I've been watching 11.22.63, with Jake (James Franco), disillusioned by how awful his life (and everything in general) is in 2016, takes a time portal to 1960 in an attempt to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy and make the life perfect. In Episode 2, he hooks up with Bill (George MacKay), a Kentucky redneck with a standard Stephen King backstory -- abusive father, murdered sister.
They have to live together for several years while waiting for Lee Harvey Oswald to show up, so they pass themselves off as...um... brothers. Not much of a gay subtext-- Episode 3 is entitled Other Voices, Other Rooms, but it has nothing to do with the Truman Capote novel about gay awakening, and Bill's heterosexual identity is established very quickly, when the guys relax by going to a strip club. But at least some people suspect that the two are a gay couple, and Bill is beaten up in what we would call a homophobic hate crime. Later he is institutionalized and given shock therapy, a common experience for gay men in the early 1960s. And killed.
So, a queer-coded character, displayed in his underwear a lot. Enough for me to check to see if George MacKay has played any other gay-subtext roles, or is gay in real life.
He was born in 1992, and broke into film as one of the Lost Boys in Peter Pan (2003). Then he played a gang member in The Thief Lord (2006), which I recall as having a gay-subtext bond, but not with his character.
Next came a long string of angst dramas :
The Boys are Back (2009): man with a dying wife and estranged sons.
Private Peaceful (2012): Tommo (George) has a brain-damaged brother, sees his father being crushed by a tree, loses the Girl of His Dreams to his other brother (Jack O'Connell). They go to war together, and Bro disobeys an order to abandon the wounded Tommo, and is executed. Sounds delightful.
How I Live Now (2013): Daisy, who has a dead mother (of course), survives a nuclear war, sees her friends massacred, finds her boyfriend (George) severely injured, and nurses him back to health. Lovely.
The Outcast (2015), a two-part tv movie: Lewis (George) sees his mother drown (of course), grows up feeling responsible, so he self-harms and sets a church on fire. He spends time in prison, then confronts his toxic family members (hint: every man is bullying and abusive), and confesses his love for The Girl of His Dreams before...you guessed it...going to War. Ugh! Or as one reviewer notes, a "relentlessly emotional, heart-tugging story of tragedy."
Does every single one of George's movie and tv roles involve a dying parent or sibling, a severe injury in wartime, a lot of other tragedies, and the endless misery of life? I'm surprised someone doesn't start singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
Let's check his gay and gay-subtext roles:
I already reviewed 1917 (2019). The tragedies piled on World War I soldier George and his gay subtext boyfriend (Richard Madden) were laughably unyielding. The darn thing was too grim even for torture porn. I I was wondering why they didn't have him bitten by a zombie. But the gay subtext lasted until the last scene, with a last-minute tacked-on reference to a girlfriend back home. I can hear the writers panicking: "Wait, we forgot to establish that he's straight"
Left: Richard Madden in Sirens. He's playing the gay Ashley Greenwick (stereotyped name, that) caught in the act. I don't know who the disgusted buddy is.
Pride (2014): Members of the gay group LGSM are raising money for the families affected by the British Miners' Strike (1984). Joe (George) is so closeted that his out-and-proud boyfriend dumps him, and dies of AIDS two years later. Bummer, but at least it's a gay role.
True History of the Kelly Gang (2019): George plays the notorious Australian bushranger (outlaw), who has a gay friend (Nicholas Hoult) and likes to hang out affectionately with his male crew, sometimes in dresses, but also gets a girlfriend. It ends badly.
In Femme (2023), George plays Preston, a homophobic gang member who beats up and then starts hooking up with a drag queen. But she gets revenge by filming their encounters and showing his friends, so they suspect him of being gay. Preston gets angry and beats her to a pulp, but doesn't kill her.
OMG, George, what is this, Hee-Haw?
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
More after the break
How about a comedy, buddy? Not many. George explains: "It hasn’t been a conscious thing, but a mix of my taste for a more independent cinema, and also of roles that I have fought for and haven’t gotten." He's gotten three:
Sunshine on Leith (2013): "The feel-fabulous film of the year!"; "Exuberantly funny!" Soldiers Davy (George) and Ally (Kevin Guthrie) return from Afghanistan to their girlfriends, with whom they have romantic conflicts. It doesn't sound like they have a gay subtext romance, but at least there are no dying parents. Oh, wait, there's a dead mother, a funeral, and a heart attack.
A 2016 episode of Neil Gaiman's Likely Stories: Loner discovers that he has an STD, which is odd because he's been celibate for 3 years. Turns out that his body is being taken over by someone else, who is having all the fun, while he gets the consequences.
A Guide to Second Date Sex (2019): Laura and Ryan (George) prepare for a second date, but they have no experience with romantic relationships, so they seek their experienced friends' advice. Such as Ryan's misogynistic roommate (Michael Socha) and Laura's crazy mother. I watched the trailer -- no one dies. Break out the confetti.
The rest can be answered quickly.
Gay in real life: No, wife and kid
Nude photos: His butt a lot, but his only dick shot is from the back. It looks a little small. George, there's nothing wrong with having a small dick. It's doesn't mean that life has to be relentless gloom.
See also: November 22, 1963: Failed writer goes back to practically perfect 1960. Does he buddy bond, or meet The Girl? With Franco cock but no glory holes
"1917": Laughable Torture Porn with a Final Heterosexist Dig
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