MovieChat Forums > Albert Nobbs (2012) Discussion > Women playing men: a short list

Women playing men: a short list

posted 13 years ago by Vashbul
32 replies | jump to latest

This board seems as good a place as any to talk about actresses who play men in the movies.

It's not an easy trick to pull off. I saw the trailer for Albert Nobbs and, not immediately recognizing Glenn Close, I caught on pretty fast that Albert wasn't a man. Usually the voice is a tipoff, and even clean-shaven men always have a trace of five o'clock shadow - not Albert. Suzy Amis in "The Ballad of Little Jo" also had this problem.

I can think of three cases that utterly fooled me, and caused my jaw to drop when I read the credits. Lily Tomlin had a brief bit as a homeless man with a yen for Belgian waffles in "Blue in the Face". Meryl Streep was amazing as an 80-year-old rabbi in "Angels in America". (In both cases, chin whiskers helped the illusion.)

The winner by a mile is Linda Hunt in "The Year of Living Dangerously", utterly convincing as an Asian dwarf photojournalist named Billy Kwan. I saw her name in the credits and thought, how unusual, a man named Linda.

[–] julikell 13 years ago

Glenn Close was not playing a man. She was playing a women pretending to be a man.

And you knew this when you saw the trailer, so you didn't 'catch on pretty quick'.

The 'utterly fooled me' list were women who were playing male characters.

[–] Vashbul 13 years ago

I caught on before it was revealed that Albert was a woman, halfway into the trailer. Point is, I wasn't convinced this character could pass.

[–] TheSummer2012 13 years ago

Glenn Close was not playing a man. She was playing a women pretending to be a man.

Very important distinction and absolutely correct.

[–] chipp_zanuff_77 13 years ago

i agree with you, playing a woman pretending to be a man is sooooo different than a woman playing a male role.

[–] alsotiger7 13 years ago

Tilda Swinton was pretty good at gender bending in Orlando. She could've played Albert Nobbs as well as anyone.

[–] LeenPeeters 13 years ago

Sorry, I don't agree with the Orlando choice. i loved the book and found the casting of Tilda Swindon (although she is a great actress) not really successful. In hindsight, Janet McTeer would have been perfect!

[–] stickemup 13 years ago

Maybe better.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] GentianViolet 13 years ago

Felicity Huffman in Transamerica.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] patrick_bateman_90029 13 years ago

But in Transamerica's case, she was playing a pre (later post)-op transsexual.

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[–] doktorf 13 years ago

Huffman was playing a transsexual which is also distinct from a woman playing a man.

[–] GentianViolet 12 years ago

Good point, which I hadn't thought of.

[–] wierpmesch 12 years ago

Jaye Davidson as Dil in The crying game.

[–] the sphynx 12 years ago

You do know there is a difference between a woman playing a man, and a man playing a woman, right?

[–] wierpmesch 11 years ago

No, I don't. Please explain.

[–] the sphynx 11 years ago

This thread is about females playing male parts, not about any actors/actresses playing opposite-gender parts. Jaye Davidson in "The Crying Game" was a male playing a female (well, crossdressed or partially transgendered male-to-female) part, a much commoner phenomenon in movies, and not relevant to this discussion.

[–] pvd295 10 years ago

Can't leave out Streisand in 'Yentl', in which she was woman pretending to be a man....and about 20 years younger than she actually was.

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[–] desibeo 13 years ago

Johanna Wokalek in "Pope Joan" was pretty convincing.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] RCeditor 13 years ago

Hilary Swank "in Boys Don't Cry". She was playing a woman pretending to be a man.

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[–] cpfh 13 years ago

That's interesting. Can anyone think of a film where a woman actor is playing a male role, not a woman-in-man's-clothing role?

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] bugmouthga 12 years ago

Diminutive actress Linda Hunt portrayed a dwarf male in "The Year of Living Dangerously" opposite Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver in 1982, I think (or 83). She was not playing someone in drag, she was playing a straight, male character. She won best supporting actress for her performance. It's really intriguing to watch. :)

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[–] agnieszka01 12 years ago

Not specifically, but I do remember watching "Dr. Zhivago" and being creeped out by how the boy characters were dubbed with women's voices. Why? Could they not speak for themselves? Were they Russian actors who did not speak any English? If so, why did they have women do the boys' voices, rather than English-speaking boy actors? I hated Dr. Zhivago, partly for that reason. Creepy! Their voices were almost catlike.

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[–] bob998 10 years ago

Off topic, I guess... but theater has many instances of a woman playing a male part. Ex: Fiona Shaw playing Richard II, or Sarah Bernhardt playing Hamlet.

[–] jenny-williams1 9 years ago

Of course it's the standard thing in pantomimes. The handsome young male hero is always played by a woman, and there is always at least one guy in drag hamming it up as a not very attractive woman! That's one of the things that makes them fun. Also off topic I'm afraid, but I just thought of it after the comment about it occurring in theatre.

[–] Gregoire-2 13 years ago

Jamie Lee Curtis in 'A Fish Called Wanda'

[–] themill 12 years ago

Glenn Close does play a man for just a minute in "Hook," I think. "NOOOO! Not the boo-box!" ;P

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] crockett_john 9 years ago

Mary Martin and Cathy Rigby as Peter Pan.

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[–] cine-maum 9 years ago

Did anyone see Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in " Im Not There" ?
I didnt see it, but cant recall a Cate Blanchett movie, that she hasnt perfected her character yet. Even if the movie is lacking, she's always a stellar performer.

Albert Nobbs was extremely interesting. Mustve been so hard for women who didnt marry,to stay alive when they could not work many places