‘Cis’ actors playing trans characters. Males actors getting away with doing it whilst female actors apologise for thinking about it

[RaPumPumPumPum]

Watching Dallas Buyers Club and idly wondered if Jared Leto ever got any stick for playing a trans woman. All Google could throw up was he was heckled by a person once. He’s never been questioned or criticised for it and certainly has never made an apology for it.

Then I remembered Scarlett Johannsen apologising a few years ago for just considering playing a trans man. Halle Berry also dropped out a project to play a trans man and apologised. Both heavily criticised, harassed on social media and ‘called out’.

I can’t think why people attack women for thinking about playing a trans character, but don’t even say anything to men for actually doing it. It’s almost like they’re trying to control what women do, what they say and how they feel

@PermanentTemporary

I do get that making a living as a trans performer can't be easy and it must be frustrating when a part comes up that you're uniquely qualified for and someone else who isn't as qualified gets it.

Don't most people do audutions and ACT? And if they play the character best, then they get the part?

Isn't that the unique qualification, being able to ACT?

I mean, James Bond has not been played by ex members of the secret service, they are ACTING? To a script, written by writers...

I guess I mean visually qualified for.

I can't help remembering the black British actors who left for the US because they simply could not get cast here, not for parts that could be played by any race, and black-specific projects were rarely funded. Looking at the TV I think and hope that has changed. There are more trans parts coming no doubt.

The last few programmes I’ve recently seen featuring Eddie Izzard, have him performing in a male role while identifying as female in real life. Doesn’t bother me at all, but in the spirit of fairness, would like to know how Eddie justifies accepting the roles.

I think acting is dying as a profession anyway with fewer people going to theatres and cinemas and it not being about actually acting a different character any more but just playing lots of similar parts. Plus a lot of films and dramas feel like watching woke propaganda now. The younger generation don't have a TV/ theatre habit and the older generation don't like being preached to. Actors deciding actually acting a part was a terrible thing and denouncing people who have the effrontery to try and act a different type of person has just hastened its demise. Then there's the smugness and virtue signalling they love. Will we be left with news, documentaries and reality TV with lots of influencer, oh and males doing sport

I guess I mean visually qualified for.

Eddie Redmayne was a man who put a costume on and then acted.

What is the difference between that and someone who says they are trans and who is a male that puts a costume on and then acts?

I'm very happy to see Izzard in male roles but agree it's embittering then having them go on about access to women's spaces and feeling frightened by teenage girls in toilets.

Its a challenge to my 'men should happily dress in a femme way' view because it always seems to escalate in a way that women wearing leathers doesn't.

But in America for financial purposes Izzard is in boy mode. It's only when they are shitting on women's rights in the UK that they pop on their pink beret which clearly signifies girl mode.

I think acting is dying as a profession anyway with fewer people going to theatres and cinemas and it not being about actually acting a different character any more but just playing lots of similar parts.

I don’t think so based on increase in Netflix and success of shows like Succession which show the best acting I’ve seen for a while.

Going back to op I agree it’s acceptable for men to play transwomen although I think the show Pose was quite good for using the actors it did.

Plus did Hilary Swank get a hard time for doing Boys Don’t Cry - am I remembering that correctly?

@PermanentTemporary

I do get that making a living as a trans performer can't be easy and it must be frustrating when a part comes up that you're uniquely qualified for and someone else who isn't as qualified gets it.

But surely one of the qualifications they are looking for when casting actors to play characters is the ability to, you know, act? Not to just play yourself.

Whilst filming Marathon Man Dustin Hoffman stayed up all night, so people could see he was a tortured soul.
Laurence Olivier suggested that he could just try acting instead

@ArtemesiaK

Is it OK for trans actors to be given parts as non-trans characters, though? Surely they're limiting their roles if they can only ever play their own gender....

Well Eddie Izzard is currently playing a non-trans male character in a TV show.

There is also Elliott Page's non-trans character in Umbrella Academy. Although I'd expected it's the kind of show that would make the character trans to accommodate.

So who knows.

My DD recently played a shepherd. Will she now have to release a statement on twitter? Admittedly gender wasn't discussed and the robes were ambiguous but the biblical context suggests shepherds probably had pensises and she definitely doesn't.

