We Reveal How Broadway Icon Nathan Lane is Convinced Hollywood is Riddled with Gay-Haters After Theater Star Opens Up About Tragic Family Situation
With a handful of impressive jobs now added to his resume, he still has a few bucket list roles he's hoping for.
April 17 2025, Published 6:57 p.m. ET
Nathan Lane has claimed Hollywood is filled with gay-haters.
The Broadway icon opened up in a new interview and suggested that being an out gay actor cost him roles, RadarOnline.com can report.
The star star claimed 'homophobia is alive and well.'
The Producers star claimed "homophobia is alive and well" in Hollywood in an interview with Vanity Fair.
According to Lane, his role in the 1996 comedy The Birdcage, in which he played a flamboyant drag queen, had a massive impact on his future in the business.
He claimed his agent at the time told him: "Maybe if you weren’t so open about your lifestyle, it would have.
"I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, but I can’t help but think that (homophobia) played a part."
Lane revealed he was up for a role in the 1996 part-animated basketball comedy Space Jam and said he was allegedly told "the director (Joe Pytka) saw me hosting the Tony Awards," and that it "suggested I was too gay to play the part."
Unfortunately for Lane, Wayne Knight ended up getting the gig.
He explained: "But I don’t know. I’ll never know what people say. Homophobia is alive and well, still."
The Broadway icon suggested his career in theater possibly also impacted him landing film gigs.
He said: "There’s always … that ‘He’s from the theater’ thing. It’s either homophobia or it’s just, ‘He gives big performances because he comes from the theatre.’ If they give me a chance, I seem to do well – but you have to get the part. You need a part to prove that. I gave up long ago trying to pursue it."
Lane praised Ryan Murphy for giving him a handful of opportunities.
Despite being knocked down a few times in the industry, Lane praised Ryan Murphy for giving him a handful of opportunities, which he is so "grateful" for.
Some of those major television roles include journalist Dominick Dunne in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and defense attorney F. Lee Bailey in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
With a handful of impressive jobs now added to his resume, he still has a few bucket list roles he's hoping for.
Lane said: "Before I die, it would be lovely to get to play a juicy, serious supporting role in some film."
Lane recently opened up about his childhood.
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Recently, Lane opened up about his traumatic childhood on Conan O'Brien's podcast, Conan Needs a Friend, and revealed how his mother, Nora, found herself in mental hospitals following the death of his father when he was just 11 years old.
Lane said: "My mother had me when she was 40, and not long after (my father) started drinking really heavily and essentially drank himself to death.
"My mother then sort of had a kind of breakdown after his death and her own mother's death, and she eventually was diagnosed as bipolar. Then it was called manic depression.
"So it was a difficult childhood in that I had to grow up fast. I sort of became the adult. My two older brothers were going to college. They were sort of on the way out, although they were very much involved in helping."
