If you’re someone who thinks that transgender visibility in Hollywood is something that happened all-of-a-sudden, you may not have been paying attention. The current “transgender tipping point” is years in the making, and actress Candis Cayne remembers a time not-too-long-ago when being trans in Hollywood was way less easy than it is now.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she recently talked about her audition experience for HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which she was up for the role of a trans woman who, in a transphobic and humiliating scene, would’ve had to go to the bathroom so badly that she went into a men’s restroom. Cayne was burdened with the job of explaining why this scene was unacceptable before walking out of the audition…and not without a sense of humor:
I went on an audition for Curb Your Enthusiasm and Larry David was there. The part was for a trans woman who had to go to the bathroom really bad and decided she was going to go in the men’s line because it was quicker. I said, ‘Thank you for writing a trans part, but I can’t audition because a trans woman wouldn’t do this. I have to honor my community,’ and I walked out of the audition, exiting with, ‘But I love the show!’
Apparently, Transparent‘s Alexandra Billings was waiting outside to go on the same audition, and Cayne later heard that Billings also walked out. She thought, “Right on, sister!” However, despite her composed response, Cayne admits that situations like this were difficult saying, “You’re always fighting this because you want to work, but you also want to be honest.”
Sadly, it generally falls on the few marginalized people that make it up the ranks in Hollywood to educate the rest. The good news? As more become known and rise further, bringing others with them, the less of that education people will need, because diversity will become part of the fabric of their culture, and their lives.
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