Appearing on Sunday Today, Lane reflected on the superb comedy, in which he and Robin Williams played a gay Miami couple who find themselves in trouble when their son announces his plans to marry the daughter of a deeply conservative politician.
Lane, who is gay, said he was open about his sexuality with friends and family long before “The Birdcage” hit theaters in 1996. However, he feared he would be ostracized from Hollywood if talks too publicly about his personal life. . In her appearance on “Sunday Today,” she told host Willie Geist that Williams stepped in to avoid an awkward conversation while the pair appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to promote the film.
“Eventually I had a big role in a movie and I didn’t want to talk about my sexuality, even though it was inevitable because of the nature of the movie and the character,” she recalled. “I don’t think Oprah was trying to piss me off, but first I told Robin, ‘I’m not ready. I’m so scared to go out and talk to Oprah. I’m not ready to discuss homosexuality on national television. I am not prepared. He said, “Oh, it’s okay, don’t worry, we don’t have to talk about it. We won’t talk about it.”
Ultimately, Lane said that Winfrey asked him questions that alluded to his sexuality, including whether he was afraid of being “written off” after his role in “Birdcage,” but that Williams made sure the conversation didn’t go too far. far into that speech. . .
“Robin comes in and hijacks Oprah and goes off on a tangent and protects me, because he was a saint,” Lane said. “I was horrified… It’s great that everyone is comfortable now, but homophobia is alive and well and there are still a lot of hidden gays.”
Of Williams, who died in 2014, she added: “Robin was just the greatest person – such a beautiful, sensitive soul and so kind and generous to me.”
Directed by Mike Nichols, “The Birdcage” is a modernized interpretation of the 1978 French-Italian film “La Cage aux Folles.” The film, which also starred Gene Hackman and Calista Flockhart, grossed $185 million at the worldwide box office, while Lane earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.
Twenty-seven years later, “The Birdcage” continues to be cited as a pioneering film in depicting a same-sex couple who also happen to be parents. Lane, for her part, finds comfort when viewers tell her the film helped them realize they are LGBTQ or made them embrace a loved one who fears being shunned because of their queer identity.
These days, Lane is back at a professional level. Last year, he won an Emmy for his guest appearance on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. This spring, she stars opposite Danny Burstein and Zoë Wanamaker in “Pictures from Home,” now on Broadway.
“,”type”:”video”,”meta”:{“author”:”TODAY”,”author_url”:”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChDKyKQ59fYz3JO2fl0Z6sg”,”cache_age”:86400,” description”:”On this week’s Sunday Sitdown, Tony Award winner Nathan Lane joins Willie Geist to discuss his return to the stage in the play “Pictures from Home.” Lane talks about his theater journey and transitioning from Broadway to Hollywood for Disney’s The Lion King.\n\n» Subscribe TODAY: http://on.today.com/SubscribeToTODAY\n» Catch up on TODAY’s latest: http://bit.ly/LatestTODAY\nAbout: TODAY brings you the latest headlines and expert advice on money, health and education. We wake up every morning to give you and your family everything you need to start your day. If it matters to you, it matters to us. We are in the people’s business. Subscribe to our channel for exclusive TODAY archive footage and our original web series.\n\nConnect with TODAY Online!\nVisit the TODAY website: http://on.today.com/ReadTODAY\nFind TODAY on Facebook: http://on .today.com/LikeTODAY\nFollow TODAY on Twitter: http://on.today.com/FollowTODAY\nFollow TODAY on Instagram: http://on.today.com/InstaTODAY\n \n» Stream TODAY all day: https://www.today.com/allday\nAbout: TODAY All Day is a 24/7 streaming channel that brings you the best stories in news and pop culture, interviews with celebrities, cooking and more. All in one place.\n\n#NathanLane #Broadway #TODAY”,”options”:{“_cc_load_policy”:{“label”:”Subtitles”,”value”:false},”_end”:{” label “:”End on”,”substituent”:”ex.: 11, 1m10s”,”value”:””},”_start”:{“label”:”Start from”,”substituent”:”ex .: 11, 1m10s”,”value”:””},”click_to_play”:{“label”:”Hold load and play until click”,”value”:false}},”provider_name”:”YouTube “,”thumbnail_height” :720,”thumbnail_url”:”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8JDfwZPGHqs/maxresdefault.jpg”,”thumbnail_width”:1280,”title”:”Nathan Lane returns to his Broadway roots with “Pictures from Home” ‘”,”type”:”video”,”url”:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JDfwZPGHqs”,”version”:”1.0″},”flags “:[],”enhancements”:{},”fullBleed”:false,”options”:{“theme”:”news”,”device”:”desktop”,”editionInfo”:{“id”:”us”,”name “:”US”,”link”:”https://www.huffpost.com”,”locale”:”en_US”},”slideshowAd”:{“scriptTags”:[],”otherHtml”:””},”slideshowEndCard”:{“scriptTags”:[],”otherHtml”:””},”isMapi”:false,”isAmp”:false,”isVideoEntry”:false,”isMt”:false,”entryId”:”6421d15be4b0b8ee3bd39c8c”,”entryPermalink”:”https:// www.huffpost.com/entry/nathan-lane-robin-williams-coming-out-oprah_n_6421d15be4b0b8ee3bd39c8c”,”entryTagsList”:”robin-williams,nathan-lane,the-birdcage,@queer_voice”,”s,@queer_voice” ,”s :”entertainment”,”deptSlug”:”entertainment”,”sectionRedirectUrl”:”https://www.huffpost.com/entertainment”,”subcategories”:”queer-voices,tv”,”isWide”: false,” headerOverride”:null,”noVideoAds”:false,”disableFloat”:false,”isNative”:false,”commercialVideo”:{“provider”:”custom”,”site_and_category”:”us.entertainment”,” pachet”: