Game Of Thrones star Kit Harington reportedly brought up the issue of gay actors in cinema, while talking about queer representation in Hollywood during his visit at the Toronto International Film Festival. “There’s a big problem with masculinity and homosexuality that they can’t somehow go hand in hand. That we can’t have someone in a Marvel movie who is gay in real life and plays some superhero. I mean, when is that going to happen?” he said in the discussion, which included his The Death and Life of John F Donovan co-stars Emily Hampshire and Thandie Newton and director Xavier Dolan.
He further highlighted Marvel superheroes, as DC movies and other TV shows have featured LGBTQ actors. Ezra Miller, who played The Flash in Justice League, came out as queer in 2012. Ruby Rose was also recently cast as Batwoman in an upcoming CW series, and the character, like the actor herself, is a part of the LGBTQ community. Meanwhile, Newton turned to sports industry to point out that there are positive changes taking place. “It is changing, but we have to get behind those changes and keep pushing it,” he said.
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been criticised for not starring any explicitly LGBTQ characters, in June, the studios' president Kevin Feige responded to a question on the same by simply replying “Yes”, according to reports.
In August this year, producer Stephen Broussard, who has worked on MCU films since 2011, reportedly addressed this topic by saying, “I know it can be frustrating if you’re part of a group that wants to see more representation and the answer is always ‘stay tuned’. I can imagine that that’s frustrating, but that is happening behind the scenes, you’re going to be seeing that more and more.”