Eric McCormack doesn’t think he’d get ‘anywhere near’ the role of Will Truman if ‘Will & Grace’ was made today
The straight actor portrays the openly gay lawyer in the hit NBC comedy series
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Eric McCormack doesn’t think he’d get “anywhere near” the role of Will Truman if Will & Grace was made today.
The actor – who identifies as straight – portrayed the gay lawyer in the hit NBC comedy show for eight seasons until the show ended in 2006 but last year, the show returned to screens and McCormack and the rest of the original cast all reprised their roles.
However, in a recent interview, McCormack told the Sydney Morning Herald that, because he isn’t gay, he probably wouldn’t get the role if the show was made today.
He said: “I probably wouldn’t get anywhere near this role.
“I think it wasn’t a terrible thing in 1998 that a straight guy played the role, but I’m glad that times are changing, and I’m glad that nowadays a Will Truman would probably be cast with someone who is gay.
“But does that mean that no when you walk into a casting room you have to state whether you are straight or gay? I don’t know.”
Despite being a different sexual orientation to his on-screen counterpart, McCormack says the show has allowed him to “give back” to a community that has been “shouting for a long time to be heard”.
He continued: “The show has given me a chance to give back.
“I get to be the straight-guy ambassador to the rest of the world for a community that has been shouting for a long time to be heard and to be recognised.”