11 straight actors who would NEVER get cold feet for a gay role (like Joaquin Phoenix did)

Joaquin Phoenix, what the heck???

The Oscar-winning Joker star recently made headlines when it was announced that he had dropped out of a project with director Todd Haynes just five days before filming was set, reportedly to start due to "cold feet."

The as-yet-untitled film was based on an idea that Phoenix brought to Haynes, which he himself co-wrote along with Haynes and Jon Raymond. It was supposed to be an NC-17 rated gay sex drama set in 1930s LA, and according to Haynes, Phoenix kept on pushing him to go further.

Now, Phoenix has dropped out, meaning the project will not be made and the crew is out of work. It's a pretty shitty move, and the worst part of all of this is that so many people's time and money are now wasted.

Thankfully, not all straight actors are like that. In fact, these 11 straight actors that we know would never even think about dropping out of a gay role at the last minute due to "cold feet."

1. Stanley Tucci

Where would gay representation in movies be without Stanley Tucci? Early in his career he played gay in movies like The Daytrippers and Little Chaos, and then he became a true gay icon thanks to his roles in The Devil Wears Prada, Burlesque, and Supernova.

2. Colin Firth

Also high up on the Mt. Rushmore of straight actors playing gay is Colin Firth, who stunned us all in A Single Man, starred opposite Stanley Tucci in Supernova, and is all of our favorite gay dad in the Mamma Mia films. We know he'd be happy to play gay again.

3. Jake Gyllenhaal

We all remember Gyllenhaal as a heartbreaking gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain, one of the best gay movies of all-time. He returned to playing gay brilliantly in 2019's bizarre Velvet Buzzsaw. He also wants to play gay again as the father in the film version of the musical Fun Home that he is also producing.

4. Daniel Craig

Apart from James Bond, Craig's most famous role is probably the very southern (and very gay) private detective Benoit Blanc in Knives Out and Glass Onion. But he's not content to stop there, starring in Luca Guadagnino's upcoming film Queer, where he'll play an American expat William Lee who lives in Mexico City in the 1940s and becomes enamored by another man. If anything, Craig is leaning into queer roles as he ages!

5. Darren Criss

While Criss vowed to stop playing gay characters as a straight actor in 2018, saying "I want to make sure I won't be another straight boy taking a gay man's role," we know that he'd never back out of a gay role because it got "too intense." Just look at his previous gay roles, like gay teen singer Blaine in Glee, gay glam rocker Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, and gay serial killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, for which he won an Emmy.

6. Josh O'Connor

O'Connor is young, but has already played gay plenty of times, including in his breakout role in 2017's God's Own Country, and in this year's Challengers. He's set to star in two more gay films, The History of Sound with Paul Mescal (who could easily go on this list) and Luca Guadagnino's upcoming drama Seperate Rooms.

7. Gael García Bernal

García Bernal is one of the most beautiful men working in Hollywood today, and he's never been shy about playing gay. He made his name playing gay roles in Spanish-language films like Y tu mamá también and Bad Education, and he even recently starred as the gay and flamboyant luchador in the biopic Cassandro.

8. Tom Hardy

Hardy played gay gangster Ronnie Kray (and his twin brother, Reggie) in the movie Legend and has become a fan-favorite among gay nerds for his role in Venom, but we know Hardy would never back out of gay role because of what he's said in interviews. In 2008, he was asked by Attitude if he had ever had sex with men. "Of course I have," he responded. "As a boy? Of course I have. I'm an actor for fuck's sake. I'm an artist. I've played with everything and everyone." We wish Phoenix would be that kind of actor and artist!

9. Sterling K. Brown

Brown was recently nominated for an Oscar for playing a queer role in American Fiction and played gay twice in 2022. In that year, he starred in both Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul as a closeted megachurch pastor, and in the end-of-the-world movie Biosphere. We doubt he's going to stop anytime soon.

10. Ewan McGregor

McGregor has played gay in roles ranging from real-life fashion icon Halston in Halston, to a gay prison inmate in I Love You Phillip Morris, to a creepy crime boss in Birds of Prey, to a glam rocker in Velvet Goldmine (where he worked with Haynes), and he's never done anything but fully lean in.

11. Pedro Pascal

Pascal was almost cast in the gay series Looking early in his career, and became a household name in the states thanks to playing pansexual prince Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones. Last year, he also starred in the short film Strange Way of Life as a gay cowboy. He's also besties with Russell Tovey, Omar Apollo, and Sarah Paulson, so we doubt he has any problems with gay roles.