Actor Matt Bomer, known for his role as Neal Caffrey in "While Collar" and Donovan in "American Horror Story: Hotel," stars in an upcoming movie titled "Anything." However, his role in the new film as a transgender woman had received backlash from the transgender community. Executive producer Mark Ruffalo had come to his defense but he, too, was criticized.
"To the Trans community. I hear you. It's wrenching to you see you in this pain. I am glad we are having this conversation. It's time," Ruffalo, who is an executive producer of the film, tweeted. He added, "In all honesty I suggested Matt for the role after the profound experience I had with him while making 'The Normal Heart'."
Bomer received several awards, including a Golden Globe, for his portrayal of Felix Turner in "The Normal Heart," and it also earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination. He worked alongside Ruffalo, who portrayed his lover Ned Weeks.
Bomer is an openly gay actor, but members of the transgender community are demanding that a real trans woman be cast in "Anything" instead. Towerload features a collection of tweets expressing their disappointment at the casting.
One of them is by trans actress and writer Jen Richards. She tweeted that she auditioned for the role and told the production people to not have a cis man portray a trans woman but "they didn't care."
Nick Adams of the organization Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation mentioned in an article on The Hollywood Reporter that movies have featured men donning women's clothing for decades, pretending to be trans women, and this sends the wrong message across.
Apart from Bomer, "Anything" also stars Margot Bingham, Melora Hardn, Micah Hauptman, Maura Tierney, and John Carroll Lynch, according to Variety. Lynch plays a suicidal man who moves to Los Angeles after the death of his wife. He becomes friends with Bomer's character, who is described as a transgendered sex worker. The two become a couple who need to reconcile their differences "as they fill the void in each other's lives."
