Tom Hanks may have won an Oscar for his role in Philadelphia, but it’s not a part he would accept today.
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In the legal drama, Tom played a young lawyer named Andrew Beckett who is wrongfully fired after his firm learns that he is HIV-positive.
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Reflecting on the film, which was released almost 30 years ago, Tom says he doesn’t believe he should portray a gay man on screen in today’s society.
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“Could a straight man do what I did in Philadelphia now? No, and rightly so,” Tom said in an interview with The New York Times Magazine.
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He went on to say that the whole point of the movie “was don’t be afraid” and “one of the reasons” people weren’t afraid at the time was because it was Tom playing a gay man.
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Tom added that the world has moved beyond that viewpoint now and wouldn’t accept him in the role.
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“We’re beyond that now,” Tom said. “I don’t think people would accept the inauthenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy.”
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He continued, “It’s not a crime, it’s not boohoo, that someone would say we are going to demand more of a movie in the modern realm of authenticity.”
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Read the entire interview here.
