Actress Alexandra Billings responds to Hunter Schafer turning down trans roles

Trailblazing trans actress and star of Transparent, Alexandra Billings, has shared her perspective on whether trans actors should decline trans roles, a stance that Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer has begun to adopt.

Earlier this year, Schafer, recently seen portraying a cisgender teenager in Tilman Singer’s psychological horror film Cuckoo, stated that she has turned down “tons of trans roles” simply because she doesn’t “want to do them,” according to ‘MSN’.

Despite achieving recognition as trans teen Jules Vaughn in the dark drama Euphoria, Schafer expressed that being repeatedly labeled as a “trans actress” feels “demeaning.”

“Getting further and doing awesome s**t, in the interest of ‘the movement,’ will be way more helpful than talking about it all the time,” she remarked. Since then, she has gone further, stating that she also does not want to be identified as a “trans activist.”

Image Credit: Canva

Now, in an exclusive interview with PinkNews, Billings—who became one of television’s first openly trans characters with her appearance in the 2005 TV film Romy and Michele: In the Beginning—has expressed her full support for Schafer.

When asked if trans representation in TV and film has progressed to a point where trans actresses should turn down trans roles, Billings replied: “I don’t know about should but if there’s something in you, in your personal journey and artistic journey, that says, ‘I don’t think this is a great idea,’ don’t do it.”

Billings is best known for her role in Amazon’s acclaimed LGBTQ+ series Transparent, where she portrayed Davina, the best friend of the lead character Maura Pfefferman.

At that time, Maura was played by cisgender male actor Jeffrey Tambor, who departed from the show in 2018 after allegations of sexual harassment—claims he denied, although he acknowledged having anger issues and expressed apologies to anyone he made “feel vulnerable.”

In 2020, Billings also made history as the first trans actress cast in the role of Madame Morrible in Wicked.

More recently, she appeared in the coming-of-age comedy-drama film Queen Tut, where she plays Malibu, a drag bar owner who mentors a closeted Egyptian teenager while trying to save her bar from being demolished. Her performance earned her a nomination for a Canadian Screen Award.

When it comes to choosing roles, Billings has a straightforward mantra and a message for Schafer: pursue what brings you genuine joy.

“I don’t care if you have to pay rent, or you don’t. Listen, write this down: don’t spend a second doing anything that doesn’t bring you joy. Ever.

“If it’s not filling you up—and I’m talking about service work, helping somebody across the street, buying a stranger lunch anonymously, having a McRib (the McRib is coming back in November)—whatever this thing is, feel your spirit filling up with joy.

“If that’s not happening, stop.”

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