It’s not easy to be completely inclusive in Hollywood. With society changing its mind so often, it’s hard to know the rules anymore! You also know that trans characters are so in right now – but how do you jump on that gravy train? Great question! Check out this list of helpful ideas for casting a trans character in your next film:
Laverne Cox: She’s talented and she’s the only trans actor you know. She’ll likely be busy filling all the trans roles in Hollywood, so don’t get discouraged when she won’t play the sassy waitress who is only seen on page four of your script.
A cis white man: A classic! We all know cis white men are the unicorns of the film industry. You really can’t go wrong here. From Jared Leto to Matt Bomer to Eddie Redmayne – cis white men have proven time and time again that they are the best choice to represent the trans experience.
A cis white woman: Just as good but not as expensive as their male counterpart. If you’re on a budget, hire yourself a Hilary Swank or a Felicity Huffman. For less money, you can snag a top-notch actress with enough grace and dedication to her craft that no one will ever question the choice to hire her.
CGI: A great way to spend the studio’s money is to hire tons of visual effects artists. With so few real-life options, you can easily create dozens of computer-generated trans characters. For an even more realistic (and quite frankly, better) touch, create your own trans characters that are being played by cis men!
A mannequin: Not as lifelike as a human or CGI rendering, but it can be used in various roles with a quick makeup change. Talk about a money saver! Changing characters throughout the film means the mannequin can go through many *ahem* transitions of its own. Boom! Genius!
A shadow: An interesting moviemaking trick is to simply elude to the presence of a character with a shadow in the background of a scene. Very noir. It’s clear that trans actors don’t want to be in films because we don’t see them anywhere, so this is the most respectful way to honor their wish to be excluded. Unless…
Nothing at all: Show that you are a true ally by removing all trans characters and content from your film. You aren’t going to include trans actors until ALL filmmakers include them. This act of protest is going to do so much for the trans community. You didn’t expect to be at the forefront of the fight for trans rights, but here you are.
