Actress extraordinaire and Queerty ICON Award winner Michaela Jaé Rodriguez honors Trans Awareness Week year-round, simply by being her trailblazing self.
Whether she’s playing the buttoned-up Sofia on Apple TV’s Loot, loving house mother Blanca Evangelista on Pose, or the ever-vulnerable Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, Michaela Jaé knows how to capture a character. Put her screen and stage abilities with her “Something To Say” musical prowess, and she’s got the EGOT talent pool wrapped up.
Like her character Sofia, Michaela Jaé is no stranger to a bit of activism. She’s recently partnered with Citi to raise awareness for their Chosen Name offering that lets cardholders change the name on their cards without a legal name change, giving folks another no-hassle way to live in their truth.
We caught up with the star to chat about Loot, her historic Golden Globes win, and to get her take on the authentic casting conversation.
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QUEERTY: Let’s start with one stellar moment from this year in particular: your Golden Globe win! Being the first trans winner of a Golden Globe, eating the girls up; how was that winning moment?
MICHAELA JAÉ: Okay, I love the way you said that, number one. I was so happy with the win, but there are also moments that I still haven’t completely celebrated to this day because I’m always wondering if I’m doing enough for the community. Whether it be me putting my words into actions, or me just speaking up and changing things. I was like, “Oh my god, do I deserve this award? Am I a true recipient of this award?”
There is a piece of me that finally feels that I’m deserving of it simply because of the work that I put into my craft and how much I love to convey these stories. I just want to be a great representation of the characters that I’m planting. It feels good.
Getting that award, though, I haven’t celebrated all of the wonders of it, makes me thankful and proud of myself for being a light for the girls out there who know now that they have an open space and open playing field to be actresses and performers and singers, and have prestige to them, too. That award, even that one alone, shows that we have worth.
And I say “we”, because it’s not just myself, it’s the people – the women, the trans women, the Black women that have come behind me and have gotten us to this point to win that award. It was beautiful.
As a Black-mixed trans woman, I promise you that you’re doing enough even just through your visibility and your talent. Personally, your turn in Little Shop of Horrors was my first true voice goals.
Are you for real? Can I tell you, I was so scared. I had always wanted to play Audrey. I was like, “Oh, I’ve watched this darn show for years, I’ve got to do Ellen Greene justice! I have to.”
Well, and with “Somewhere That’s Green”, the trans girls can really grab onto that – the white picket fence dream that seems so out of reach. I’ve had my moments singing in the shower to it.
Listen, you ain’t the only one, girl. Oh, I could go on for hours.
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We also have to talk about your role on Loot this year! It’s inspiring having this character that is only not specified to be trans because it’s something that goes without saying. How did working on Loot contrast to your work developing Pose?
I think the work from Loot and Pose contrast as two different kinds of realities. Pose was set in a time that was crucial, showing HIV/AIDS when it was at its all-time high and a disproportionate rate of gay men and unknown trans women passed away. Pose was so deeply rooted in raw, real struggle. Even though it had its moments of splendor and fabulousness, it was really rooted in the lives of trans women, what we had to go through, and how we had to strive to be who we are today.
Whereas Loot is a lively, realistic and poignant show, but driven by comedy and great wit. I think Sofia is that, and I think that’s one of the reasons why she’s not labeled as trans or cis or anything. She’s just a woman climbing up the ladder to become as powerful as she can so that she can actually accomplish all the missions that she wants to complete regarding rebuilding her community and making sure that the unhoused communities are safe.
I think those are the juxtaposition of the two, and I love it. And I love that Sofia can be funny while doing so with her dryness. And even though she’s laced up, I feel like Molly (Maya Rudolph) is the release to her stiffness. It’s a great show to really let your hair down, have fun, and laugh, but also realize the real problems that are happening.
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It’s refreshing to have this prominent queer actress in a role that doesn’t specifically center around the queerness; it’s just a natural part. There’s a big conversation happening right now around queer or non-queer actors in queer roles, and what that means for the industry, closeted performers, and representation. What’s your view on that kind of authentic casting?
