Steven Spielberg names Philadelphia as his favourite LGBTQ film: ‘A breakthrough’ (EXCLUSIVE)
"He would be just as good in it today," added the Jurassic Park director of Tom Hanks, while speaking to Attitude last week at the London premiere of his new movie, Disclosure Day
Steven Spielberg has revealed that his favourite LGBTQ-themed film is the 1993 Tom Hanks-starring legal drama, Philadelphia.
The iconic director named the film during an interview with Attitude at the premiere of his new movie Disclosure Day in London last week.
The critically-acclaimed sci-fi, starring Josh O’Connor and Emily Blunt, hits UK cinemas on 10 June 2026.
“A watershed film” – Steven Spielberg on Philadelphia
“My favourite LGBT film? Oh my god, there are so many, there are so many,” Spielberg said. “Even though Tom Hanks is not gay, I thought Philadelphia was a breakthrough.”
“It was a watershed film that he probably wouldn’t do today, but he would be just as good in it today if he did,” the 79-year-old added of the Denzel Washington co-starring hit.
In a 2022 interview with the New York Times, Oscar-winner Hanks said he wouldn’t play a gay role in modern times “and rightly so.”
He explained: “Let’s address ‘Could a straight man do what I did in Philadelphia now? No, and rightly so. The whole point of Philadelphia was don’t be afraid. One of the reasons people weren’t afraid of that movie is that I was playing a gay man. We’re beyond that now, and I don’t think people would accept the inauthenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy.”
Hanks continued: “It’s not a crime, it’s not boohoo, that someone would say we are going to demand more of a movie in the modern realm of authenticity. Do I sound like I’m preaching? I don’t mean to.”
Movie icon Spielberg also referenced 1961’s The Children’s Hour as one of his favourite LGBTQ movies, calling it “a great film [starring] Audrey Hepburn.”
“I watched the whole thing, that started it again immediately after!” – Eve Hewson on Heated Rivalry
Eve Hewson, who also appears in Disclosure Day, told Attitude that Heated Rivalry is the piece of LGBTQ content she’d show to an alien to demonstrate the best of filmmaking. “I watched the whole thing, that started it again immediately after!” she said.
Her co-star Henry Lloyd-Hughes meanwhile said: “I do love Stephen Beresford’s Pride. [But] I’m going to go Moonlight on pure cinematic sensibility.
“I’ll tell you why. There’a s large amount of silence in that film. And I’m dealing with an extra terrestrial, right? I don’t know what language they’re going to speak. [Moonlight speaks] the language of cinema.”