Matt Damon thinks gay actors should stay in the closet
It's been an interesting September for Matt Damon. Earlier this month, the actor apologized after garnering backlash for his comments that diversity shouldn't be a priority on HBO filmmaking competition Project Greenlight. Now, two weeks later in an interview with The Guardian, Damon suggested gay actors would do better to stay closeted.
"I think you're a better actor the less people know about you, period," he said. "And sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether you're straight or gay, people shouldn't know anything about your sexuality because that's one of the mysteries that you should be able to play."
Damon, who played a gay character in 2013's Behind the Candleabra, said he supports same-sex marriage and acknowledged "it must be really hard for actors to be out publicly."
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The actor also described "deeply offensive" rumors surfacing early in his career that he and Ben Affleck were gay.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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