Richard Gere Says Playing Gay in Original BENT on Broadway 'Was Not Dangerous at All'

Gay roles on Broadway may be more than acceptable in 2015, but what kind of judgement was passed on such roles in the '70s? Regardless, Richard Gere didn't feel unsafe when he played gay in the original Broadway production of BENT in 1979.

"Because it was two gay characters, I did not think it was dangerous for me at all. I've never thought about it in career terms." Gere says of Martin Sherman's BENT, which depicts persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany and features gay sex.

He says the heart of the story stuck out to him, which is why he became one of the first big name Hollywood stars to portray a gay man on Broadway. "For me, it was a brilliant play about the human yearning for love and how irrelevant it is if you are a man or a woman or an insect or a dog."

A new production of BENT, starring Patrick Heusinger, Andy Mientus, Charlie Hofheimer and Jake Shears, premiered in LA at the Mark Taper Forum on July 26.

Richard Gere is an American actor and activist. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol. He went on to star in several hit films, including An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman, Primal Fear, RUNAWAY Bride, Arbitrage and Chicago, for which he won a Golden Globe Award as Best Actor, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the Best Cast.

Source: THR