Nathan Lane Enters His “Gay Golden Girl” Era

Nathan Lane’s first starring role on screen came more than 40 years ago, when he was cast as a series regular in One of the Boys—an NBC sitcom toplined by Mickey Rooney that only lasted 13 episodes. It was the first of many short-lived, poorly received multi-camera endeavors for Lane, who went on to Tony-winning fame on Broadway and more sporadic success in Hollywood. But it makes sense that this sort of show is where he got his first big shot on camera. Whether in his towering stage turns in The Producers and Angels in America, his brilliant movie breakout in The Birdcage, or his scene-stealing guest spots on shows like Modern Family and Only Murders in the Building, Lane has a particular talent for going for broke—particularly in front of a live audience.

New York Times headline from last year: “Hollywood Finally Figures Out What to Do With Nathan Lane.” Has it started to feel that way?

No! [Laughs] Hollywood figured out nothing when it comes to me. That was just an A24 moment with a couple of very out-there films. I wish they’d figured out what to do with me. I’ve been able to, I think, shift the perception a bit about me, but there’s always going to be that “He’s from the theater” thing. It’s either homophobia or it’s just, “He gives big performances because he comes from the theater.” If they give me a chance, I seem to do well—but you have to get the part. You need a part to prove that. I gave up long ago trying to pursue it.

In the beginning I never really pursued film. I always thought theater was a more interesting place to be, because you learn more about acting that way. Movies were just to pay the bills so I could keep doing theater. Then The Birdcage came along. I thought perhaps because of the success of that, it’d lead to other films, but then it didn’t. It really didn’t. I said to my agent, “I thought more would happen after The Birdcage.” He said, “Maybe if you weren’t so open about your lifestyle, it would have.”

Wow.

Yeah—and he was an old queen telling me this. So I left him. Mike Nichols sent me to CAA. But no, there weren’t a lot of opportunities.

As terrible a thing as that is to say, did it feel true at the time—homophobia limiting your opportunities?

I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, but I can’t help but think that it played a part. I was told it did impact a movie that I didn’t really care about: Space Jam. I was up for the part that the guy from Seinfeld wound up playing.

Oh sure, Wayne Knight. He played Michael Jordan’s assistant.

I was up for that part. Apparently the director [Joe Pytka] saw me hosting the Tony Awards and thought that suggested I was too gay to play the part. So thank God, I didn’t have to do Space Jam. [Laughs] But I don’t know. I’ll never know what people say. Homophobia is alive and well still.

Before I die, it would be lovely to get to play a juicy, serious supporting role in some film. That’s why I’m very grateful to Ryan Murphy. He let me play Dominic Dunne and F. Lee Bailey. I mean, things are great. [Laughs] I don’t want it to seem like I don’t have a really terrific, enviable career.

I said to my agent, “I thought more would happen after The Birdcage.” He said, “Maybe if you weren’t so open about your lifestyle, it would have.”

Did you ever cross paths with Linda Lavin before Mid-Century Modern? You two came from Broadway, of course, and have amazing chemistry on the show.

Just in passing as a fan. We never had worked together, but when we would meet, we would always say, “I really hope we get to work together someday.” This was a very special moment, to finally get to work with her and for it to be such a happy, joyous experience. She had lived a life. She had been around the block, and I think she was in a great place in her life. She was very happily married, and she was working consistently at age 87. That’s the thing—we were all in shock that she died at 87. It shows you what a vital person she was, and she certainly did not seem her age. She was so on top of it, Linda was. In the theater, certainly, she’s beloved. Anyone who ever saw her on stage knows there was nobody like her. She was just remarkable.

She appears in eight of the 10 episodes, and the show pays beautiful tribute to her. What can you say about that period around her passing?

I’d spoken with her three days before [she died]. She had called me, Max, and David to tell us she’d gotten this diagnosis of lung cancer, and that they were going to immediately start radiation treatments. They felt confident she would be able to finish the first season. She said, “They could write it into the show. They could write me out of the show. Whatever they want to do.” I said, “The most important thing is your health. It’s just a TV show.” I’m a cancer survivor myself, so we talked a lot about that. I was very grateful for this conversation, to be able to say to her how much I loved her, what a great experience this had been. Then three days later, Max called me to say she’d died. But I think she was really happy. She loved doing it. She went out at the top of her game.

You get to explore some very nuanced queer themes in Mid-Century Modern—particularly as the oldest of the three men.

It started as the “gay Golden Girls,” then suddenly I was the only Golden Girl. Once they brought up Matt Bomer, I was like, “Oh, so what am I? His fucking grandfather?” So there was that. Matt is hilarious—he’s so endearing and funny—but it’s interesting trying to cast older gentlemen. That became difficult. Everybody loved Matt, so suddenly it became, “All right, well, maybe it’s about men at different stages of their lives.” Nathan Lee Graham is older than Matt; he’s in his 50s. They were able to explain that Matt’s character dated the guy who dies in the pilot, George, which brought him into that circle of friends. Then the rest is chemistry. It just seemed like we were all meant to be together.

