15 Gay Actors Who Play Straight Characters
13. Nathan Lane
Then there are actors like Nathan Lane. An incredibly talented actor, one would be foolish to see some of his greatest roles and not at least think he was gay.
Lane’s most impressive role during his career came in the 1996 film The Birdcage. Playing the role of Albert Goldman, Lane earned his first career Golden Globe nomination.
His other famous roles include lending his voice to Timon, the meerkat, in The Lion King and The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride. More recently, Lane has guest-starred on the hit television comedy Modern Family. He plays the role of Pepper, a flamboyantly gay friend and wedding coordinator for gay couple Mitch and Cam.
When asked by a reporter from Us Weekly if he was gay, Lane famously responded, “I’m 40, single, and work a lot in the musical theater. You do the math.” He came out to his family at the age of 21, and publicly acknowledged his orientation following the horrific murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998. Lane currently resides with his partner, Devlin Elliot, in their New York City home.
