Nathane Lane says the director of Space Jam thought he was “too gay” to play Michael Jordan’s assistant in the 1996 live-action and animated film. The film featured Looney Toons cartoon characters and NBA star Michael Jordan playing basketball against space aliens to decide the fate of humanity.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Lane — who will star in the new gay sitcom Mid-Century Modern — reflected on how homophobia in Hollywood stymied his career in the ’90s.
Related:
Nathan Lane was terrified Oprah would out him on TV in 1996
He told his publicist, “I’m not ready to discuss whether I’m gay or not with Oprah.” And then she asked the question in front of millions of TV viewers.
“I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors,” Lane said, “but I can’t help but think that it played a part. I was told it did impact a movie that I didn’t really care about: Space Jam.”
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Lane claimed that he was up for a role in the film that ultimately went to openly straight Seinfeld and Jurassic Park actor Wayne Knight.
“Apparently the director [Joe Pytka] saw me hosting the Tony Awards and thought that suggested I was too gay to play the part,” Lane explained. “So thank God, I didn’t have to do Space Jam.”
The Emmy and three-time Tony Award winner said that, contrary to a 2023 New York Times headline, Hollywood still has not figured out what to do with him.
“I wish they’d figured out what to do with me,” he said. “I’ve been able to, I think, shift the perception a bit about me, but there’s always going to be that ‘He’s from the theater’ thing. It’s either homophobia or it’s just, ‘He gives big performances because he comes from the theater.’ 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 said that prior to the success of The Birdcage in 1996, he thought of movies as a way to “pay the bills so I could keep doing theater.”
“Then The Birdcage came along. I thought perhaps because of the success of that, it’d lead to other films, but then it didn’t,” he said. “It really didn’t. I said to my agent, ‘I thought more would happen after The Birdcage.’ He said, ‘Maybe if you weren’t so open about your lifestyle, it would have.’”
Lane, who came out publicly in 1999, said that he soon left that agent — who he described as “an old queen” — for mega talent agency CAA.
“But no,” he said, “there weren’t a lot of opportunities.”
“Homophobia is alive and well still,” Lane added. “Before I die, it would be lovely to get to play a juicy, serious supporting role in some film.”
The actor noted, however, that he’s “grateful” to out über producer Ryan Murphy for roles in The People v. O.J. Simpson and the more recent Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
“I mean, things are great,” Lane said. “I don’t want it to seem like I don’t have a really terrific, enviable career.”
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