Find out what our favorite trans actors are up to in 2022
While there is still a very long way to go in terms of trans representation in our entertainment spaces, the last couple of years have seen some very positive steps taken in the right direction. Trans actors are being booked often for authentic trans roles and educational efforts about the rights of the trans community continue on a daily.
In 2021 many of our favorite trans actors and actresses in Hollywood were booked, busy, and fabulous! From regular spots on prime-time episodic television to full-length feature films, our trans folks slayed 2021. 2022 looks to be just as bright for many of them.
So what are our fave trans actors and actresses planning to do in the upcoming months? Here’s what we know about a few of our absolute faves!
Brian Michael Smith
2021 was yet another historic year for Brian Michael Smith. He became the first trans man to be featured in People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive on TV list. Although now a series regular on Lonestar 911 on Fox, he previously broke records by becoming the first black trans man to appear on television. He has enjoyed a very lucrative career ever since.
Lonestar 911 returned to Fox for its third season on January 3, 2022. On the show, he plays Paul Strickland, an out trans man who works as a firefighter in Texas. The show has been commended for its diversity and positive LGBTQ representation. In season 2 the spotlight was honed on Strickland’s character and it looked back over his journey to transitioning, a rarity for mainstream television anywhere.
We don’t know much about what season 3 holds for Lonestar 911 fans, but we do know that Brian Michael Smith remains a series regular and we’re excited to see what antics the folks of Station 126 get up to!
Jamie Clayton
Up until recently, Jamie Clayton was appearing on our screens in The L Word: Generation Q as Tess Van De Berg. Season 2 finished airing in 2021. Clayton was also part of the documentary smash Disclosure which won a Glaad media award for Outstanding Documentary.
2022 appears to be just as lucrative for Clayton as in previous years. In 2021 it was announced that Clayton would play the role of Pinhead in a new Hellraiser film. Clive Barker, who wrote and directed the original 1987 film of the same name has also signed on as Producer. The film is currently in post-production and slated for release exclusively on Hulu in 2022.
Clayton is currently working on Jack Snyder’s new animated project Twilight of the Gods. Inspired by Norse mythology, Clayton is voicing the character of The Seid-Kona. The show is slated for release on Netflix sometime in 2022.
Laverne Cox
The fabulous Laverne Cox is booked and busy! Shonda Rhime’s latest project Inventing Anna is currently in post-production. It’s the story of Anna Delvey who was arrested and convicted of grand larceny and theft. She served time on Riker’s Island and when she was released was arrested again by ICE on immigration violations. She is currently back in detainment.
Laverne Cox is playing the role of Kacy Duke, a celebrity trainer and life coach that got caught up in Anna’s mess. The show, which is expected to be a very big hit, is scheduled for release on Netflix on February 11, 2022.
While information about the film is currently being kept a secret, Laverne Cox has joined the cast of the Netflix film adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s international bestselling novel The Uglies. Scott Westerfeld himself joined the production as a writer. The film wrapped early in 2021 and is expected to be released sometime in the second half of 2022.
It was also recently announced that Cox would appear alongside George Wallace in an upcoming comedy called Clean Slate. It’s the hilarious story of a car-wash owner who is overjoyed by the return of his estranged son after seventeen years away from home. Little does the man know, now his son is an out, and proud, trans woman called Desiree. The show is currently in pre-production. Little other details are known at this point.
Elliot Page
Another booked and busy Hollywood actor, Elliot Page has a lot going on in 2022. Season 3 of the Netflix smash series The Umbrella Academy is scheduled for release in 2022. Page plays the role of Vanya Hargreeves, a cisgender woman with superpowers. Page embodied the role of Hargreeves before he transitioned to Elliot. It was announced, however, that Page would continue in the role and no changes to the character would be made.
Elliot Page is also joining Kate Winslet, Gerard Butler, and Megan Fox in Naya Legend of the Golden Dolphin. It’s an animated film that documents the journey of a dolphin princess on her quest as she attempts to save the Earth. Page is voicing the character of Dusky. There seems to be some contention about whether this project will be released in 2022, or 2023.
Another animated project to hit our screens is Robodog. Page is voicing the character of Izzy. This is the story of two dogs, one real and one robot as they journey through the world together to find the meaning of life and where they belong. The project is currently in post-production.
In yet another animated project, Page is joining the cast of ARK: The Animated Series as Victoria Walker. Currently, in the filming phase, this animated series is based on a survival game concept.
Mj Rodriguez
After a stellar 2021 where she was the first trans actress to ever be nominated for a lead acting role at the Emmys, Mj Rodriguez is kicking off 2022 with a television series called Tarzana. Joining the cast as Sofia, it documents the story of a woman whose husband is up and leaves her with just $87.00. Sofia is a hard-working Executive Director of a non-profit funded by her absentee billionaire boss.
If Rodriguez is planning on working on screens after that in 2022, it’s being kept under wraps for now. In a recent interview after her Emmy nomination, Rodriguez did mention that she is planning to work on her music career more in the upcoming months. She dropped her first single back in June 2021, titled Something to Say.
Are your favorite trans actors and actresses not on our coverage list? Drop us a comment on our socials! We’d love to hear more about who you want to see updates on!
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Featured image: Images courtesy of Getty Images.
