14 DAY TRIAL // Actor Richard Chamberlain braved years of speculation on his orientation and only came out as gay in his 70s. When it comes to the advice he’d give other leading men, he’d say they should not come out because they’d lose work if they did.
In a statement given to The Advocate, as cited by the New York Post, Chamberlain says there’s still a lot of homophobia in Hollywood and actors who choose to come out literally risk their careers by doing so.
Actors have a hard time getting work as it is – they shouldn’t make their job nearly impossible by coming out, the star says.
While he’s not denying the progress made in recent years, Chamberlain says the industry is still miles away from embracing an openly gay male actor who may play straight roles.
“There’s still a tremendous amount of homophobia in our culture,” Chamberlain, dubbed the ultimate television heartthrob of the ‘60s, says.
“For an actor to be working [at all] is a kind of miracle, because most actors aren’t,” the star explains for The Advocate.
“So it’s just silly for a working actor to say, ‘Oh, I don’t care if anybody knows I’m gay’ – especially if you’re a leading man,” Chamberlain explains.
Because of this, it’s best to stay closeted in order to have a career. “Personally, I wouldn’t advise a gay leading man-type actor to come out,” he says.
Yet this isn’t denying the progress that’s already been made, it’s just stating a fact: the industry and audiences are not ready to allow a gay man to have leading roles of straight men.
“Despite all the wonderful advances that have been made, it’s still dangerous for an actor to talk about that in our extremely misguided culture,” the actor goes on to state.
“Look at what happened in California with Proposition 8. Please, don’t pretend that we’re suddenly all wonderfully, blissfully accepted,” Chamberlain says.