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Nicholas Galitzine Says He Feels "Guilt" Over Playing Gay Roles As A Straight Actor

9 May 2024, 13:04

By Sam Prance

From Red, White & Royal Blue to Mary & George, Nicholas Galitzine has played multiple gay and bisexual characters.

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Nicholas Galitzine has revealed that he feels "guilt" over playing queer roles on screen when he's a straight actor in real life.

Since Nicholas Galitzine first rose to fame, the British actor has taken on multiple queer roles. In Handsome Devil, he plays a closeted gay rugby player, in The Craft: Legacy, he stars as a bisexual bully, and in Red, White & Royal Blue, he plays a fictional gay prince. More recently, Nicholas appeared as a queer duke in the historical miniseries Mary & George.

Nicholas has received praise for these performances but now he's explained that he's felt "uncertainty" over doing them.

Read more: Nicholas Galitzine Says He Used To Be "Disgusted" By His Own Face

Nicholas Galitzine in Mary & George. Picture: Alamy

Speaking to GQ about whether people conflate him with his characters, Nick admitted that they do. He said: "I am Nick, and I’m not my role."

He then added: "I identify as a straight man, but I have been a part of some incredible queer stories. I felt a sense of uncertainty sometimes about whether I’m taking up someone’s space, and perhaps guilt."

However, Nick also defended his decision to play so many queer characters. He continued: "At the same time, I see those characters as not solely their sexuality."

As for why he enjoys taking on LGBTQ+ roles, Nicholas recently told The Huffington Post UK: "There’s sort of a plethora of reasons for this. One, I have so many friends within the community, and I know so many of them didn’t feel like they had these stories growing up."

Highlighting Red, White & Royal Blue, he said: "My gay friends were like 'Wow, to have something cheesy and broad and wholesome is like really, really important', and I think the resonance of that means a lot to me."

Nicholas Galitzine broke an ankle in High Heels on Mary & George

Speaking more broadly about the queer roles he's played, Nicholas said: "I think with all of these characters, the thing that I find really intriguing as an actor is that underbelly of vulnerability and having to hide oneself."

He ended the interview by saying: "I think they’ve all just been really rich characters in of themselves. You know, you read that in the script it just becomes a bit of a no-brainer."