Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet got separate covers for the latest issue of British GQ Style. They’re promoting Call Me By Your Name, which is already a film-festival darling and likely Oscar contender. They play lovers, and it’s being billed a sensual gay love story set in Italy, where all sensual love stories should play out. Armie, who is a straight, married, cisgendered white dude, has already shown sensitivity and ally-ship in defending this film and I would assume he’s quietly preparing his answers for the millions of times he’s going to be asked about what it was like for him to play a gay character in the midst of a sensual love affair. What the studio is hoping for is to not read headlines like this:
Armie Hammer was ‘terrified’ before filming gay sex scenes in “Call Me By Your Name” – More at: https://t.co/7lr72oY6Y5 pic.twitter.com/VNVScYXVQO
— Queerty (@Queerty) September 19, 2017
NOT WOKE, ARMIE! TOO MUCH GAY PANIC. But when you actually read the quotes from British GQ Style, it seemed like he was just talking as an actor being nervous for any love scene:
Hammer on being a nervous actor: “I was terrified before we were going to do it. I wouldn’t say it out loud… But I was nervous. This was a new experience. Having to free yourself so completely while being naked with a man in front of a room full of people, when you think about the prospect of that, it sounds really difficult. But when you’re there doing it, it’s incredible easy. So, the build-up was a lot more intense than the actual filming.”
On the difference between formulating sexual chemistry on screen with a man versus a woman: “I don’t really feel that there’s much of a difference. Trying to create chemistry with a human is trying to create chemistry with a human. It’s about taking it off of yourself and reading them and taking what they’re giving you and allowing it to affect you. It’s about being so close and intimate with someone that you can detect those subtle changes that allow you to go on this sort of subtle dance.”
I think it’s perfectly normal for any actor, male or female, to be nervous or terrified before doing love scenes, sex scenes, whatever. I think it’s easy to parse what Armie said and make it into a story about how he was “terrified” of doing a gay-love scene specifically, but I think he was just generally nervous about being naked. Armie also hasn’t played the romantic lead in many films, nor has he done that many love scenes, which might have been why he was nervous. In any case, don’t yell at Armie! Let’s wait to see if he says something specific that comes across as not being a supportive ally. Note to Armie: please don’t pull an Andrew Garfield and claim that you’re totally “gay without the physical act” now.
Cover courtesy of British GQ Style, additional photo courtesy of WENN.
And please don’t say you watched RuPaul’s Drag Race to prepare for the part.
I agree that we was (fairly obviously) talking about nude sex scenes in general, not “gay” sex scenes. Much ado about nothing.
smcollins Agreed! 🙂
Agreed. No story here.
Yeah I just read the full interview actually and as a gay guy myself I think what He meant was that he was nervous about the whole intimate scene, I didn’t really get any other vibes, Either way I think he is gorgeous and handsome, Cant wait to see the movie myself when it premiers here in Namibia (Not Nambia)
Yes Mario, he’s absolutely gorgeous. Totally agree!
Even if he meant because it was a gay sex scene that doesn’t make it problematic. Given the pressures of masculinity, I understand him being scared. It doesn’t make him less of an ally. At the end of the day, he filmed the scene. If he talked the talked, but decided he couldn’t walk the walk, then I’d side eye him.
Exactly. Technically, how else is he supposed to feel? He took the role full well knowing what he would have to do so he clearly is okay with it. He’s allowed to be nervous about something he’s never done before. He took the role, filled it (well, I’m sure) and now he’s reflecting.
I see nothing wrong with those quotes? Even if he was specifically referring to a gay scenes, he doesn’t say exactly what he was terrified of except the new experience. He didn’t say “I didn’t want to kiss a dude. Gross.”
Looool! Exactly
I think it’s okay to be terrified of filming a gay scene, although that’s not what he said at all. Even if he had meant that he was nervous because it made him confront his homophobia and get over it – which, again, is not what he’s saying here – that’s cool. Being honest about the prejudices we carry with us and showing how they can be confronted and overcome would be a fine way to help enlighten others. Prejudices are changeable traits.
Tbh the movie is pretty creepy. A 17 year old and a 25 year old? But it’s progressive so it’s fine.
Please.
When I was younger, that was not a problematic age gap at all. Nowadays though young people seem so young. Not sure if that’s because of my age, or the way people are brought up now versus the 80s-90s and prior. Too, everything is so sexualized early on even when it shouldn’t be. Although if my mother had known who and what I was doing at 17 she would’ve been freaking out.
Yeah. Same feeling I had with The Reader. It happened in a different time and in a foreign land where there is a different age of consent but still I can’t shake the icky feeling off. What if the plot was criticized by a known Hollywood liberal and not by James Woods. It would have triggered a different internet reaction,
The Reader was such an amazing film though. I also found the age gap a bit disturbing but it was an outstanding film, imo.
He and the young boy look SO mismatch together. If this was Armie romancing someone like Chole Grace Mortez people would speak up and be outraged but I guess since it’s two guys no will say anything.
I get frustrated when people pick headlines from something that’s clearly not what the person was saying.. like that Queerty tweet. Its so misleading, and a lot of people only read headlines and jump to conclusions. I’d be upset about this if I was Hammer.
Yeah, I had a feeling the headline was taken out of context and I was glad to see I was right. It is very misleading.
Hmmm, it’s not that offensive. It was not like what James Franco said about filming a gay love scene with Sean Penn in Milk where he seemed repulsed by two straight guys kissing. He admitted to being awkward the whole time. Didn’t you read the script, James? He recounted his Milk kiss scenes on David Letterman and Dave was grossed out by it.
Wellllll tbh, I think If I had to make out with Sean Penn, Id be grossed out too, Just saying.
Meh. Who cares? I’d be terrified to film a love scene, straight or gay.
He looks so sexy on that cover!
Hasn’t Armie said (joked?) that he got aroused during his kissing scene with Leo Dicaprio? This quote definitely doesn’t come across the way the headline implies and based on what I have read from Armie in the past (and even based on the other quotes in this same article), I really don’t think he ever would have meant that he was terrified due to the gender of his scene partner. If anything, Armie has always given me bisexual vibes (I know he is happily married to a gorgeous woman and they have some cute kiddos but that doesn’t automatically make him straight).
He kissed Leonardo DiCaprio in a film about j Edgar Hoover so this isn’t new for him. Obviously a kiss isn’t a full love scene but the point is he hasn’t shied away from same sex I intimacy
oh c’mon the politically correctness sometimes is absurd, Given the context of his answers (it was incredibly easy doing the sex scene, there’s no difference with heterosexual sex scenes and chemistry, etc) and also considering he’s proven more than once to be the opposite of a bigot, Armie is ok. I’m not bothered by an actor confessing being afraid of something new.