MJ Rodriguez
Some people know MJ Rodriguez from her role on the successful TV show “Pose”, but you may have seen her before in shows like “Nurse Jackie” and “The Carrie Diaries”. Despite being in other series before, her role on “Pose” as Blanca is what pushed her into the limelight. After three successful seasons, MJ has been nominated for an Emmy in 2021 and in January 2022 she made history as the first transgender actor to win a Golden Globe.
This shows that gender expression does not matter when it comes to talent and her spectacular performances on TV have shown that she has what it takes to be a big star. This is what could open up more doors for young talents that are scared to give it a shot due to fear of being discriminated against. MJ also starred in the 2021 Golden Globe awarded Netflix music “Tick, Tick… Boom!”.
Asia Kate Dillon
While their role in Netflix’s “Orange is the new black” is probably Dillon’s most iconic role, a lot of you might remember seeing them in “Billions”, where they played Taylor Manson. By taking that role and breathing life into the character of Manson, Dillon was the first non-binary actor to play a non-binary character on mainstream television.
They spoke about how the role of Manson helped them understand their identity better and how that made them feel valid as both a trans and non-binary person. Moreover, they went on to criticize the gendered categories of the Emmys in 2017, as since they and other non-binary people do not identify with either gender, and such categories would not be fitting for them, effectively excluding them from the award show despite possible amazing performances. As a response, the MTV & TV Awards have created a gender-neutral acting category award, and Dillon was the one to present that year. A step towards more inclusive award shows!
Nicole Maines
You may have seen Nicole in other TV pieces before she began acting, as she had been the subject of various documentaries that focus on what it means to be trans. She was part of HBO’s 2016 “The Trans List” and profiled again in 2018, in the “Not Your Skin” documentary. (These are good documentaries if you want to learn more about transgender people.)
Also in 2018, she began acting, being cast in CW’s “Supergirl”, as the first trans superhero in a mainstream TV series. Initially, her character, Nia Nal, was a reporter that is later transformed into a superhero. She played the character up until 2021 when the show ended. At a convention in 2018, she shared that she had been going to numerous auditions as filmmakers seem to be eager to “tell the story of transgender people”. Moreover, she shared how important it is for kids to have representations of themselves in the media, saying she would have loved to see a trans superhero when she was little.
