The Merchant of Venice "play Antonio as gay". Joseph Fiennes, however, who plays Bassanio, encouraged a homoerotic interpretation and, in fact, surprised Irons with the kiss on set, which was filmed in one take. Fiennes defended his choice, saying "I would never invent something before doing my detective work in the text. If you look at the choice of language … you'll read very sensuous language. That's the key for me in the relationship. The great thing about Shakespeare and why he's so difficult to pin down is his ambiguity. He's not saying they're gay or they're straight, he's leaving it up to his
Venice: The Series Venice: The Series Venice: The Series is a soap opera web series co-produced by and starring American actress Crystal Chappell, and is inspired in part by the "Otalia" storyline on the daytime drama "Guiding Light". The series has been streamed on VenicetheSeries.com since December 4, 2009, and is currently in its fifth and final season. "Venice" is described by Chappell as "a show about families, and life, and all the simplicity of it, and the turmoil of it. We're going to be following a character named Gina who is a designer, and she is a gay woman." Crystal Chappell played