Wentworth’s trans star
Ask someone to think of a transgender person and nine times out of ten, the answer you’ll get back will be Caitlyn Jenner.
But Socratis Otto, who plays transgender female inmate Maxine Conway in the returning Aussie prison drama Wentworth, doesn’t think that’s necessarily a good thing.
Otto has been Maxine for more than two years now, and while he’s learnt a lot about what it is to be transgender in that time, he freely admits that what he knew about the subject when he first got the role in 2014 could most accurately be described as ‘‘not much’’.
‘‘And I’m not really embarrassed to say so, because back then we didn’t really know much in the media about trans identities and what that comprises,’’ he continues.
‘‘Of course, these days it’s a whole different ballgame – you can cite anyone in particular as being a front runner to start that conversation.
‘‘Most of the general public would say someone like Caitlyn Jenner, but I don’t think that’s a very good example. I mean, I’m not denying that she hasn’t been fruitful for the discussion, but that’s one in thousands of different types of trans.’’
Physically speaking, Otto out of character brings to mind fellow Australian actors like Hugo Weaving or Guy Pearce – although whether seeing those two as drag queens in The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert is colouring my perception or not is difficult to say.
The 42-year-old doesn’t exactly undergo what you would call a remarkable transformation to become Maxine – it initially took two-and-a-half hours in the makeup chair and now takes only one – but because of the way Otto inhabits the character, that doesn’t seem to matter much.
‘‘I didn’t think about physicality,’’ he says, about his audition for the part. ’’Obviously I auditioned with a wig and makeup, but I didn’t think of anything apart from an inner sense of loneliness and despair and longing for connection – and heartache, because that was how they described Maxine in the beginning.’’
Otto speaks with passion whenever the conversation turns to transgender issues and the role he now plays in that community, and his Twitter account is littered with heartfelt declarations of love and respect for him and his character, Maxine.
‘‘One was from a young trans male who’s now just been approved to go into the adult clinic – as opposed to the youth clinic over in England – who said to me that his mother always struggled with understanding why her daughter wanted to transition to a male,’’ Otto says.
‘‘But after sitting down and watching Wentworth together, and watching Maxine’s story, the mother was actually able to look at her son and accept him, and vowed to actually join him on the ride a bit more, and embrace it.
‘‘Just the way I was sent that message is exactly what we’re trying to do with the character, to really educate people and show them the compassionate side.’’
Expecting a thoroughly researched answer, I ask Otto if he knows of any ‘‘real Maxines’’ in the Australian prison system, but surprisingly he is unsure.
‘‘Real Maxines in Australia? I don’t know unfortunately, but I’m pretty sure that if you haven’t had the complete gender reassignment surgery you would not be in this prison or vice versa.’’
‘‘I know that in America, trans women who haven’t had the chop so to speak, they’re in male prisons, and – for those who definitely want to have the procedure – they’re rallying for the legal system to change their structure, so they can actually afford to do that inside the jail.’’
‘‘But there’s a lot of stigma – people say they’re only doing it so they can actually leave the jail, blah blah blah. I don’t know any cases in Australia per se, but I would assume that it would be the same thing.’’
Otto is, at the end of the day, an actor playing a role, but it seems that this particular role has influenced him almost as much as he influences it.
‘‘For me it’s all about compassion,’’ he says. ‘‘You know, if we can give someone some insight – that for me is my objective.
‘‘There is no point in dealing with people who hate – it’s actually about finding the love out there and supporting that, or letting that bloom.’’
❚ Wentworth, TV2, Monday, July 25, 8.30pm.