Cross-gender acting - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Cross-gender acting refers to an actor or actress portraying a character of the opposite gender.

In the ancient Greek theatre

Theatre of Ancient Greece

The theatre of Ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was...

men played females, as they did in English Renaissance theatre

English Renaissance theatre

English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...

and continue to do in Japanese kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

theatre (see Onnagata) A Breeches role

Breeches role

A breeches role is a role in which an actress appears in male clothing .In opera it also refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer...

referres to a male character (usually a youth or young man) traditionally played by a woman in theatre or in opera. The term travesti refers to both actresses playing men and actors playing women in the theatre.

Cross-gender acting in cinama or television may or may not be for comedic effect. And is distinct from roles that portray characters who are transgendered or who cross-dress

Transgender in film and television

This article lists many films whose primary character are transgender. It also includes films of note who have a secondary transgender character.-Film and video:...

.

In animations it is not unusual for female actors to voice young male characters. One example is Nancy Cartwright

Nancy Cartwright

Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...

voicing Bart Simpson

Bart Simpson

Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...

in The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

.

When the casting director of a production decides to employ cross-gender acting, selecting the actors in this way is sometimes also called "cross-gender casting" or simply "cross-casting".

Cross-gender acting in film and television

Release year	Title	Actor	Role	Direction	Role	Language	Note(s)
1914	A Busy Day A Busy Day -Plot:In A Busy Day, a wife becomes jealous of her husband's interest in another woman. On her way to attack the couple, the wife interrupts the set of a film, knocking over a film director and a police officer...	Charlie Chaplin Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...	"Wife"	male to female	comedic	English	Short comedy.
1914	Sweedie the Swatter	Wallace Beery Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...	Sweedie Sweedie Sweedie or Sweedie, The Swedish Maid is a fictional manly character in drag portrayed by Wallace Beery in a series of comedy films 1914-1916. The series is notable as the means by which Beery, a particularly masculine actor , first made his name in the film industry...	male to female	comedic	English	The first of a series of Sweedie films, made between 1914 and 1916
1921	Little Lord Fauntleroy Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921 film) Little Lord Fauntleroy is a 1921 American film directed by Alfred E. Green and Jack Pickford and starring Mary Pickford as both Cedric Errol and Widow Errol. The film is based on the novel Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett. A statue depicting Mary Pickford's role exists today...	Mary Pickford Mary Pickford Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...	Cedric Errol	female to male		English
1949	Kind Hearts and Coronets Kind Hearts and Coronets Kind Hearts and Coronets is a 1949 British black comedy feature film. The plot is loosely based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman, with the screenplay written by Robert Hamer and John Dighton and the film directed by Hamer...	Alec Guinness Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...	Lady Agatha D'Ascoyne	male to female	comedic	English	Alec Guinness plays eight members of the aristocratic D'Ascoyne family.
1954	The Belles of St Trinian's The Belles of St Trinian's The Belles of St Trinian's is a comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School, released in 1954. It and its sequels were inspired by British cartoonist Ronald Searle. Directed by Frank Launder and written by him and Sidney Gilliat, it was the first of a series of five...	Alastair Sim Alastair Sim Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE was a Scottish character actor who appeared in a string of classic British films. He is best remembered in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 film Scrooge, and for his portrayal of Miss Fritton, the headmistress in two St. Trinian's films...	Headmistress Millicent Fritton	male to female	comedic	English	Alastair Sim plays both Millicent Fritton and her brother, Clarence Fritton.
1957	Blue Murder at St Trinian's Blue Murder at St Trinian's Blue Murder at St Trinian's is British comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School. Directed by Frank Launder and written by him and Sidney Gilliat, it was the second of the series of five films and stars Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Lionel Jeffries and Richard...	Alastair Sim Alastair Sim Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE was a Scottish character actor who appeared in a string of classic British films. He is best remembered in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 film Scrooge, and for his portrayal of Miss Fritton, the headmistress in two St. Trinian's films...	Headmistress Miss Fritton	male to female	comedic	English
1978	Monkey Monkey (TV series) Monkey is the dubbed English language version of the Japanese television series , based on the classic sixteenth century Chinese novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. It was originally produced by Nippon Television and International Television Films in association with NHK.The series ran for... (Saiyūki)	Masako Natsume	Tripitaka (Xuanzang Xuanzang (fictional character) The fictional character Xuanzang is a central character of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.For most of the novel he is known as Táng-sānzàng, the title Sānzàng referring to his mission to seek the Sānzàngjīng, the "Three Collections of Scriptures"... )	female to male		Japanese
