A prominent gay British actor has rejected calls from acclaimed screenwriter Russell T Davies for gay performers to be prioritised for LGBT roles.
James Dreyfus, who played pioneering gay roles in Nineties sitcoms The Thin Blue Line and Gimme Gimme Gimme, said an actor s sexuality has nothing to do with their ability to convince and amaze .
And the 52-year-old believes audiences would be deprived of the superlative recent performances put on by straight stars if roles were only based on sexual orientation.
His comments come after Davies - best known for his work on Queer As Folk and Doctor Who - said gay actors should get LGBT roles and compared a straight actor playing a gay character to black face.