I’ve looked into this for so long, and my views on it are: if we are capable, this realm of acting is a space for us to be able to act out any character we see fit that we’re capable of playing. Though I do believe it’s not possible for everyone to understand a trans person’s walk of life, hence why we have to have space to do it ourselves. Especially when there’s a large percentage of us not having space to even play other characters.
I do believe there needs to be “open playing” for us to play other characters, and for other actors and actresses as well, but I’m not saying that should happen now. It should happen when we as trans people and queer people have an equal amount of space in that realm. If we don’t have that yet, then obviously, authenticity should be a focal point. A lot of other actors just don’t have the information, and there are trans actresses or gender non-conforming actors who know how to execute the stories better than their counterparts.
And that’s no disrespect to them. That’s just evening the playing field so that someone like myself can play a character like Sofia, who is not labeled as cis or trans, but she’s simply speaking to the diaspora of women across the board what that journey is like in the workplace. It’s only happening when we are in the spaces to do that.
I do think there’s also just a level of quality that has to come to it, too. If we had only authentic casting, we wouldn’t have gotten Wesley Snipes as Noxeema Jackson, so I can’t be totally against open playing.
I struggle with that. I wish that at that time there were trans women that could play those roles and really turn it out, but there was no space given to them. But there were actors in those roles that really turned it because they were comfortable. I was just like, wow.
Granted, there is that differentiation between drag and transness and it was conglomerated into one, but they still showed an openness to understanding and executing the part to a T so that there were no cracks, and not making fun of us in a way. Instead, it’s really showing who we are.
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It’s wonderful to get to talk to you about this kind of stuff during Trans Awareness Week, specifically. I know you’re working with Citi to celebrate their newly expanded Chosen Name offering, and Social Security also recently added a new self-identification method for their sex markers. What advice do you have for trans folks just starting out who think these kinds of legal changes are just a little too daunting to pursue?
Partnering with Citi has been great in that respect, because now it doesn’t have to be a long-haul process. Even that change with Social Security is a big step forward. So I would say for youth out there who feel like it’s daunting, don’t be afraid. Things are changing sooner than you think.
I would say to stay safe and resilient, stay diligent, and be proud in knowing that you can have opportunities allotted to you much quicker than what happened even five or ten years ago. With Citi, there are already 34,000 clients who now have their true name on their card that represents what their identity is. They can go into a store and know that a clerk will look and say “Mrs. Blah” or “Mr. Blah” and not have to worry about being dead-named or misgendered. It’ll make them feel so much more comfortable in knowing that there’s comfort in their identity, and that’s why Citibank is doing it. That’s representation to the max, and that’s the only thing I would want to align myself with.
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Especially with all the legal challenges being introduced in legislation right now that are specifically anti-trans, it’s nice to have partners who work to make things easier.
I’m never really overt with how I address political circumstances, because it can be very dangerous, but I do like to do it in ways like a partnership like this. We’re going to show you how we can rise above the occasion, we’re going to show you how we can move forward and still create space for us. There are people who see us and there’s true representation out there. We will never be in fear of being the people who we are and what we have gone through for so long.
And if you are in fear as a young person, know that there are many pillars of light out there that are fighting for you, and that are going to keep fighting diligently to make sure that things are constantly changed. From the time I turned 21 up ‘til now, which is not a long time, a lot has changed. And I’m hearing a lot of my sisters who are of generations before me saying the same, and it’s beautiful to hear. I hope it continues.
Check out the trailer for Michaela Jaé’s new series Loot, now streaming on Apple TV:
QJ201
How about a remake of To Wong Foo… except this time make the characters explicitly trans.
GreekKeys
Even though that’s not the story?
Tallskin5
i think he looks a little like a young male version of Cher.
Does no-one else think so?
GreekKeys
That this hormone-injecting, penis-excising community has commandeered the word “authentic” is irony so thick you could spread it on a cracker.
cynthia_foxe
weird energy from her…..