1981	Göta kanal	Christer Lindarw Christer Lindarw Christer Lindarw, born 3 March 1953 in Eskilstuna, Södermanlands län, is a Swedish clothes designer, the country's best known drag queen artist, and the leader of dragshow group After Dark.Lindarw was trained at Beckmans in Stockholm...	Queen Silvia	male to female		Swedish	Cameo
1982	The Year of Living Dangerously The Year of Living Dangerously The Year of Living Dangerously is a 1982 Peter Weir film adapted from the novel The Year of Living Dangerously by the author Christopher Koch. The story is about a love affair set in Indonesia during the overthrow of President Sukarno...	Linda Hunt Linda Hunt Linda Hunt is an American film, stage and television actress. After making her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in Popeye , Hunt portrayed Billy Kwan, her breakthrough performance in The Year of Living Dangerously...	Billy Kwan	female to male	dramatic	English	Hunt won Academy Award for best actress in a supporting role
1986	The Golden Child The Golden Child The Golden Child is a 1986 American comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. Murphy plays Chandler Jarrell, a social worker who is confronted by a young Asian woman , who tells him that he is The Chosen One destined to save The Golden Child, the savior of all mankind, from the clutches of the demon Sardo...	J.L. Reate	The Golden Child	female to male	dramatic	English	Reate was nominated to a Young Artist Awards for Best Young Actress
1988	Hairspray	Divine	Edna Turnblad	male to female		English
1988	Coming to America Coming to America Coming to America is a 1988 comedy film directed by John Landis. The screenplay was written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, from a story by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the film. Murphy plays an African prince, who heads to the United States in hopes of finding a woman he can marry...	Arsenio Hall Arsenio Hall Arsenio Hall is an American actor, comedian, and former talk show host. He is best known for his talk show The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran between 1989 and 1994, and his roles in the films Coming to America and Harlem Nights.Hall is also known for his appearance as Alan Thicke's sidekick on the...	"Extremely Ugly Girl"	male to female	comedic	English	Hall has a minor role, as girl trying to pick up Akeem and Semmi at a bar.
1989	Back to the Future Part II Back to the Future Part II Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film and the second installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson...	Michael J. Fox Michael J. Fox Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...	Marlene McFly	male to female		English	Michael J. Fox plays three characters - Marty McFly, Marty McFly Jr. and Marlene McFly.
1992	Swordsman II Swordsman II Swordsman II, also known as The Legend of the Swordsman, is a 1992 Hong Kong wuxia film. It was directed by Ching Siu-tung and Stanley Tong and written by Hanson Chan, Tang Pik-yin and Tsui Hark. The film was the second part of a trilogy. It starred Jet Li, Brigitte Lin, Rosamund Kwan and Michelle...	Brigitte Lin Brigitte Lin Brigitte Lin or Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia is a Taiwanese actress. She was a popular actress, regarded as an icon of Chinese cinema, who acted in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong movies...	Invincible Asia	female to male		English	Asia is a man who has castrated himself.
1992	Orlando Orlando (film) Orlando is a 1992 film based on Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando: A Biography, starring Tilda Swinton as Orlando, Billy Zane as Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine, and Quentin Crisp as Queen Elizabeth. It was directed by Sally Potter....	Tilda Swinton Tilda Swinton Katherine Mathilda "Tilda" Swinton is a British actress known for both arthouse and mainstream films. She has appeared in a number of films including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Burn After Reading, The Beach, We Need to Talk About Kevin and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her...	Orlando	female to male	dramatic	English	Orlando is a man the first 2/3 of the film
1992	Orlando Orlando (film) Orlando is a 1992 film based on Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando: A Biography, starring Tilda Swinton as Orlando, Billy Zane as Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine, and Quentin Crisp as Queen Elizabeth. It was directed by Sally Potter....	Quentin Crisp Quentin Crisp Quentin Crisp , was an English writer and raconteur. He became a gay icon in the 1970s after publication of his memoir, The Naked Civil Servant.- Early life :...	Elizabeth I	male to female	dramatic	English
1996	A Very Brady Sequel A Very Brady Sequel A Very Brady Sequel is a 1996 comedy film and sequel to 1995’s The Brady Bunch Movie. Both films are parodies-homages of the classic 1969–1974 television sitcom The Brady Bunch. The film was directed by Arlene Sanford and stars Shelley Long and Gary Cole as Carol and Mike Brady. The film was a box...	RuPaul RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles , best known as simply RuPaul, is an American actor, drag queen, model, author, and singer-songwriter, who first became widely known in the 1990s when he appeared in a wide variety of television programs, films, and musical albums. Previously, he was a fixture on the Atlanta...	Mrs Cummings	male to female		English	Minor role as the High school teacher
