And that seems really radical, tucked within that very problematic representation. If I was lying on my deathbed and I had kept this secret and never ever did anything about it, I would be lying there saying, 'You just blew your entire life,' 'You never dealt with yourself,' and I don't want that to happen. People keep talking about the niceness of Ted Lasso, but thats because were seeing men be nice, and thats considered radical. I think its really easy to get distracted by whatever the current skirmish is when whatever the current skirmish is is always a distraction from whats at the base level. Were all babies and then someone looks at whats between our legs and assigns us a sex, then a gender identity is placed on top. So I dont have to change my body, I can release she/her pronouns, I can use they/them. In the "Beyond the Binary" episode of THR's inclusion-themed podcast, the actor shares how their groundbreaking character helped them understand their own gender identity, and makes the case for gender neutral acting awards categories. As I've lived as an openly trans person with the people I love most for many years, I did always wonder when I'd come out publicly. And that is a character of color in a show featuring indigenous people in a way that indigenous people havent really been represented before. And if so, how should they do it over? And there can be trans people who are very succinct and clear about what their gender is, and that can be very different than non-binary folks. A lot of brands are saying theyre going to make gender neutral clothing. Asia Kate Dillon wandered into a coffee shop near Brooklyns Prospect Park looking like a fallen angel taking a personal day: Black shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, black liner circling each eye. Dillon is non-binary and uses singular they pronouns. There were versions of the script that had pronouns for the Adjudicator that were he/him, there were versions that had she/her. I felt really comfortable and safe this whole time, and that doesnt always happen. Dillon: I have to be honest about the fact that Im not a casting director and Im not an agent and Im not a manager, so Im not seeing scripts come across my desk, quote-unquote, every day. My mom was an SNL hound. The balance is too far on one side for now. Episode 24: Asia Kate Dillon Beyond the Binary, Intro music: Jaunty, upbeat chords interspersed with the sound of a DJ scratching a record back and forth on a turntable. Dillon: I encounter this and it doesnt matter what room I was in specifically but where were going around and saying our names, and I am the only person that will offer my pronouns. Hes a bisexual Latino man, a cisgender man. If you have a kid who comes out as non-binary, you get to watch this father actively work from a place of love to learn to love his child again, or in a new way, or something. And that to me is also historic and something Im really proud of. Sun: I cribbed that from ah, which scholar coined the invisibility of whiteness? And based off of that response, we get a new crop of representation and each new step opens another door and we get closer to this thing that I think we all want, which is just a diversity of representation. Showtime had a meeting with everyone before my first day of shooting, so then it was just gently correcting people who were misgendering me, not on purpose. Thats awesome. And its been awesome to see that so far, peripherally, they are integral characters to the storyline, the story isnt about their gender identity necessarily. The surgery didn't solve all of my issues, but it did offer a sense of peace and comfort that wasn't otherwise there. So in that sense, I think expanding the definition of what a woman is is great for people who identify as women and want to work at expanding that definition for themselves and the world at large. Its this adventurey place. I think it really could go a long way towards dismantling a lot of the toxic masculinity as well as some of the limits that women have. It's something everyone wants, to feel understood. Which tells you just how little there is. And the teaching moment didnt hit anyone over the head with this is the righteous way to be because it rang true to the characters, and I think that is a credit to the extraordinary writing we have on the show. Its an umbrella term, and it describes anybody who may have a gender that doesnt really exclusively fall into male or female cisgender very specifically and who may identify somewhere in between that or beyond that. Sun: These arent, like, Adult Swim cartoons that come on at 3 a.m. for grownups to watch, but this is childrens programming and is age-appropriate in terms of all the aspects in which that matters. Its a masterful way of showing a multidimensional, incredibly complex, awesome character that I think many performers would kill to play. And that creates a ripple effect for other gender identities. I also think this conversation isnt just about who were seeing onscreen or larger cultural narratives changing. Like donuts and candy. Is Asia Kate Dillon Related To Matt Dillon. [laughs] As Nina Simone said, its an artists job to reflect society. Lets keep going. Asia Kate Dillon wandered into a coffee shop near Brooklyn's Prospect Park looking like a fallen angel taking a personal day: Black shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, black liner circling. What is shown in the story is you dont know that persons gender, and hopefully the lesson is, Dont assume. Dont assume someones gender just because someone is wearing makeup or dressed in historically feminine attire, whatever that means. What does that look like? You tend to play characters who are emotionally closed off. The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-2023) Jane Fonda ( Grace and Frankie (2015)); Asia Kate Dillon ( Billions (2016)); guest DJ Stephen Boss. I dont necessarily like when the attempt is offensive, but to get something right, you