“Something like that could still really be weaponized against you”: Kevin Conroy Playing Batman Wasn’t Enough for Hollywood to Cast Gay Actor Matt Bomer as Superman

No actor has ever played Batman for as long as Kevin Conroy did. Starting off in 1992 in Batman: The Animated Series, he was the voice for the character for over three decades. He was one of the most respected and talented figures in the world of DC, and fans continue to regard him as a legend, even after his passing.

Despite his status, many might not know that the actor was openly gay, having publicly come out in 2016. While the entire world found out then, there were whispers of his sexual orientation floating through the industry, even in the conservative times of the 1990s. While these certainly affected his ability to get certain jobs, he still managed to become the icon that he is today.

Although he was able to rise through the ranks of a world that was stacked against him, DC seemed to have not given a similar regard to another actor.

Kevin Conroy’s Success Could Not Stop Prejudice

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fellow Travelers actor Matt Bomer revealed quite an interesting fact about his professional relationship with DC Studios. It would seem that when J.J. Abrams was putting forth the early version of Superman: Flyby, Bomer was in the lead to get the role of Superman.

I went in on a cattle call for Superman, and then it turned into a one-month audition experience where I was auditioning again and again and again,

The film was to be directed by Brett Ratner, and thankfully for Bomer, he was given his favor. Ratner was rooting for the actor to get the role and be able to play his vision for Clack Kent. What was supposed to be a hopeful cattle call, turned into many auditions and even the signing of a contract at some point.

It looked like I was the director’s choice for the role. This is a very early iteration of Superman written by J.J. Abrams, called Superman: Flyby, I think is what it was called, and it never came to light.

However, something seems to have gone wrong, as not only did the project never get made, but Bomer was removed from the running midway through his successful audition process. Interestingly, enough, the actor seems to have a suspicion as to why this was the case.

Matt Bomer Thinks His Sexuality Got Him Fired

After revealing how he almost got the role of Superman, Matt Bomer was asked if he thought his sexuality had something to do with the sudden firing. Around the same time as his audition process, the actor was outed to the world as gay, which caused an uproar considering the era.

It would seem that DC Studios was also a product of their time, as Bomer, indeed thinks this fact to be the reason why he was let go. He believes that this hidden part of himself was weaponized by someone, who was trying to get him out of the running, and unfortunately, it ended up working.

Yeah, that’s my understanding, That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponized against you. How, and why, and who, I don’t know, but yeah, that’s my understanding.

Author, Jackie Collins once talked to GaydarOnline about something similar, revealing that even though Bomer hadn’t officially come out, there were a few who knew about his sexuality.

Matt Bomer, who is the most gorgeous looking guy and the star of White Collar, he had not come out of the closet, but people in the know knew he was gay,

His audition tape went in and he called up the agent and somebody didn’t like him and told [the producers] he was gay. They said, ‘No, no, we can’t cast you.’ The reason he didn’t get cast was because he was gay.

She believes that he was sabotaged because of this, thinking that someone told the producers about this, and since times were very different, they took action and removed him from the running.