13 Stars Who Went Gay For Pay

The world's best actors and actresses aren't afraid to switch up their sexuality on-screen. Charlize Theron, Jake Gyllenhaal and Leonardo DiCaprio are only a few of the big name heterosexual celebrities who've gone gay for pay. Some celebs have even rocked our worlds with their convincing, Oscar-worthy performances. Speaking of The Oscars, there are many straight actors and actresses who've won awards for their LGBT roles. Both William Hurt and Tom Hanks won Oscars in the late 80's and early 90's respectively for their impressive performances as gay men. Cher was also up for an Oscar for her role as Meryl Streep's lesbian roommate in the 1983 film Silkwood.

But these aren't the only big names who've swapped their sexuality on-screen to play a leading LGBT role. Here are 13 other actors and actresses who've gone gay for pay, and blown us away with their lesbian, gay and bisexual roles.

13 Heather Graham - Gray Matters

American model and actress Heather Graham, who's best known for her role in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, also became known for doing several lesbian roles.

In the 2007 film Gray Matters, Heather Graham plays Gray, one of the lead characters who has an unmistakable bond with her brother, and accidentally falls for his love interest. Seeing as how she thought she was straight, the movie highlights Gray's internal struggle with her sexual orientation.

Gray Matters isn't the only film we've seen Heather pull off a LGBT role in. She's no stranger to a thrilling sensual gay scene (or three), and plays a lesbian character in both Compulsion and About Cherry.

12 Hugh Grant - Maurice

We all know Hugh Grant for his roles as the charming (and straight) boyfriend in rom coms. So if it weren't for the film Maurice, we would've never known how well Hugh could play a gay man from the 1900's.

Maurice was released in 1987 as a British romantic drama (alright, so Hugh didn't stray too far from his usual line of work) based on the novel Maurice by E.M. Forster. Hugh Grant plays a man named Clive Durham, a wealthy, homosexual man who is attracted to the lead character, Maurice. When Clive realizes he shares the same feelings as Maurice, the two pursue a hot and heavy love affair until parting ways when Clive marries his bride.

Hugh Grant also played a gay man in the film Our Sons, which was released in 1991.

11 Julianne Moore - Freeheld

It could very well be that Academy Award-winning actress Julianne Moore has played the most LGBT characters compared to any other Hollywood star. It's said that Freeheld is her fifth time playing a lead role as a lesbian woman, from a confused and trapped lesbian mother to a lesbian housewife.

Julianne has explained that her sexuality has nothing to do with the lesbian roles she plays. Instead, she's interested in the scripts and the stories. But her LGBT roles seem to have influenced her personal life in a different way, as she's a supporter of LGBT rights and the equality movement and has supported several LGBT causes such as GLAAD.

10 Bruce Willis - The Jackal

Bruce Willis is another unlikely actor for gay roles, since we're so used to seeing him in dramas and thrillers where he always plays the heavily masculine characters. But never judge a book by it's cover because Bruce Willis is still capable of giving a semi-decent performance as a man with gay tendencies. In The Jackal, Bruce still plays a macho character, a serial killer, but his character visits a gay bar, picks up a gay man and kisses him on-screen, perhaps something we never thought we'd see good ol' Brucey do.

The only odd thing about Bruce's role in The Jackal is that there really doesn't seem to be an explanation as to why he killed a gay male instead of a female because as far as the audience knows, Bruce's character isn't actually gay.

Nonetheless, he gave us a taste of what else he's capable of, outside of his usual tough-guy roles.

9 Leonardo DiCaprio - Total Eclipse

Oh, how we fell for the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actor's romantic performance in Titanic. But as straight as he is in real life (and for the most part, the characters he plays, such as Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street), Leo has also given an amazing performance in a gay role.

That's right, Leo showed us what he's made of as an actor in the film Total Eclipse, where he plays a French poet in the 19th century, who falls in love with another male poet (played by David Thewlis).

Although we're used to seeing Leonardo DiCaprio in heterosexual love stories, his talent extends far enough to play a convincing gay male role, where there's no shortage of steamy sex scenes.

8 Piper Perabo - Lost and Delirious

In the 2001 drama Lost and Delirious, Piper Perabo plays a teenage girl in love with one of her classmates in the all girls boarding school she attends. The story is told from the perspective of Mary (Mischa Barton), who observes the chemistry between Piper's character and her classmate, Victoria (Jessica Pare). The film showcases how the teenage girls question their relationships with one another, while trying to find true love.

