Hollywood Star: I Lost ‘Superman’ Role Because I’m Gay

Actor Matt Bomer revealed his experience of losing a role in a Superman film in the early 2000s due to being outed as gay, describing how his sexuality was used against him.

Despite a promising audition process and a signed deal with Warner Bros., he was let go from a soap opera to potentially take on the Superman role that never materialized.

“I went in on a cattle call for Superman, and then it turned into a four-month audition experience,” Bomer said.

Bomer believes his sexuality was a factor in losing the opportunity, highlighting the industry’s past tendencies to exploit such personal information.

“I was auditioning again, and again, and again, and flying out to New York, and doing chemistry reads, and flying out to L.A., and doing chemistry reads, back to New York, flying back to L.A. to do a screen test, and it looked like I was the director’s choice for the role,” he added.

“On Guiding Light, there was a killer in town, as you’ll recall, and, so, I think they needed somebody to pin it all on, and I think the executive producer, very kindly, wanted to free me up, just in case this job came through, and said, ‘Hey, you’re going to be the killer, we’re writing you off the show,” Bomer said.

“I guess I basically got fired, but in a generous way,” he added.

When questioned whether he believes “what you were keeping private about yourself still at that time might have been used against you,” Bomer said, “Yeah, that’s my understanding.”

“That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponized against you,” he added. “How, and why, and who, I don’t know, but yeah, that’s my understanding.”

He eventually came out publicly in 2012 and acknowledged the challenges and sacrifices of being openly gay in Hollywood, citing a potential impact on his career opportunities.

“There are definitely more opportunities for gay actors than ever before – but there’s still a price to pay for being out,” Bomer said in 2020.

“I came out at a time when it was very risky to do so,” Bomer added. “I had a studio film that was about to premiere, and a television series coming out. But to me it was more important to be my most authentic self, both for my family, and for myself.”