Nathan Lane revealed on “Sunday In the present day” that Robin Williams as soon as protected him from popping out as homosexual towards his will on nationwide tv. The yr was 1996 and Lane and Williams had been on their press tour for Mike Nichols’ “The Birdcage,” during which they play a homosexual couple attempting to marry off their son to a conservative couple’s daughter. Lane was nervous about doing an interview on “The Oprah Winfrey Present” as “The Birdcage” was one among his first main movie roles, and he didn’t wish to come out publicly as homosexual on the time.
“I used to be not ready in any respect for that,” Lane stated about brazenly discussing his sexuality on the time. “And I definitely wasn’t able to go from table-to-table and inform all of them I used to be homosexual. I simply needed to speak about lastly [getting] a giant half in a film, and I didn’t wish to make it about my sexuality.”
After all, Lane knew that enjoying a homosexual character within the movie would make discussing his sexuality in actual life “kind of unavoidable,” however he nonetheless wasn’t prepared to take action.
“I don’t suppose Oprah was attempting to out me, however I stated to Robin beforehand, ‘I’m not ready. I’m so terrified of going on the market and speaking to Oprah. I’m not ready to debate that I’m homosexual on nationwide tv. I’m not prepared,’” Lane stated. “He stated, ‘Oh, it’s alright, don’t fear about — we don’t have to speak about it. We received’t discuss it.’”
Winfrey did find yourself asking questions that left the door open for Lane to return out. “She was like, ‘How come you’re so good at that girlie stuff? Are you nervous about being typecast?’” the actor remembered.
In response to Lane, Williams “kind of swoops in and diverts Oprah, goes off on a tangent and protects me as a result of he was a saint.” Lane known as Williams a “stunning, delicate soul.”
“I simply wasn’t prepared to try this,” Lane added. “Now you need to make a public assertion about it — I used to be terrified… It’s nice that everybody now feels snug however homophobia is alive and nicely and there are many homosexual people who find themselves nonetheless hiding.”
Watch a part of Lane’s interview on “Sunday In the present day” within the video under.
