Zoolander 2 and Benedict Cumberbatch

[Deleted User]

I have seen a few references to the new Zoolander movie, I wasn’t that impressed with the first one to be honest but that’s just me.
I heard there was a bit of a mini storm brewing about the character being played by Benedict Cumberbatch. It started off with complaints over a trans character not being played by a trans actor. But now that it has been established the character is actually androgynous they have changed to complaining that the producers should have picked a genuine androgynous person. It does sound like a bit of opportunistic flag waving. I also can’t help feeling that some are being overly ‘precious’ about this.
Yes there have been movies and television series with trans characters being played by genuine trans actors, “Orange is the New Black”. ‘Sens8’ being another. But there are also movies where the male to female character is portayed by a female, not transgendered, woman like ‘Transamerica’ with Felicity Huffman. Now while I personally think she did a good portrayal, I would have thought it could have had a genuine trans woman and been just as good.
Cumberbatch is a really fine actor. He portrayed a gay brilliant mathematician who was OCD. Should the studio have looked for an actual gay mathematician who is OC. to portray the character?
Russell Crowe portrayed a mathematician with paranoid schizophrenia in ‘A Beautiful Mind’. Daniel Day Lewis played a person with cerebral palsy in ‘My Left Foot’. I could name others but you get the point.
Is it not within the rights of the movie makers to pick who they think are the best actors for the role and will also bring the larger potential audience? Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

Just think back in the day of the Bard actors where actors and boy actors played women and in some of Shakespeare’s plays the boy actor had to play a woman who crossdressed as a man. I think though I maybe wrong here there is one play where the boy actor plays a women who crossdresses as a man who crossdresses as a women.

What has happened to play?

Do we want things to be so straight?

[Deleted User]

Sara_Timms wrote:

Just think back in the day of the Bard actors where actors and boy actors played women and in some of Shakespeare’s plays the boy actor had to play a woman who crossdressed as a man. I think though I maybe wrong here there is one play where the boy actor plays a women who crossdresses as a man who crossdresses as a women.
What has happened to play?
Do we want things to be so straight?

Well put Sara. I think you may be referring to, ‘As You Like It’. Although there are supposed to be five plays where the boy playing a woman had to pretend to….you know.
Let’s abolish the straight and have fun

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for your comments – good points…
I do wonder if drama would exist if actors could only be whatever characteristics they have themselves. Seems to me to be the e4ssence of acting to transcend with empathy and creativity etc – though I am glad not to see some portrayals of the past. I suspect that this has been a useful means for some activists to feel good rather than fun.