Transgender Hollywood seeks recognition
NEW YORK — When actress Scarlett Johansson reversed course recently and canceled plans to play a transgender man in the film “Rub & Tug,” transgender actors such as Scott Turner Schofield were gratified — and pleasantly surprised. After years of watching non-trans stars win accolades — including Oscars — for what was seen as bravery in playing transgender characters, finally it seemed somebody got it.
“To have someone with any amount of power be reflective, and say, ‘I did something wrong, I learned something and I’m sorry’ — that absolutely feels like change,” said Schofield, a veteran trans performer who stars in the upcoming European film “The Conductor.”
Now, Schofield and others hope Hollywood will understand an even bigger point — that the “authentic casting” debate stoked by the Johansson episode isn’t just about who gets acting roles. The real goal, he said, is access for the transgender community at every level of the Hollywood storytelling process, from the first idea pitch to the final product. “We need to take the reins here,” Schofield said. “We need to be a substantive part of this conversation.”
Advocates are hoping the current focus on transgender Hollywood will help. “Hollywood right now is being very introspective about the stories it’s telling and how it’s telling them,” said Nick Adams, director of the transgender media program at GLAAD, the LGBT advocacy group. “We’re having a cultural moment where the trans community is speaking up and saying, ‘We want to be part of that.’”
To that end, GLAAD and the equality organization 50/50BY2020 on Tuesday issued an “open letter to Hollywood,” signed by a large array of organizations and companies — from the American Civil Liberties Union to
Time’s Up, from producers including Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy, Ava DuVernay and Judd Apatow, to the major talent agencies.
“Trans people are fighting every day to be seen and accepted as human beings,” the letter said. “We believe we are at an unprecedented cultural moment, where we can ask Hollywood to use its power to improve the lives of trans people by changing America’s understanding about who trans people are.”
Not long ago, said Schofield and others, transgender people felt they had to be grateful for the mere fact Hollywood was willing to tell their stories — albeit with non-trans stars, such as Hilary Swank in the 1999 “Boys Don’t Cry,” Felicity Huffman in the 2005 “Transamerica,” or Jared Leto in 2013’s “Dallas Buyers Club” (Swank and Leto won Oscars, and Huffman was nominated.)
“I don’t begrudge ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ anything,” said Schofield, “but times have changed. We have trans people who are professionally trained artists.”
An even deeper problem, said Adams of GLAAD,
is the impression given the public when an actor who is not transgender appears on the red carpet in a beard and tuxedo after playing a trans woman in a wig and a dress. “It reinforces in some people’s minds that trans people’s identities are not real — that it’s a costume, a show, a performance,” said Adams, who is a trans man. “That fundamental misunderstanding about who trans people are is toxic, and it can lead to violence.”
GLAAD also advocates, of course, for better representation of gays and lesbians in Hollywood. But the difference, Adams said, is that trans people are fighting for their very identity to be recognized: “Often we’re told our gender identity is not real, that it’s all in our heads.”
Some directors who’ve hired trans actors note that they bring a perspective non-trans actors can’t. Dutch director Maria Peters, who hired Schofield for “The Conductor,” said the pivotal role he plays required an innate understanding of both genders. “I told Scott I would hire him again to play a man OR a woman,” she said. She adds that in an ideal world,
anybody could play anything. But, she said, “Transgender actors are fed up with not having been taken seriously for so many years.”
The trans community was buoyed last year when “A Fantastic Woman” won the Oscar for best foreign language film, starring trans actress Daniela Vega as a transgender character. Adams said that victory was significant for the struggle for more prominent trans representation in movies.
Backlash was swift when Johansson announced plans last month to play the real-life character of Dante “Tex” Gill, a trans man. She initially responded that criticism “can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor (of TV’s “Transparent”), Jared Leto and Felicity Huffman’s reps.”
Johansson later switched course, saying her earlier statement was insensitive. “I understand why many feel [the character] should be portrayed by a transgender person, and I am thankful that this casting debate, albeit controversial, has sparked a larger conversation about diversity and representation in film,” she said.” It’s not clear if “Rub & Tug,” which Johansson was producing, will go forward.