress for her performance as a transsexual woman reunited with her son, in Transamerica. 2005: Heath Ledger - nominated for Best Actor for his performance as a gay shepherd, in Brokeback Mountain. 2005: Jake Gyllenhaal - nominated for Best Actor for his performance as a gay shepherd, in Brokeback Mountain. 2006: Judi Dench - nominated for Best Actress for her performance as a meddling and deluded lesbian teacher, in Notes on a Scandal. GayNZ.com Daily News staff - 23rd February 2009
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 23rd February 2009 - 1:53am