also need to know what you got wrong. Everybody else around Pat was obsessed with Pats gender, which if you talk to trans people, non-binary people, thats kind of what the world is like now. (Laughs.). When I encountered the character breakdown for Taylor, and it did say female non-binary something happened where everything aligned for me, says the actor, who plays the genius hedge fund executive Taylor Mason on the Showtime drama, whose fifth season resumed on Sept. 5. To the political leaders who work to criminalize trans health care and deny our right to exist and to all of those with a massive platform who continue to spew hostility towards the trans community: you have blood on your hands. If you see a non-binary character where the representation is just about their identity and/or they die in some horrific manner and/or they only have one episode, that is evidence to me that there was no non-binary person involved in that project except the actor who was cast. Dillon: I was told my whole life that my body meant that I was a girl and a woman, so I really couldnt conceive of how to separate my experience of myself versus what I was told I was supposed to be because of what my body looked like. As soon as they enter the narrative, they are not binary. And so you see a character like Bugs Bunny who dresses in drag. It was just not a thing. Asia always wanted to play the role of a boy, which came true when they were cast as a boy at the age of 11 in their school play. My pronouns are they/them. Sun: Hes not toxic? Certainly. Its really quite extraordinary. "Hi. They are known for playing Brandy Epps in Orange Is the New Black (2013) and Taylor Mason in Billions (2016). Im so glad we finally got to talk. Maybe the food is trying to keep within the vibe of the world. Trans people have always existed, so these conversations have happened. Someone can have a beard and be trans. Its Pat. Asia has EINFHLUNG tattooed on their neck which means empathy in German. Especially just being exposed to online discourse, anybody whos online for a certain period of time starts to have a detector for that type of thing. What do you think about satire? Its really about white characters getting through the door first. And I think that were kind of hitting the tip of the iceberg of what was almost verging on a very metaphysical discussion about the separation between body and soul and things like that. I can release she/her pronouns, I can use they/them. Getting to wear drag is super fun. They have a mild social media following with more than 150k followers on Instagram and more than 50k followers on Twitter. If youre not just working with the primary cast there are up to 150 background characters, so you need a lot of snacks. All rights reserved. Female is a sex, and sex is between our legs, and gender identity is between our ears.. Cardigan by Maison Kitsun / Shirt by Agns B / Beanie by American Apparel / Necklaces, Dillon's own. And so I think one of the incredible complexities that the show holds about this character of Bobby Axelrod is that, as you said, hes all the things. This is who I am.. And so here I fully am. This week well be learning about non-binary gender identity and exploring how film and TV represent characters that are neither exclusively male nor female. I think that thats one of those things where when you are describing it to that extent, I think it indicates that youre really thinking about the intention of why youre taking on something and or why youre not. ", "I think from my teenage years, when I decided I needed to express my femininity, I was happy with the way I looked. While there are characters and storylines in Star Trek that have always been about this exploration of gender non-conformity, I would say that it isnt really until more recently also as language has evolved and weve really solidified our concept of non-binary as a word to describe people it really isnt until the later works, Discovery, that weve had explicitly crafted non-binary characters. It was created by colonists and imposed on the indigenous peoples of the so-called United States of America. Demi Lovato I think was the most recent really big announcement. I know Im being really specific, but I think its okay. Dillon: Thank you for asking about that. Featured Image byAsia Kate Dillon / Instagram. Gender nonconformity has traditionally been a means of exploring horror narratives. And I was like, Why am I so connected to this character? And then I realized that this character is upending gender norms. It depends. Find Asia kate dillon stock photos in HD and millions of other editorial images in the Shutterstock collection. They have accumulated good wealth from their acting career. Ceed_Lab. I think about the concept of angels and demons. In 2017 and again, if you Google this, Im basically quoting but thats okay. We know that there is a reality in which trans, non-binary, intersex, gender nonconforming people are the targets of hate, bigotry, violence, discrimination, whether its job discrimination, housing discrimination, they have higher rates of bullying and suicide than any other marginalized group. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. The clothes are almost all vintage Thierry Mugler. If you are a white mother and you have a Black daughter, how do you talk to that child about who they are as a Black person in America? And then when I was cast as Taylor, it felt like the shorter buzz just felt right for the character, honestly, so thats why Ive maintained it. 454 1. And so it is both a means to identify how I feel, how I experience my gender, and also a way of illustrating that the sex and gender binaries are not real. People are just very obsessed with figuring out who we are all the time. I think their character identifies as a man, Marcus, on the show. They are known for playing Brandy Epps in Orange Is the New Black (2013) and Taylor Mason in Billions (2016).
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