LGBT ROLES SCORE GOLDEN GLOBES

Jared Leto and Michael Douglas each scooped a Golden Globe award in Beverly Hills on Sunday for playing LGBT characters.

Leto (42), who’s received acclaim for his role as Rayon, an HIV positive transgender woman in the film Dallas Buyers Club, was honoured with the Best Supporting Actor in a motion picture award.

“I’d like this opportunity to clear up a few things,” the star said when accepting his award. “I did not ever use any prosthetics in this film. That tiny little Brazilian bubble butt was all mine.”

He went on to talk about his preparation for the role. “One of the things I did was wax my entire body including my eyebrows. I’m just fortunate that it wasn’t a period piece so I didn’t have to do a full Brazilian. Ladies, you know what I’m talking about though.. and so do some of you men, I think.”

Dallas Buyers Club tells the true story of heterosexual electrician Ron Woodroof (played by Matthew McConaughey) who took on the medical establishment after he was diagnosed with HIV in 1986. McConaughey also won Best Actor in a motion picture, drama, for his performance.

Douglas’ impressive take on the late flamboyant pianist Liberace in Behind the Candelabra saw him win the Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie award.

In his acceptance speech, Douglas (69) described co-star Matt Damon, who played his lover in the film, as “the bravest, talented actor I’ve ever worked with,” adding that “the only reason you’re not here is…I had more sequins”.

Behind the Candelabra, which was shown on the HBO network in the US, was also recognised as the Best TV Miniseries or Movie of the past year.

Salon’s Dario D’Addario, however, was not very celebratory about Leto and Douglas’ wins. He accused both heterosexual actors of homophobia and insensitivity in their acceptance speeches.

He slammed Leto for never mentioning the issue of HIV, which Dallas Buyers Club deals with, and for instead “trivializing actual transgender people” by focusing on his physical transformation.

Douglas was criticised for revealing, to the audience’s amusement, that when he was first offered the role of Liberace he feared it was because he might have been “mincing”.

“Can a person who uses language like ‘mincing’ to describe effeminate gay men find humanity in such people?” asked D’Addario. “Or was his performance an elaborate work of caricature whose biographical accuracy fooled us all into thinking Michael Douglas cared about the character he was playing?”

Other films that scored major awards at the 71st Golden Globes included:

• 12 Years a Slave (Best motion picture, drama)
• Blue Jasmine (Best Actress in a motion picture, drama Cate Blanchett)
• Wolf of Wall Street (Best Actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy – Leonardo Dicaprio)
• American Hustle (Best motion picture, musical or comedy; Best Actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy – Amy Adams; Best supporting Actress in a motion picture – Jennifer Lawrence)
• Gravity (Best Director, motion picture – Alfonso Cuaron)

Behind the Candelabra is now out on DVD in South Africa. Dallas Buyers Club will be released in cinemas on 26 February.