Matt Bomer has opened up about losing the lead role in a Superman film due to him being gay.
Since making his debut in the early 2000s, the beloved talent has captivated audiences with his dreamy good looks and superb acting performances in White Collar, Fellow Travellers and The Normal Heart, to name a few.
While Bomer’s journey within the entertainment industry has been full of success, he has also experienced his fair share of setbacks – including the time he lost out on playing the Man of Steel/Clark Kent due to his sexuality.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, the Chuck star revealed that he was once in talks to star in J.J. Abrams’ shelved Superman: Flyby film.
“I went in on a cattle call for Superman, [which] turned into a one-month audition experience where I was auditioning again and again and again,” Bomer revealed, who was starring on the hit US soap opera Guiding Light at the time.
“On Guiding Light, there was a killer in town… so the executive producer, very kindly, wanted to free me up in case the [Superman] job came through,” he continued.
“So [ the producer] said, ‘Hey, you’re going to be the killer. We’re writing you off the show, go with my blessing.’ So, I basically got fired, but in a generous way.”
Bomer went on to say that everything pointed to him being the director’s first choice, adding that he even signed a three-picture deal with Warner Brothers.
However, despite the cards seemingly lining up for him, producers decided not to give him the role.
When asked if the decision stemmed from him being gay, The Boys in the Band star promptly agreed.
“Yeah, that’s my understanding. That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponized against you,” the Papi Chulo star said.
At the time, Bomer was not publicly out, with him opening up about his sexuality for the first time at the 2012 Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards.
“How, and why, and who I don’t know, but yeah, that’s my understanding,” he concluded.
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Years before Bomer’s eye-opening interview, writer and actor Jackie Collins told a similar story to Gaydar Radio in 2012, adding that specific individuals within the industry knew the former was gay before he publicly came out.
“His audition tape went in and he called up the agent. Someone didn’t like him and told [the producers] he was gay. They said, ‘No, no, we can’t cast you.’ The reason he didn’t get cast was because he was gay,” she revealed, as reported by Advocate.
While Bomer didn’t land the part in Superman: Flyby, he did go on to voice the beloved character in the 2013 animated film Superman: Unbound.
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