November 18

Luke Evans in Immortals
The bronzed, the buffed, the shirtless.

(Formerly) out Welsh actor Luke Evans is enjoying a successful Hollywood run, having appeared in Clash of the Titans (Apollo), the Three Musketeers (Aramis), and having a starring role in Immortals (Zeus) as well as the upcoming Hobbit movies (Bard).

I remember thinking how brave he was to acknowledge his sexual orientation ten years ago, around the time he was appearing in Boy George's musical Taboo. Perhaps he thought better of it, because these days no mention is made of his being gay.

During his early career, Evans openly identified as homosexual. In a 2002 interview in The Advocate, he said:

“Well, it was something I'd spoken to a lot of people about, including my boyfriend at the time – we've broken up now – but at the time when I just got the part in Taboo, I knew that even though my part was a straight character, everybody knew me as a gay man, and in my life in London, I never tried to hide it. I knew I was going to have to do interviews with gay magazines, so I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to have to be open’. It’s who I am. And if people don’t like it, then I don’t want their jobs. I've never been a very good liar, which is another thing...”

In 2004, he said that his acting career had not suffered by being out. However, after a string of Hollywood successes, in September, 2010, his publicist linked him romantically to Holly Goodchild, a female PR executive who stated, "Luke's lovely – we're really old friends and it just sort of happened. We are nowhere near engaged but things are really good."

For years his Wikipedia page stated, “Luke Evans is openly gay.” Sometime in 2010 that was changed to, "Evans lives a private life and rarely speaks about his personal life."

Then, in August, 2010, a month before his publicist mentioned his romantic link to a female, all mention of his personal life on Wikipedia had been removed and the page locked from future edits.

However, no one can erase the 2004 interview he gave to GayDarNation, in which Evans, then playing a gay porn star in a play, talked about his love of homosexual smut: "I bought my first gay porn film when I was 15, and now I have a good collection and add to it regularly. I research it almost every night!" When asked what makes a good gay porn star, he responded, "an enormous big fat cock!"

Well, that sounds pretty gay, I think. Maybe he’s become best buds with Anderson Cooper or something. Hmmm. Once the cat’s been let out of the bag...

James Duke Mason, (click here for separate post: http://maletanlines.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-14.html) founder of the Trailblazer Campaign, a YouTube project designed to encourage LGBT entertainers to come out of the closet, wrote this on Dot429.com:

A friend of mine, who also happens to be friends with Mr. Evans, told me that Luke wishes he could be out, but has been forced back into the closet by the studio executives who essentially gave him an ultimatum: it's the closet or bust.

In the last few months there have not been any further comments from Evans or his team, nor has any of the mainstream media asked any questions during the publicity tours for The Three Musketeers and Immortals.

All has been silent, except for a change to his Wikipedia page which now states that Evans "openly identified as gay" in his "early career" but he recently was "romantically linked with a woman." The fact that this duplicity has been able to go on without any real accountability or opposition baffles me.

It's less about Mr. Evans himself than it is the stranglehold that the power players in Hollywood have on their performers. It may be unpopular to discuss, but the truth needs to be told, and the more that happens, and the bigger the dialogue becomes, the sooner this injustice will stop.

Out, then In. But let’s get back to Immortals before it quickly disappears from the box office.

Tastes great, less filling:
“A man’s seed can be his most dangerous weapon.”

If this sort of dialogue doesn’t make you wince, Immortals is the movie for you. And while we're at it, let's savor a couple of photos of co-stars Kellan Lutz (tragically over accessorized, below) and a chained up Henry Cavill. Yum.

Speaking of hilarious dialogue, here is a word-for-word quote from an interview with Mr. Lutz, responding to questions about why he doesn't have time for a girlfriend and why he hangs out with so many gay guys. Sit down and get a firm grip on your chair:

"Honestly, I'd prefer to live with gay guys. They're the cleanest, and they just take care of stuff. Because I'm always away, coming home to a clean house means a lot to me. Trust me, I've lived with a lot of roommates, and straight guys are just kids who don't pick up after themselves."

All-righty, then.