Dallas Buyers Club

From the piece:

When asked what research he did for the role he said “a lot” but he did not formally engage, pay, or study under any trans people.

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Actors put in much more effort for far less demanding roles. And it seems that the writers left a lot of room for criticism. Anti-transgender-performer casting bias (for trans* as well as cis roles) is definitely a thing.


None of Leto's comments come across to me as pithy, clever, insightful, or ally-worthy.

It's rare for an actor's behind-the-scenes conduct to prevent me from wanting to see a movie. To me, films are collaborative pieces, and unless an actor or director's attitudes or personality are visible in the movie, those things don't usually impact my viewing choices.

I think there are a few different (though possibly connected) issues at play here:

1. Jared Leto has made some comments that don't come across as very educated, though I think he means well. I'm not in a position to judge whether he gave the role adequate study or not (I've heard some conflicting opinions on that), but

2. There's anti-trans bias in the entertainment industry, and it can be difficult for trans actors to find work. While I don't think it's wrong for cis actors to play trans characters, I agree with the linked post that Leto's comment about how it shouldn't matter is a bit naive, considering it's uncommon for trans actors to be cast as cis characters.

3. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm sure there's room to discuss/criticize whether the character of Rayon was necessary or if she was written as a realistic, sympathetic person. I understand where people are coming from when they criticize the fact that she isn't based on a real person.

To be fair to Leto, he only has control over #1, though some of his statements come across as a little ignorant of #2 and #3.

When it comes down to it, I don't think Leto did anything particularly brave or fascinating by playing a trans woman, and I think the public's tendency to treat it as "brave" when a cis actor portrays a trans person is perhaps the biggest issue.

I'm sure I'll see the movie regardless, mainly because I like Matthew McConaughey.

Well, let me just say, that I've seen the movie and found it to be very moving. It does have some issues...anachronistic problems about when HIV was called HIV and so on, but the performances of Leto and McConaughey make this movie undeniably worth seeing.

Celia Cyanide said:

The only example I know of is in Dario Argento's Tenebre, which features a transgendered actress who is not identified as a transgendered character. Argento seemed to think nothing of it. He only thought of her as a beautiful actress.

I don't think actors have to be transgendered to play transgendered characters,

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Another example I can think of is the late International Chrysis, who had a role in Q & A (1990). I haven't seen the film since it came out, and I can't remember if the character she played was transgender or not.

It will also be interesting to see how Alexis Arquette's career develops.