Martin Sheen: I really wanted to portray a realistic gay relationship on ‘Grace and Frankie’

Martin Sheen has opened up about playing a gay character in Netflix series ‘Grace and Frankie’ saying “it was important to get this right”.

The comedy series stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin  – who previously appeared together in the cult classic 9 to 5 – as two women left abandoned when their husbands Robert and Sal, played by Sheen and Sam Waterston respectively,  declare their love for each other.

The first season debuted earlier this year to broadly positive reviews, and the show has now been picked up for a second run.

Of is character Robert, Sheen said he “is a conservative,”

“He’s probably a Republican, which I certainly am not – I’m an extremely liberal Catholic. But I’m also a husband and a father, and a grandfather and a great-grandfather, and I have great love and affection for people in the gay community.”

He went on to speak of the importance of getting right the

“So I had a real sense that it was important to get this right. Don’t fool around with this. There’s no camping here. No flashy stuff.” He told the show’s creators as much – “no fishnet stockings, no parading about” – and the script is more or less true to his wish. “This was a sincere relationship – these men have fallen in love with each other. But they don’t have any image of what they should act like. It’s just that they have chosen to live an honest life.”

Miley Cyrus was credited with helping influence the production of a second series, after

• Dec 31 2024

Every celebrity who came out as LGBTQ+ in 2024