20 Trans Actors Who Are Changing the Face of Hollywood (2024)

Like many other marginalized groups, trans, non-binary and gender-nonconforming people are still vastly underrepresented onscreen. But thanks to trans actors who are finally getting their due, trans people can finally see themselves in the TV and movies they love. But we've still got a long way to go until we've got full equality. GLAAD has tracked trans representation in the media since 2002, and found that 54% of TV shows that include trans characters still showed them in a negative light. An additional 35% of them ranged from "problematic" to "good," while only 12% were considered groundbreaking, fair and accurate enough to earn a GLAAD Media Award nomination. "We hope that representations of transgender people on television evolve to become as diverse, nuanced and inspiring as the community those images reflect," said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick.

There are a few things the media can do to help. One of those is casting trans actors to play trans characters. Not only do trans actors have a harder time finding work than their cisgender counterparts, casting cisgender actors to play trans characters just perpetuates the stigma that trans people are just playing dress-up rather than living as their authentic selves. Hiring transgender people for every part of the filmmaking process, from actors to writers and as part of the production team not only improves visibility but results in more accurate stories, since nobody can depict a community like those who belong to it. "The entertainment industry can help [the trans community] by giving us more opportunities and better parts that don't solely focus on our sexuality," actor Victoria Beltran told Vice. "It's really simple. People just have to take a risk and give us the opportunity." Here are a few of the game-changers working right now.

Cox is perhaps best known for her role in Orange is the New Black, for which she was the first openly transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy in an acting category. In 2015, she nabbed a Daytime Emmy for executive producing Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word, making history as the first openly trans woman to win.

Dillon also appeared on Orange, but most know them for their appearance on Billions. In their role as Mason, they're the first openly non-binary actor playing a non-binary character on network TV. They've criticized the Emmys for its gendered categories and in response, MTV created a gender-neutral acting award.

Moore has also appeared on Pose, but really made a name for themselves as a model. They were the first openly trans and non-binary person to grace Elle's cover, which they took as an opportunity to shed light on activism. "I don't know who I am outside of someone who's just trying to be free and find safety for myself and for others," they told the magazine.

Also known for her role on Pose, Rodriguez has appeared on shows like Nurse Jackie and The Carrie Diaries. She's also said she finds it invigorating to represent her community. "We get to be ourselves and live out loud. It's intimidating because there are so many things that come our way. And with what we have to deal with and the responsibilities that we have, [it] can be a little overwhelming," she told Metro in 2019.

Known for playing a trans hacker on Sense 8, Clayton is also vocal about trans rights in show business. "Actors who are trans never even get to audition for anything other than roles of trans characters," she tweeted after Scarlett Johansson was cast as a trans man. "That's the real issue. We can't even get in the room. Cast actors who are trans as non-trans characters. I dare you."

A relative newcomer to the scene, Schafer plays Jules on Euphoria. Her character is one of the few onscreen who actually doesn't struggle with her identity, but Schafer hopes that becomes the norm. "There need to be more roles where trans people aren't just dealing with being trans; they're being trans while dealing with other issues," she told Variety. "We're so much more complex than just one identity."

With credits like Faking It, Shameless and The Fosters, Fletcher has played a diverse array of roles. That's somewhat unusual for trans actors, who often get pigeonholed into one type or another. Fletcher hopes that continues, dreaming he'll get to play Spiderman someday.

Totah has appeared on shows like Champions and Glee, and said she first began to realize her true self when she was five years old. "This is not something that just happened. This is not a choice that I made," she said in Time. "Long before I understood what the word gender meant, I would always tell my mother that I wished I were a girl. I always knew on some level that I was female."

Breaking onto the scene with the Emmy-nominated web series Her Story, you may also know Richards from Mrs. Fletcher, Nashville and Tales of the City. That first project was groundbreaking because it featured two trans women, Richards and Angelica Ross, in stories that weren't about tragedy or violence, but simply the journey of being human.

Billings' career spans the screen and stage, with roles on Transparent, Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away With Murder, Never Have I Ever, Goliath and in Wicked on Broadway. In her role on The Conners, Billings likes getting to play a more well-rounded character. “What's really fun is playing a trans character who's just a little bit of an asshole,” she told The Advocate. “So much time I’m playing what I like to call the ‘magical trans lady.’ I come into scenes, and I'm sort of like, ‘I'll solve the problem.’”

“I saw zero representation of transmasculinity,” Smith told The New York Times Magazine of what it was like feeling unrepresented onscreen growing up. “It was very isolating to grow up and have these dreams. I didn’t see how I was going to be able to do it.” Now, he's appeared in a diverse range of roles on shows like Queen Sugar, The L Word and 9-1-1 Lone Star.

Lysette has appeared in Transparent, Pose and Hustlers, among others. As a former strip club worker, she told Them that playing a sex worker onscreen helps reveal the reality of the job. "I’ve played sex workers so many times, but I’ve been lucky that most of them have quite a bit to say. They’re real human beings. I can speak to Middle America through these characters," she says. "I don’t want to be typecast, but I think my body of work speaks for itself and hopefully doors will continue to open for girls like us."

Sheng fell into acting almost by accident, auditioning for Adam after a casting agent messaged him via Instagram. He's since appeared on The L Word, as well. An active poster on social media about his personal journey, Sheng told the New York Times that he wants people to see trans bodies as they are, in all their diverse forms.

Even after winning an Independent Spirit Award for Tangerine, Taylor says she gets sick of being labeled a "trans actress" instead of simply an actress. "I'm just so tired of the labels and I'm just so tired of how hard it is," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "I've done so many auditions compared to when I first started, but I was doing a lot of auditions for trans roles that focused around this victimology and I just got tired of that."

Graf first started out auditioning as "just one of the guys" without disclosing his trans identity, which he said is a complicated sort of privilege. “Largely due to our physicality, we’ve been afforded the luxury of living that unseen, under-the-radar, stealth life. Trans women have historically been more visible,” he explains. “Trans men have been out there doing things much more quietly, which is great for them, but not great for visibility.”

Schofield, of The Bold and the Beautiful, also wants to see more visible trans men onscreen. "Trans men have been completely invisible in Hollywood," he told Hollywood Reporter. "We kind of blend into the background."

As a Black trans woman, the Transparent actor says she gets even fewer opportunities because of her multiple marginalized identities and how trans actors often get pigeonholed. "I personally lose roles because I hear that I'm 'too pretty,' I’m 'too passable,' I’m 'too normal' and I don’t fit this stereotype of what trans actors are supposed to look like," she told Hollywood Reporter.