Jeremy Strong, who played Donald Trump’s gay mentor, Roy Cohn, in the new film ‘The Apprentice,’ commented on the ongoing debate about whether straight actors should be cast in LGBTQ roles.
He recently told the Los Angeles Times, “Yes, it’s absolutely valid. I’m sort of old fashioned, maybe, in the belief that, fundamentally, it’s [about] a person’s artistry, and that great artists, historically, have been able to, as it were, change the stamp of their nature. That’s your job as an actor. The task, in a way, is to render something that is not necessarily your native habitat.”
Then, added, “While I don’t think that it’s necessary [for gay roles to be played by gay performers], I think that it would be good if that were given more weight.”
‘The Apprentice’ came out on October 11, following a young Donald Trump’s rise to power under Cohn’s guidance. The cast also featured Sebastian Stan, Martin Donovan, and Maria Bakalova.
After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in May, Trump’s campaign tried to stop the film’s showing in the US during the 2024 presidential race. The Ali Abbasi-directed release still found a place at the Telluride Film Festival in August.
