Nathan Lane has claimed he missed out on a role in Space Jam because of his sexuality.
The Tony-winner, 69, who shot to fame in The Birdcage – a 1996 comedy about a queer couple forced back in the closet for the sake of their son – was “terrified” to be outed and didn’t come out until 1999.
Lane said he had been hosting the Tony Awards in 1996 when Space Jam’s director, Joe Pytka, observed he was “too gay” to play Michael Jordan’s assistant in the film and cast Wayne Knight instead.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, he said: “I was up for that part…Apparently the director saw me hosting the Tony Awards and thought that suggested I was too gay to play the part.”
However, Lane claimed he “didn’t really care about” losing out on the role, adding: “So thank God, I didn’t have to do Space Jam.”
He added: “But I don’t know. I’ll never know what people say. Homophobia is alive and well, still.”
The Independent has contacted Pytka’s representatives for comment.
Elsewhere in the interview, Lane detailed the challenges The Birdcage brought to his career. “I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, but I can’t help but think that it played a part,” he said.
Lane’s agent at the time even warned against the actor coming out in case it impacted his chance of scoring roles.
“In the beginning, I never really pursued film,” he said. “I always thought theatre was a more interesting place to be, because you learn more about acting that way.
“Movies were just to pay the bills so I could keep doing theatre. Then The Birdcage came along. I thought perhaps because of the success of that, it’d lead to other films, but then it didn’t. It really didn’t.”
He recalled: “I said to my agent, ‘I thought more would happen after The Birdcage. He said, ‘Maybe if you weren’t so open about your lifestyle, it would have.’”
Lane continued: “And he was an old queen telling me this. So I left him. […] There weren’t a lot of opportunities.”
The Birdcage director Mike Nichols then helped Lane to find new representation at CAA.
However, the star admitted he still struggled to reach the success he wanted: “Hollywood figured out nothing when it comes to me,” he said. “I wish they’d figured out what to do with me.”
Back in 2023, Lane revealed how Robin Williams, who starred alongside him in The Birdcage, had protected him from questions about his sexuality at the time of the film’s release.
During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lane was asked whether he was afraid of being “typecast” for the role, at which point Williams jumped in and distracted the talk show host.
Lane described the comedian as a “saint” for the way he’d helped him navigate media attention. “Robin was just the greatest person,” he said. “Such a beautiful, sensitive soul and so kind and generous to me.”
