In an ideal world, this would not be a huge deal – trans actors would be cast for things all the time and it would be completely normal and not even a blip on anyone’s radar, but at the moment it’s rare to see trans actors in TV and, in this case, literally the first time a trans child actor has ever been cast in a role like this.
The 8 year old Jackson Millarker from Atlanta, Georgia, will play a friend of the character Lily in an upcoming episode of ‘Modern Family’, and, from the looks of that grin, could not be more stoked:
Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who plays Lily’s father, is also pretty chuffed:
Super proud of this weeks episode of @ModernFam! #Equality #ModernFamily https://t.co/UAZVr0nT19
— Jesse Tyler Ferguson (@jessetyler) September 27, 2016
Casting like this is important because not only does it give representation to trans people in mainstream culture, it actually gives them a chance to represent themselves – unlike the wealth of shows and movies that profit from telling trans people’s stories while portraying them with actors who do not identify as trans.
Jeffrey Tambor, star of ‘Transparent‘ recently urged Hollywood to start casting more trans actors – ironically while he himself is playing a trans role.
Source: Huffington Post.
Photo: Instagram / @Film114.
