Glenn Close Says “Anyone Should Be Able To Play Anyone” In Response To ‘Rub & Tug’ Controversy

There has been ongoing media attention and conversation around Scarlett Johansson‘s casting as Dante Tex Gill in “Rug & Tug,” a  film that would have seen the actress play the part of a trans-man who ran a steroids empire and a ring of illicit massage parlors in the ‘70s.

When the Internet found out last month that Johansson would star and produce in a biopic about Pittsburgh crime boss,  the backlash came quick and hard, with LGBTQ actors, actresses, and groups coming out against her casting, calling it problematic.

READ MORE: Scarlett Johansson Responds To Backlash Over ‘Rub & Tug’ With A Defiant Statement

Johansson, then, pulled out of the project, with a statement saying, “In light of recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting as Dante Tex Gill, I have decided to respectfully withdraw my participation in the project.”  Since Johansson’s withdrawal from the project and the announcement that the film may not move forward without her, legendary actress, Glenn Close, is commenting on the issue.

“My thinking right now is that people who are producing and directing properties like that need to go out of their way to get trans actors jobs… but they also should have the opportunity to cast the best person,” Close told reporter Diederik van Hoogstraten on The HFPA in Conversation (via IndieWire). “Acting is a craft… I think personally that anyone should be able to play anyone.”

Close received an Oscar nomination for the 2011 film “Albert Nobbs” in which she portrays a woman who presents herself as a man in order to advance through 19th century Irish society. While it should be noted that Close and her fellow “Albert Nobbs” cast members maintain that character itself was not transgender, Close stated she “understood the frustration” surrounding Johansson’s short-lived casting as a transgender man.

Either way, this could all be a moot point as “Rub & Tug” may not even go before cameras. However, with Close’s statement, it’s clear this is not a discussion that will be going away anytime soon.