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Since we devoted seven pages to actresses who turned in queer Oscar-nominated performances throughout the years, here's a little nod to the boys who've played gay, including Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Hanks, Chis Cooper, Sean Penn and Colin Firth.
Since we devoted seven pages to actresses who turned in queer Oscar-nominated performances throughout the years, here's a little nod to the boys. Acting heavy hitters like Peter Finch in Sunday Bloody Sunday, Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon, William Hurt in The Kiss of the Spider Woman and John Lithgow in The World According to Garp, turned in wrenching performances in the seventies and eighties.
But gay characters first became highly visible in the early 1990s with the arrival of Longtime Companion, The Crying Game and Philadelphia. Together, the three films garnered 2 Best Actor nominations and 2 Best Supporting noms, with Tom Hanks taking the prize for his heart wrenching depiction of a gay man suffering from AIDS.
The Crying Game was the first mainstream movie to tackle the topic of transgendered love. Stephen Rea was nominated for Best Actor that year and Jaye Davidson was recognized for his depiction of Dil, the subject of Rea's affection in the gender-bending psychological thriller.
Greg Kinnear's Oscar nominated performance in the 1997 romantic comedy As Good As It Gets, placed the Talk Soup alum among the industry's most talked about actors. Kinnear also received Golden Globe and SAG nominations and he went on to win the National Board of Review Supporting Actor award.
American Beauty, the Best Picture winner in 1999, put gay issues back on the map with its tragic story line. The film's main character, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), dies tragically at the hands of his homophobic, sexually confused ex-Marine neighbor. American Beauty won five Oscars including Best Actor for Kevin Spacey and Best Screenplay for Alan Ball.
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2005 was another standout year for queer media as Capote and Brokeback Mountain took Hollywood by storm. Philip Seymour Hoffman beat out Heath Ledger to take home Best Actor gold for his role in Capote, the biopic about the eccentric and talented gay author author Truman Capote.
Brokeback Mountain was that season's favorite flick, with three Oscar wins (Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay) and five total nominations, although the Best Picture Oscar went to Crash. The film received 26 awards industry wide, including the MTV Movie Awards "best kiss" trophy going to Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, that year's hottest onscreen gay couple.
In 2008, the arrival of Milk was very timely as the gay rights debate was flooding the airwaves on the heels of California's prop 8 decision. Sean Penn took home the Best Actor statue for his portrayal of Harvey Milk, the San Francisco politician who made headlines as the first openly gay man in California to be elected to public office. Sean Penn's performance was described as "amazing," "fascinating and multidimensional" and "one for the ages."
This year, Colin Firth is nominated in the Best Actor category for A Single Man.In the film, Firth plays a man struggling with the untimely death of his partner in 1960s Los Angeles.
Read our Queering Oscars: Best and Best Supporting Actresses.