@Mittenmob

My DD recently played a shepherd. Will she now have to release a statement on twitter? Admittedly gender wasn't discussed and the robes were ambiguous but the biblical context suggests shepherds probably had pensises and she definitely doesn't.

No but she will need to purchase at last 3 sheep in the next 12 weeks.

At least...3 sheep...sigh.

In BIG, Tom Hanks played the role of a 13 year old boy in the body of an adult man. Going by the logic of current ideologies it should have been played by an actual transage man who identifies as a 13 year old. Not sure how comfortable Hollywood is with that idea though…

(I have issues with the BIG movie but feel it is an appropriate example in this context)

@NeedsCharging

Fact is women can't do anything unless men, transwomen included approve.

Patriarchy has changed the dress code but it's still Patriarchy it's just woke now.

And if I’m honest woke patriarchy is worse as it harder to counter.

I wonder what would happen if Tim Curry made some gender critical statement. After all, he played a diabolical murderous transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania.

I do wonder what roles Elliot Page will be cast in going forward. As a 5 feet 1 inch man who looks like a teenage boy but is actually 34, I’m not sure where Elliot’s career is headed?

@VikingVolva

There was quite a fuss when Julie Hesmondhalgh was cast in Corrie

That's nearly 25 years ago - but Classic has been showing her early episodes in the last few months

Didn't one of the UK trans Grand Dames not boast about advising Coronation St to have a woman play Hayley because it would be more sympathetic (i.e. that they could have a storyline with shock and surprise that Hayley was actually born a man)?

Can't remember which one. The Beaumont Society founder that's always pushing her book on Twitter.

Quite apart from the issues of only T people can play T people but T people can play anything, because sometimes TWAW but are still T rather than W when it serves, and the whole acting thing, a film rarely gets off the ground without a well known name or two in the lead role who will help at the box office. Films are products that sell to make money. However you feel about it, that's the fact, that's the reality.

That means that an unknown T actor in the lead role is a financial risk that is very unlikely to be taken up if you know how many projects are set up and how very very few get taken up, funded and manage to stay solvent to the point of release. Not to mention Hollywood has been systematically trained now by experience that trying to have a T role or a T theme in a film just leads to all hell breaking loose and the film usually never gets made. It's not possible to do. As a result, there's almost none of them.

Cutting off noses to spite faces comes to mind.

@Justme56

I do wonder what roles Elliot Page will be cast in going forward. As a 5 feet 1 inch man who looks like a teenage boy but is actually 34, I’m not sure where Elliot’s career is headed?

Down the toilet.

Netflix will adjust the umbrella academy somehow to accommodate her transitioning to he. They will in part do this because it will appeal to the audience for that specific show, and in part to boost their LGBTQ+-*/%etc points to offset their refusal to drop Dave Chappel. I reckon Page might get one more role after that - probably playing a youngish, non-threatening, non-sexy man - a "best friend" type role - and then that'll be it. How many male actors are there under 5'6"? Plus Hollywood had to have 1 eye on the international market. How does China feel about TWAW? (Apart from in their Olympic squads, where they are very keen.)

@LangificusClegasaurous

I wonder what would happen if Tim Curry made some gender critical statement. After all, he played a diabolical murderous transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania.

Um, I think you’ll find he was a sweet transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania - ahahah ahha.

@LangificusClegasaurous

I wonder what would happen if Tim Curry made some gender critical statement. After all, he played a diabolical murderous transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania.

Richard O'Brien came out on JR'S side last year - www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/nov/05/richard-obrien-interview-rocky-horror-trans-crack-stroke-70s

@Mittenmob

My DD recently played a shepherd. Will she now have to release a statement on twitter? Admittedly gender wasn't discussed and the robes were ambiguous but the biblical context suggests shepherds probably had pensises and she definitely doesn't.

My DS played a shepherd and unlike the Jewish flock attendants at the time, isn’t circumcised

My DS played a shepherd and unlike the Jewish flock attendants at the time, isn’t circumcised

Oh no I played a Roman when I was younger, I need to confess my obvious cultural appropriation