Will & Grace star Eric McCormack believes straight actors SHOULD be able to play gay roles: ‘If gay actors weren’t allowed to play straight actors, Broadway would be over’

Eric McCormack — a straight actor who rose to fame playing a gay character on NBC’s Will & Grace — has joined the debate over gay roles.

The 60-year-old Toronto native played gay lawyer Will Truman for 11 seasons, the first eight on the original series from 1998 to 2006 and another three seasons from 2017 to 2020.

Will & Grace was a landmark series for the LGBTQ community and became one of the first successful network sitcoms to feature gay cast members.

Now there’s been a lot of discussion about whether heterosexual actors should play gay roles, which McCormack addressed during a Good morning Great Britain interview.

“That’s a tough call for me because I didn’t become an actor so I could play an actor,” McCormack said on the show, weeks after appearing at an Oscar viewing party with his estranged wife Janet Holden.

The 60-year-old Toronto native played gay lawyer Will Truman for 11 seasons, the first eight on the original series from 1998 to 2006 and another three seasons from 2017 to 2020.

Now, there has been a lot of discussion about whether heterosexual actors should play gay roles, which McCormack addressed during a Good Morning Britain interview.

“There’s not a role I’ve ever played where I wasn’t playing something I’m not. It’s part of the performance. If gay actors weren’t allowed to play straight actors, Broadway would be over. So this is what we do,” he continued.

McCormack added: So this is what we do. I think I represent it well. I came out of theater and one of my best friends was gay.”

“So I think I took their spirit and their message into what was otherwise just a sitcom and represented it, I hope,” he continued.

The actor was also asked about the sitcom being cast today and if he would get the role, and he had this to say.

‘Well, I guess the answer would be that they would have to say in the casting room, “And you’re gay, right?” which I don’t think they can say,” he began.

“I would like to think generally that the best person for the role, the one who comes in and knocks it out of the park, is the one who gets the role,” he said.

The interview comes nearly four months after the actor’s wife of 26 years, Janet Holden, filed for divorce.

She cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split, although no date of separation was stated in the documents.

“There’s not a role I’ve ever played where I wasn’t playing something I’m not. It’s part of the performance. If gay actors weren’t allowed to play straight actors, Broadway would be over. So this is what we do,” he continued

‘Well, I guess the answer would be that they would have to say in the casting room, “And you’re gay, right?” which I don’t think they can say,” he began

Janet is seeking spousal support and reportedly wants to “end the court’s ability to award spousal support to Eric,” according to TMZ’s report.

The Canadian actor and Janet share one child together: 21-year-old son Finnigan Holden McCormack.

However, last week they attended the Elton John AIDS Foundation 2024 Oscars viewing party on Sunday evening.

Although there is no update on the divorce filing, the couple seemed to be in good spirits as they hung out together at the gala event.