James Franco is another actor who's made the portrayal of gay and bisexual characters something of a hallmark for himself, despite being heterosexual to the best of our knowledge. He's been in public relationships with fellow performers Ahna O'Reilly and Marla Sokoloff to name just two.
In 'Howl,' Franco is incredible as the poet Allen Ginsberg. 'Howl' is also the title of Ginsberg's most famous work; an epic poem which serves as both a lament at the state of the society in which Ginsberg lived, and the discrimination that gay men faced simply for being gay. Ginsberg was openly gay during a time when nobody was and suffered a great deal for his honesty about the subject. He even had to suffer the indignity of going to court to prove that 'Howl' wasn't obscene, with the judge eventually ruling in his favor.