The themes of getting older with this character—he wears his heart on his sleeve. As he talks about, he hasn’t had some great romance in his life. He’s lonely. The death of George has really shaken him. It’s very moving that this is his chosen family. In some strange way, with the tragedy of losing Linda, it only reinforces how important this chosen family is. It’s about getting older and still trying. I mean, they always seem to be on Grindr. [Laughs] I said, “Hell, these people are having much more sex than I’ve had.” They’re out there living their lives in Palm Springs.

You also had a great guest spot on this season of Elsbeth, as an opera devotee driven to murder by an annoying seatmate. Did that come out of your previous work on The Good Wife?

Jonathan Tolins wrote that with me in mind, and it was his tribute to those opera-obsessed characters that Terrence McNally wrote. That was fun. I had done a couple seasons on The Good Wife and worked with Carrie Preston. By then she had won an Emmy for guest actress, and I had said to her, “They should spin this character off for you. You’re so great in it.” She said, “Oh, yeah, that would be very nice.” And then 12 years later, they finally did.

I kind of became the king of the guest stars. I’ve done a lot of it now. The Good Wife, it was an interesting character to start, and then they didn’t know what to do with me. I was there for two seasons, but the second season—I didn’t know why I was there. [Laughs] But they liked me, so I hung around the office a lot. And then at some point, I just disappeared and I’m never spoken of again.

People realizing that you’re a guy they want to have around is a theme that’s come up a few times now, with Ryan Murphy and some of these other shows. Is that part of how your career has evolved?

Well, with Ryan, I was a last minute casting in The People v. O. J. Simpson, which turned out to be a huge success. This was hilarious: They had cast Stephen Fry as F. Lee Bailey. Wonderful British actor, but he’s like seven feet tall. He’s a huge guy. F. Lee Bailey was a little, feisty guy. Then I think they had offered it to Kelsey Grammer, and then finally they offered it to me just days before they were going to start. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. They shaved my head, and it was a whole thing, this hairpiece, to make it look like his hair. I had a great time, and then I didn’t hear from [Ryan] again. So I just thought, oh, well, I’m not going to become part of that repertory company. Then I heard that he wanted me to play Dominic Dunne, and we finally had a phone call. I said to him, “Ryan, I really want to become the new Sarah Paulson. I want to be your muse.”

Those are two of the best parts I’ve had in television. I would like to think that I have a reputation for being—well, hopefully, good at my job, but also a professional. I show up on time. I know my material. I have a point of view. That’s important. Not everybody does. You’d be surprised.

Is there an ultimate role that got away from you?

No. There’ve been times I’ve been up for something and then it didn’t happen. And you think, “Oh, okay. Well, that would’ve been a nice opportunity.” Especially of late, I’ve been very, very fortunate and working a lot. I have a couple more in the theater I’d like to do. There’s a couple more mountains I want to climb before I hang up my shingle.

Go on.

Well, I can’t talk about it! It’ll be interesting to see what happens. I’m at a point in my life where I can really appreciate what this whole experience has been, which has been so happy. And I love everybody on Mid-Century Modern. The fun thing about the show is that it’s a throwback to those shows we grew up on, and yet it’s sort of a contemporary version of that—it’s fresh and naughty and it’s nice that it’s about three older gay men navigating problems of the world, in their world. What happens now, it’s out of my hands, but I hope that people will like it. I think we’re going to need to laugh. We’re in a bad situation right now.

It’s terrifying. I’ve applied for my Irish citizenship. I don’t know where this is headed.

Are you finding that you need some levity these days? Are you taking in the news too much?

I go back and forth. I had stopped for a while, and then every once in a while you want to see—but every time I turn on MSNBC, it’s like, look, [President Trump] is dismantling the government. He wants to be like Putin. He just wants to be a dictator. And he’s got all the power. That’s the terrifying thing. The Supreme Court has given him immunity and he has both Houses, and well, who’s stopping him? I don’t see anybody stopping him. It’s nice to know that there are people protesting. I think some of the old white people—not a lot, but some of those people—who voted for him are regretting it. There’s a little bit of implosion going on, but it’s not stopping him.

Yeah, it’s terrifying. I’ve applied for my Irish citizenship. I don’t know where this is headed. It doesn’t at the moment look good. I guess we can hope for the midterms and that people will vote some of these assholes out. I mean, there’s just no Republican Party anymore. It’s just this cult, and they’re terrified of him. They do whatever he says. It’s unbelievable ’cause he’s a fucking moron. But shrewd in his way. You can’t help but be reminded of Germany in the ’30s, that he’s convinced the majority of this country that he cares about them. There’ve been all these YouTube videos—what’s his name? Sam Seder?

Yes. Debating a bunch of young MAGA people who look like baristas from Brooklyn.

You’d see a 20-year-old woman defending this piece of garbage. It’s unbelievable to me. So yes, I get all riled up if I watch the news. I can’t. I can’t. I have to take a break.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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