I liked Rupert Everett in "My Best Friend's Wedding." I also saw him years ago in a weird, creepy little movie called "The Comfort of Strangers," also starring Christopher Walken at his creepiest.
When Rupert Everett first came out, he had a great line. Someone asked him if he feared he'd always be relegated to playing gay men, and he said that would be fine "because, contrary to popular belief, we're not all alike."
After all, how many straight actors worry about always being typecast as straight?
Still, this may just be a reassuring way for Rupert Everett to explain to himself why his career is foundering rather than consider factors that might have more to do with him. And another bad sign: he's featured on awfulplasticsurgery.com
http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/archives/005451.html(BTW, have you all ever seen that site? It's horrifying, yet I can't look away ... Most appalling are the before and after pictures of very young, attractive actors such as Kate Bosworth or Jennifer Lopez.)
As for Ellen and Ian McKellen, one isn't an actor and the other rarely if ever plays romantic leads. I think we're past the point where any celebrity's career would necessarily plummet because the person came out. But a star who frequently plays romantic roles might be another story or, as Natali says, at least the studio bigwigs might fear that it would be another story.
I notice I don't see Jodie Foster playing many romantic leads these days. Her career is doing fine, but she usually plays moms or some other sex-free role. (Not that she's out, I realize, but ...) What if someone who does play romantic roles were to come out? Someone like, like ... oh, just to pick some random A-list actor off the top of my head ... like, say, Tom Cruise?