Matt Damon opens up about marriage (Photo : REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON/FILES)
"Martians" star Matt Damon believes that gay actors should remain in the closet for their careers to flourish. He cites the case of openly gay actor Rupert Everett as an example of one whose acting career took a hit for being out.
Matt, himself the subject of gay rumors in the past with friend Ben Affleck and having portrayed the gay lover of Liberace in "Behind the Candelabra," shared his thoughts about homosexuality with The Guardian while promoting "Castaway 2: In Space!"
He found the gay rumors, because they wrote a script together, deeply offensive because it implied like he had some communicable disease and he felt like he was betraying his friend Ben. "It put us in a weird position of having to answer," Daily Beast quotes Matt.
Explaining why he believes why actors should not out themselves, Matt says, "I think you're a better actor the less people know about you period. 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."
Rupert, star of "My Best Friend's Wedding," admits "Coming out as a gay actor ruined my career in Hollywood." However, Daily Beast says that rather citing Rupert as a case of admitting one's sexuality as bad for an acting, career, it suggests for Matt to use it as a rallying point on how Hollywood should treat gay actors.
The paper writes that Matt may believe he has shown compassion and support for gay actors who deserve to get better roles, "but his advice on the matter will only serve to prolong a state of affairs in Hollywood that has been long dated."
Because of the negative feedback over his remarks, Matt told lesbian TV host Ellen DeGeneres on Monday that what he meant was that actors are more effective when they are a mystery, reports USA Today.
