Raise your hand if you still think of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tommy Solomon on 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001). A team of aliens is sent to Earth, disguised as a "typical human family," but their superiors get the ages and genders mixed up. The male security officer becomes a woman, Sally (played by Kristen Johnsten, who would go on to play Eli's estranged sister on The Righteous Gemstones). The middle aged information officer becomes prepubescent Tommy. Poor guy has to go through puberty twice.
There were no regular gay characters, and only two references, in "mistaken for gay" episodes, but Sally, as a male being presenting as a woman, has a queer aura in spite of her heterosexual interests. Plus John Lithgow, a vocal ally who has played gay and trans characters, imbued team leader Dick Solomon with a number of queer codea, explained as his lack of experience with human customs.
Joseph was a busy child star long before 3rd Rock, with guest spots on Murder She Wrote, LA Law, Quantum Leap, Family Ties, and Roseanne, and starring roles in the 1991 Dark Shadows reboot (as David Collins, heir to the vampire-ridden dynasty) and the 1992 Powers that Be (as the grandson of the unhinged Senator Powers).
I've already reviewed The Great Elephant Escape (1995), a buddy-bonding adventure set in East Africa.
Duriing and after 3rd Rock, Joseph appeared in several projects of gay interest:
On a 1998 episode of That 70s Show, about a group of high school friends in 1970s Milwaukee, focus character Eric befriends his chemistry lab partner, Buddy (Joseph), who thinks they are dating and kisses him. Eric struggles with the realization, but in the end decides to stay friends with Buddy anyway. Buddy was supposed to be an ongoing character, but homophobic fans objected, so he was dropped.
Some historians call it the first male same-sex kiss on tv, but it doesn't really count, since Eric didn't consent. The first kiss where both men consent aired in 2004.
Latter Days (2003) features a romance between closeted Mormon missionary Aaron (Steve Sandvoss, middle) and out-and-proud, heavily partying Christian (Wes Ramsey, left). They end up leaving the church and tthe party subculture, respectively.
Left: Wes Ramsey's butt
Joseph auditioned to play Aaron, but the directors thought that his aggressive manner was better suited to the homophobic missionary Paul.
Mysterious Skin (2004) features two boys, Neill and Brian (Joseph, Brady Corbet), who are abused by their Little League coach. When they grow up, Neil becomes a hustler (gay, but with a girlfriend), while Brian is experiencing "missing time" and believes that he was abducted by aliens.
Left: The butt of Joseph as an adult.
I didn't watch because I heard that it was homophobic, presenting the idea that the abuse "turned" the boys gay.
Then the gay content abruptly ends. Joe's character even uses a homophobic slur in Don Jon (2013). He explains, "that character would say that." So it's realistic to offend your gay fans?
In the same interview, he's asked about his gay fans, and replies: "I can't say it's something I really think about." Jerk!
Left: the jerk's butt.More after the break
We've seen this many times before: gay or gay-subtexts everywhere in adolescence, then aggressively heteronormative adult roles, as if the boy must give up "childish things," like the love of men, grow up, and embrace the hard, noble work of heterosexual romance.
Left: Joseph's bulge. I'm not sure which movie.
I've only seen two of Joseph's adult/heteronormative works:
Inception (2010): He plays Arthur, who orchestrates Leonardo DiCaprio's descent into the dream worlds, and kisses a girl.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012): He plays Batman's ally, a police detective whose first words are about "pretty girls."
But I checked for gay content in Joe's other projects. He wrote, produced, and starred in Mr. Corman (2021), an eight-episode series about a public school teacher in the San Fernando Valley. Arturo Castro, the gay roommate in Broad City, co-starred as his roommate Victor. Whoops, this time he's straight..
I thought the tv series Super-Pumped (2022) would be about bodybuilders. It's about the Uber ridesharing app with Joe playing CEO Travis Kalanick.
Business? What a boring topic. Besides, he has two girlfriends.
Glass Onion (2022): A murder mystery with Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, who is gay (referenced in a single "blink and you miss it" scene without saying the word). On the Greek island where the murders take place, a voice yells "Dong" every hour (as in the dong of a clock). Joseph provides the voice. He also does a baseball announcer's voice in the next movie in the series, Wake Up Dead Man (2025).
I give up. Let's just take a look at Joe's dick.
This is all I could find, probably an artist's interpretation. Joe says that he won't display his junk on screen: "It would be distracting." Come on, we've seen Brock O'Hurn aroused. I'm sure we can handle whatever you have down there.
How the mighty have fallen.
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