null},”isHighline”:false,”vidibleConfigValues”:{“cid”:”60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf”,”overrides”:{“front_page_top_videos”:{“desktop”:”60b64354b171b7444b64354b171b7444b64354b171b7444b64354b171b7444b64354b171b7444b171b7444b74b74b74b74b74b74b74b74b74b74b74b74b74b74b74b74b top_media”:{“desktop”:” 60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”mobile”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,” iphone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”ipad8″:640cbd8″:640cbd8″:6403cdd8 1f6″,”androidphone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”androidtablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”},”anthology”:{“desktop”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”} ,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iphone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”ipad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”androidphone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”androidtablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”desktop”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″content: :”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iphone”:” 60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”ipad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”androidphone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”androidtablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”}},”playerUpdates” :{“5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6″:”60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443″,”56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8″:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81”, “5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f”:”60b8e355cdd90620331ba185″,”58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895″:”60b64316b171b7444beafdb2″,”58b74698f78ced31417819ae”:”60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52″,”58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1″:”60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5″, “58cff690d85 a100b9992bc39″:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d”:”60b 8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180″:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7″:”60b643c82e76be41f112735c”,”592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”5b35266b158f855373e28256″:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”,”5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a “:”60b64440b171b7444beb040b”,”5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9″:”60b646102e76be41f1127ffc” ,”5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f”:”60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”5c477987a6b48b35f164773d”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,”5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371″:”60b8e747cdd90620331bb861″,”5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2″:”60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b”,”5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6″: “60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9″,”58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321″:”60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c”,” 58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3″:”60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0″,”58cff8eccebcea42931e0436″:”60d0e005b627221e9d819d44″,”592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b”:”60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf”,”58cff72fd85a100b9992c112″:”60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da”,”56b4d34fe4b022697697c400″:”60d2472d9 340d7032ad7e443″,”60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d”:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81″}},” co nnatixConfigValues”:{“defaultPlayer”:”ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b”,”clickToPlayPlayer”:”d01439660fd901fac-3-3ceb36-e-c3-b36-e ,”4-a7p0fd01″,”4-a7p0fd01″,”4-a7p0fd01″,”4-a7p0fd0″:4-a7p0fd0″:4-a7p0fd0″ “,”verticalPlayer”:”e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065 “},”customAmpComponents”:[],”ampAssetsUrl”:”https://amp.assets.huffpost.com”,”videoTraits”:null,”positionInUnitCounts”:{“buzz_head”:{“count”:0},”buzz_body”:{“count” :0},”buzz_bottom”:{“count”:0}},”positionInSubUnitCounts”:{“article_body”:{“count”:11},”blog_summary”:{“count”:0},”before_you_go_slideshow”: {“count”:0}},”connatixCountsHelper”:{“count”:1},”buzzfeedTracking”:{“context_page_id”:”6421d15be4b0b8ee3bd39c8c”,”context_page_type”:”buzz”,”destination”:”huffpost”, “mode”:”desktop”,”page_edition”:”en-us”},”tags”:[{“name”:”Robin Williams”,”slug”:”robin-williams”,”links”:{“relativeLink”:”topic/robin-williams”,”permalink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/robin-williams”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/robin-williams”},”department”:{“name”:”Entertainment”,”slug”:”entertainment”},”section”:{“title”:”Entertainment”,”slug”:”entertainment”},”topic”:{“title”:”Robin Williams”,”slug”:”robin-williams”,”overridesSectionLabel”:false},”url”:”https://www.huffpost.com/entertainment/topic/robin-williams”},{“name”:”Nathan Lane”,”slug”:”nathan-lane”,”links”:{“relativeLink”:”topic/nathan-lane”,”permalink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/nathan-lane”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/nathan-lane”},”url”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/nathan-lane”},{“name”:”the birdcage”,”slug”:”the-birdcage”,”links”:{“relativeLink”:”topic/the-birdcage”,”permalink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/the-birdcage”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/the-birdcage”},”url”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/the-birdcage”}],”isLiveblogLive”:null,”cetUnit”:”buzz_body”,”bodyAds”:[“
\r\n\r\n”,”
\r\n\r\n”,”
\r\n\r\n”],”adCount”:0},”isCollectionEmbed”:false,”isLiveblogEmbed”:false}”>