After her role in Lost and Delirious, Piper played another lesbian character in Imagine Me and You. Her character is a bride who struggles with her sexual orientation after falling for a female florist (played by Game of Thrones star Lena Headey) that she'd hired for her wedding, when marrying a man.

7 Naomi Watts - Mulholland Drive

Naomi Watts plays a woman suffering from amnesia in the cult film Mulholland Drive. Her character doesn't start out as a lesbian, but once she begins to lose a sense of herself, she searches for clues about her identity. Eventually, she ends up falling in love with the other lead female character.

Naomi Watts was said to be unconvinced about the performance initially, but Mulholland Drive was the move to put her on the map in Hollywood after being nominated for an Oscar. Her performance was obviously convincing to us, because we've seen her in dozens of roles (although mostly heterosexual roles) ever since.

6 Jada Pinkett Smith - The Women

The Woman tells a tangled love story, of two highly successful (and heterosexual) best friends who wind up questioning their sexuality after affairs, betrayal and mysterious encounters with other women. Jada Pinkett Smith's character is a lesbian author who winds up being in love with a woman who appears behind the Saks Fifth Avenue perfume counter (played by Eva Mendes).

When asked about how her lesbian role was received by her family, Jada said both her mom and aunt were extremely supportive and encouraged her to take the role. It's said the director was a female director who'd been working on the film for over 13 years.

5 Alyson Hannigan - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

It's hard to say whether we know Alyson best for her heterosexual role in How I Met Your Mother, or her lesbian role as Willow in the TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of Alyson Hannigan's 7 year role as a lesbian in Buffy, was the impact it had on lesbians on American TV. When the show debuted, the LGBT movement was almost considered taboo. By featuring a lesbian character, Buffy eliminated more of the taboo around lesbians than any other TV series or film. Alyson Hannigan portrayed a gay character who was also strong willed, powerful and successful.

4 Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain

Like Hugh Grant, Jake Gyllenhaal is someone we're used to seeing in romantic comedies, dramas and thrillers in masculine roles. But Brokeback Mountain changed up Jake's usual delivery of sexual chemistry on-screen.

Gyllenhaal plays Jack Twist, a character who ends up having a twenty-year-long affair with a ranch hand named Ennis Del Mar. A drunken night leads to the beginning of their two-decade-long romance. In the movie, both men end up marrying females but keep up their love affair throughout their marriages.

Gyllenhaal's performance as a gay man was so convincing that he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

3 Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain

The late Heath Ledger played opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain. Again, Ledger was better known for his masculine roles in film, such as A Knight's Tale and Lords of Dog Town. But he blew us away with his ability to give a believable performance as a gay man or at least as a straight man who fell in love with another man.

Heath Ledger was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in Brokeback Mountain in 2006, which was the only gay role he would play before tragically passing away in 2008.

2 Christina Ricci - Monster

Christina Ricci gives a thrilling performance in the drama Monster, which is based on the true story of the prostitute turned serial killer, Aileen Wuornos. Christina Ricci plays the lesbian character, Selby Wall, who is based on Tyria Moore, Aileen Wuornos's real life girlfriend.

We're used to seeing Ricci in dramas such as The Addams Family and Casper, and independent films such as The Opposite of Sex. But her role in Monster was the first we've seen of her ability to give a convincing performance in a lesbian role- and according to the reviews, she did a fantastic job.

1 Charlize Theron - Monster

Christina Ricci's role as a lesbian in Monster can't be mentioned without also mentioning Charlize Theron's powerful performance as the lead character, Aileen Wuornos.

Charlize has perhaps been one of the most convincing heterosexual actresses in a lesbian role, winning both a Golden Globe and Academy Award for her honest and chilling performance as the former prostitute and serial killer, Aileen Wuornos in Monster.

In the film, Charlize portrays the real life dreams of Aileen Wuornos on-screen, which included having a “normal” lifestyle with her 18-yea- old lesbian lover, Selby Wall (played by Christina Ricci). It was this dream that prompted Aileen Wuornos to begin robbing and murdering her clients, leading to her conviction as a brutal serial killer, and later a hit drama, where Charlize Theron gave us a taste of her ability in a lesbian role.