Tom Hanks’ performance as a gay man in the 1993 film “Philadelphia” is one that he says wouldn’t, and shouldn’t, exist today. It’s got streaming columnist NICK OVERALL scratching his head…

IN an interview with “The New York Times” last month, the legendary actor Tom Hanks declared that many audiences in this day and age would no longer accept a heterosexual playing a homosexual.

“Rightly so”, Mr Hanks said.

“One of the reasons people weren’t afraid of that movie is that I was playing a gay man.

“We’re beyond that now, and I don’t think people would accept the inauthenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy.”

As one might guess, many applauded Mr Hanks’ comments, especially those ensconced in the halls of the rigidly woke Twitter echo chambers.

Despite the sentiment, a keen eye may also note that Hanks is not a toy cowboy that comes to life when people aren’t looking, yet he did a pretty bang-up job acting as one.

He’s also not a DaVinci Code solving symbolist and, as far as I can recall, he’s never been stranded on a deserted island for years after a plane crash. What about the “authenticity” there?

The role of an actor is to create authenticity and suspend the audience’s disbelief and Hanks is undeniably of the best there is at it.

He’s proven his incredible ability to do it yet again in Baz Luhrmann’s epic “Elvis” biopic that’s currently in cinemas. 

In it, he plays the King of rock’s cunning, manipulative and downright financially abusive manager. I don’t know about you, but Hanks doesn’t strike me as that type of person either.

It’s almost as if those in the entertainment industry are trying to barricade themselves in virtue signalling before the insatiable, politically correct mob can hunt them down.

Take a look at Marta Kauffman, a co-creator of “Friends”, who recently apologised that her iconic show did not feature any black actors in its main cast.

One of the most crushingly ironic things about Hanks’ comments is that the Academy, which continues to lose viewership by the year due to its overt political correctness, saw his performance of the gay man as fit for the best-actor Oscar in 1994.

He deserved the acclaim, and so did “Philadelphia”. It was one of the first major Hollywood films to confront the AIDS crisis head-on and do it well.

For those who haven’t seen it, the movie is loosely based on the true story of a gay man who hired an intrepid lawyer (played by Denzel Washington) to fight back against a corporate law firm that fires him after finding out he has HIV.

An actor as talented and prolific as Hanks putting his name to such a story represented a breakthrough for the discourse of such an important issue.

What then do his comments, and the praise for them, mean for films such as “Moonlight”, as another example?

Many will know “Moonlight” (on Stan) as a visually mesmerising examination of the life of a gay black man in America, which was the winner of 2016’s best picture.

And yet one of its leads, Mahershala Ali, who also won an Oscar for his performance as the homosexual man, is married to a woman. 

Despite that, “Moonlight” is widely considered as one of the most important LGBTQI+ films to date.

There’s also last year’s miniseries hit “It’s a Sin” (on Stan) a British five-parter that follows a group of teens in the ‘80s who live through the height of the UK HIV crisis.

A look at the cast will show some of the gay characters are played by gay actors, but at the same time, just as many are straight. Would those unfamiliar with the personal lives of the cast be able to tell the difference?

Let’s also not forget the reverse situation. Many gay actors today play an abundance of straight roles, and do so just fine. A particularly comical example that comes to mind is Neil Patrick Harris, a proudly gay man who is famous for playing a womaniser on “How I Met Your Mother” (Disney Plus).

If actors, or indeed other artists, are to section their talents into work that exists purely in tandem with their identity, we are only going to see the exploration of important topics stifled, rather than embraced.

“Philadelphia” can be streamed on Binge. Rightly so.