1996	The Nutty Professor The Nutty Professor The Nutty Professor is a 1963 Paramount Pictures science fiction comedy feature film produced, directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis...	Eddie Murphy Eddie Murphy Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....	Mama Klump, Grandma Klump	male to female	comedic	English
2000	Nutty Professor II: The Klumps Nutty Professor II: The Klumps Nutty Professor II: The Klumps is a 2000 comedy film directed by Peter Segal. It is the sequel to the 1996 film The Nutty Professor and stars Eddie Murphy and Janet Jackson. Murphy plays not only the inept but brilliant scientist, Sherman Klump, as in the first film, but also most of Sherman's...	Eddie Murphy Eddie Murphy Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....	Mama Klump, Granny Klump	male to female	comedic	English
2003	Girls Will Be Girls	Jack Plotnick Jack Plotnick Jack Stuart Plotnick is an American film and television actor.Born in Worthington, Ohio, Plotnick is based in Hollywood... , Clinton Leupp, Jeffery Roberson	Evie Harris, Coco Peru, Varla Jean Merman Varla Jean Merman Varla Jean Merman is a character originated and portrayed by Jeffery Roberson, an American actor, singer and drag performer. Varla's fictitious pedigree boasts that Ernest Borgnine is her father and Ethel Merman is her mother....	male to female	comedic	English	All the female characters in this film were played by males.
2005	Diary of a Mad Black Woman	Tyler Perry Tyler Perry Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...	Mable "Madea" Simmons	male to female	comedic	English
2005	Alatriste Alatriste Alatriste is a 2006 Spanish historical film directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes, based on the main character of a series of novels written by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The Adventures of Captain Alatriste ....	Blanca Portillo Blanca Portillo -Career:Portillo started as an actress in several small theater productions before graduating in drama from the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramatico....	Emilio Bocanegra	female to male		Spanish
2006	Madea's Family Reunion Madea's Family Reunion Madea's Family Reunion is a 2006 comedy-drama film adaptation of the stage production of the same name written by Tyler Perry and sequel to Diary of a Mad Black Woman. It was written and directed by Perry, who also played several characters, including Mabel "Madea" Simmons...	Tyler Perry Tyler Perry Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...	Mable "Madea" Simmons	male to female	comedic	English
2007	Hairspray Hairspray (2007 film) Hairspray is a 2007 musical film produced by Kolaja Productions and distributed by New Line Cinema. It was released in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on July 20, 2007. The film is an adaptation of the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on John...	John Travolta John Travolta John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...	Edna Turnblad	male to female		English
2007	Norbit Norbit Norbit is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and starring Eddie Murphy and Thandie Newton. Produced by Davis Entertainment and Tollin/Robbins Productions, the film also stars Terry Crews, Clifton Powell, Lester "Rasta" Speight, Eddie Griffin, Katt Williams, Marlon Wayans, and...	Eddie Murphy Eddie Murphy Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....	Rasputia	male to female		English
2007	St. Trinian's	Rupert Everett Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...	Miss Camilla Dagey Fritton	male to female		English	As in the earlier St. Trinian's films, a man plays the character of the Headmistress, Miss Fritton.
2007	Negima!!	Yukina Kashiwa	Negi Springfield	female to male		Japanese	Live action adaptation of the manga Negima! Magister Negi Magi. The main charecter, Negi Springfield, is a 10 year old mage.
2008	Meet the Browns Meet the Browns (film) Meet the Browns is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film released by Lionsgate on March 21, 2008. The film was based on the play of the same name by Tyler Perry.-Plot:...	Tyler Perry Tyler Perry Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...	Mable "Madea" Simmons	male to female	comedic	English
2009	Madea Goes to Jail	Tyler Perry Tyler Perry Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...	Mable "Madea" Simmons	male to female	comedic	English
2009	St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold	Rupert Everett Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...	Miss Camilla Dagey Fritton	male to female		English

Meta examples

Tootsie
Tootsie
Tootsie is a 1982 American comedy film that tells the story of a talented but volatile actor whose reputation for being difficult forces him to go to extreme lengths to land a job. The movie stars Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange, with a supporting cast that includes Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman,...

(1982) - The character Michael Dorsey (portrayed by Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....

) star as Dorothy Michaels in the show-within-show soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

Southwest General
Victor Victoria (1982) - Victoria Grant (portrayed by Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...

) pretends to be Count Victor Grezinski and finds work as a female impersonator.
Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 British-American comedy film directed by John Madden and written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard....

(1998) - The character Viola de Lesseps (portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...

) disguises as Thomas Kent and then plays the part of Romeo in the show-within-show Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...

.

Cross-gender acting in film and television

Meta examples

See also