Top Ten Openly Gay Male Hollywood Actors

Not everybody in Hollywood is gay, but you might be surprised to find one of your favorite celebrities on our list. Some have been forced out, while others live openly gay lifestyles.

Here is our list of top ten openly gay male celebrities, a runner up, and our honorable mentions.

Regardless of how they got here, they are some of Hollywood's most famous talents, and have contributed to some of the greatest work on television, the big screen and the Broadway stage.

Most are award winners, and all are icons in our culture, and we love them.

Seth Green
Provides the voice of Chris Griffin on Family Guy and starred in "Party Monster" with Macaulay Culkin. Also appeared in numerous "That 70's Show" episodes with Topher Grace

Sir Ian McKellan
Starred in "Lord Of The Rings" with suspected gay star Elijah Wood, "Golden Compass", "The Da Vinci Code" and "Gods And Monsters"

Stephen Fry
Currently starring in "Kingdom". Also appeared in "Valkyrie", "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "Cold Comfort Farm", and numerous Harry Potter Video Games.

Neil Patrick Harris
Currently stars on "How I Met Your Mother". Got his start as the young "Doogie Howser, M.D."

Nathan Lane
Starred in "The Birdcage", "Swing Vote", "The Producers", "Stuart Little" and "Frankie and Johnny"

Chad Allen
Played Matthew Cooper on 'Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,' came out in the Oct. 9, 2001 issue of The Advocate. Got his start on "Our House" and "St. Elsewhere"

John Waters
Flamboyant writer, director and producer who has appeared in "Hairspray", "Pecker", "Seed Of Chucky", "Serial Mom", and others.

John Barrowman
Currently appears on "Doctor Who". Also starred in "The Producers", "Titans" and "Torchwood"

Harvey Fierstein
The deep voiced funnyman has appeared in "Death to Smoochy", "Independence Day", "Bullets Over Broadway", "Mrs. Doubtfire" and both wrote for and acted in "Torch Song Trilogy".

Michael Jeter
Appeared in "Polar Express", "Welcome to Collinwood", "Jurassic Park III", "The Green Mile", "Patch Adams", "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", "Evening Shade" and "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit"

Suspected Runner Up:

Elijah Wood
While we can't say for sure that Elijah is gay, rumors have swirled for years. He has appeared in the "Lord Of The Rings" films as well as "Happy Feet", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Deep Impact", "The Ice Storm", "North", "The Good Son", "Radio Flyer" and "Christmas On Mars"


Other Openly Gay Male Celebrities:

Pete Williams - now an NBC News correspondent, was outed while serving as the spokesman for then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney in President George H.W. Bush's administration.

Lance Bass - Former *NSYNC singer came out in July 2006 after his relationship with 'Amazing Race 4' winner Reichen Lemkuhl. Currently filming "Dancing With The Stars".

David Geffen - Film, music and theatrical producer and philanthropist who co-founded Dreamworks with Steven Spielberg and David Guest. Before he was openly gay he dated some high-profile celebrity actresses.

David Hyde Pierce - "Frasier" co-star, came out on national television during the 61st annual Tony Awards broadcast June 10, 2007. While accepting his award, he thanked a long list of people, including "my partner Brian," with whom Pierce intimated he had been in a relationship for 24 years.

George Takei - who played Enterprise helmsman Hikaru Sulu in the original 'Star Trek' television series and several "Trek" movies, came out in 2005 at age 68. He married his gay partner in September 2008 in California.

Bruce Vilanch - Most know him for his frequent appearances on the 2003 version of the game show 'Hollywood Squares.' But he also has a long list of writing credits, including past Academy Awards, Tony Awards, Comic Relief and other awards shows.

Did we miss anybody?

Related: Top 10 Influential Gay Celebrities - 2011 Edition

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