By Nicole Douglas For Daily Mail Australia
Published: 18:02 EDT, 4 December 2021 | Updated: 21:43 EDT, 4 December 2021
Hugo Weaving has revealed why gay actors weren't hired to play the lead roles in cult 1994 movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
In the movie, the 61-year-old starred alongside Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp as two drag queens and a transgender woman who venture across Australia in a tour bus - with all three of the protagonists being straight men off-screen.
Speaking to Stellar on Sunday, Weaving weighed in on the debate as to whether or not the role should have been played by a gay actor - before claiming that at the time, 'no gay actor wanted to be seen playing those roles'.
Speaking out: Hugo Weaving, 61, (pictured) has revealed why gay actors weren't hired to play the lead roles in cult 1994 movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
'In fact, [writer and director] Stephan [Elliott] approached a number of gay actors – not that you have to be gay to play a drag queen – but they didn't want to be playing those roles,' he said.
Weaving added that the three actors were 'lauded' for playing the roles because of how 'heterosexual' they were - something he described as 'nonsense'.
'The nonsense surrounding it was extraordinary,' he added. 'Also, the logical extension of the argument is that if you have to be gay to play a gay person, then do you have to be a murderer to play a murderer?'
Cult classic: In the movie, Weaving (right) starred alongside Guy Pearce (left) and Terence Stamp (centre) as two drag queens and a transgender woman who venture across Australia in a tour bus - with all three of the protagonists being straight men off-screen
Weaving went on to say that he is glad to see that the world is changing, and is more diverse and respectful towards people of all diversities.
But when it comes to casting, he believes any person should be able to play any role.
'There's an insanity about the casting - the whole idea of acting is to understand the 'other'. Actors perform a role, which is to illuminate the other – not to illuminate themselves,' he said.
Popular: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was an LGBTQ+ cult hit that grossed 10.1 million at the box office in 1994
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was an LGBTQ+ cult hit that grossed 10.1 million at the box office in 1994.
Meanwhile, Hugo is set to return to Australian TV screens this Boxing Day with his new series Love Me.
The series will co-star Bojana Novakovic and William Lodder.
Read more: Catch Hugo Weaving's full interview in this week's Stellar magazine
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