We don't know about you, but our plans for Thursday, October 20, involve breaking out our French maid uniform and throwing shapes to The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again. The remake of the 1975 cult classic isn't simply exciting because "Damn It Janet" is a catchy tune. It's also a rare opportunity for a trans celebrity to play a trans character. Whatever will Hollywood think of next?
As Laverne Cox slips on her corset to play the nefarious Dr. Frank-N-Furter, we're taking a look back at film's most engaging portrayals of trans characters. You may notice a theme. For one thing, cisgender actors have almost exclusively been cast to play these roles over their trans counterparts — an issue that is ongoing, given the recent news that Matt Bomer has been cast as a trans woman in Anything. Second: Playing a trans man or woman more often than not results in an Oscar nomination or win...for cis actors, at least.
You may also notice that we left out performances that perpetuated transphobic stereotypes, so you won't find Soapdish 's Montana Moorehead (Cathy Moriarty), or Sofia Vergara's Loridonna from Grilled. We're not into those kind of time warps.
Calpernia Addams (Lee Pace) , Soldier's Girl (2003)
A then-unknown Pace earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of trans showgirl Calpernia Addams, whose real-life romance with soldier Barry Winchell inspired this Peabody-winning TV movie. His relationship with Addams rankled Winchell's fellow soldiers, resulting in harassment and his eventual murder.
Pictured: Lee Pace and Troy Garity
Photo: Showtime/Photofest.
Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne) , The Danish Girl (2015)
Redmayne scored an Oscar nomination for convincingly capturing the story of Lili Elbe, a Danish artist who became one of the first people to undergo sex reassignment surgery. The role called for Redmayne to go full-frontal in a demonstration of tucking.
Pictured: Eddie Redmayne
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Alexandra (Mya Taylor) & Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) , Tangerine(2015)
One of the few films to cast actual trans actors, Tangerine follows two trans sex workers as they confront cheating boyfriends, married johns, and transphobic abuse.
Pictured: Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Orlando (Tilda Swinton) , Orlando (1992)
The titular character in this adaption of Virginia Woolf's novel transforms from male to female overnight, whereupon she has to fight for the rights to her inheritance.
Pictured: Tilda Swinton
Photo: Sony Pictures/Everett Collection.
Rayon (Jared Leto) , Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Leto's scene-stealing performance as the HIV-positive trans woman who partners up with Matthew McConaughey's Ron Woodroof won Leto an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Pictured: Jared Leto
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Hedwig (John Cameron Mitchell) , Hedwig And The Angry Inch(2001)
Taye Diggs, Neil Patrick Harris, and Michael C. Hall have all played Hedwig on Broadway, but John Cameron Mitchell originated the role of the East German rocker whose reassignment surgery leaves her with an "angry inch" of flesh between her legs.
Pictured: John Cameron Mitchell
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Bree Osbourne (Felicity Huffman) , Transamerica (2005)
Huffman plays the former Stanley Schupak, who is denied sex reassignment surgery until she reconnects with her long-lost son. The role earned Huffman an Oscar nomination.
Pictured: Felicity Huffman
Photo: Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock.
Bernadette Bassinger (Terence Stamp) , The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert(1994)
Go-to movie villain Stamp plays against type as the sole trans woman in a trio of drag performers who travel across Australia in a tour bus.
Pictured: Terence Stamp
Photo: Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock.
Laure/Mikäel (Zoé Héran) , Tomboy (2011)
This French drama tells the story of a 10-year-old girl who begins identifying herself as a boy when her family moves to a new neighbourhood.
Pictured: Zoé Héran
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Roberta Muldoon (John Lithgow) , The World According To Garp(1982)
Yes, that's Lithgow in his Oscar-nominated turn as a football player who becomes a trans woman.
Pictured: Robin Williams and John Lithgow
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Dil (Jaye Davidson) , The Crying Game (1992)
One of the most talked-about scenes of the '90s was the one in which Stephen Rea's IRA member Fergus discovers that his love interest, Dil, has male genitalia. Both Rea and Davidson were nominated for Oscars.
Pictured: Jaye Davidson
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) , The Rocky Horror Picture Show(1975)
A lingerie-clad Tim Curry originated the legendary role set to be reprised by Laverne Cox on TV. Spoiler: The good doc is later revealed to be an alien.
Pictured: Tim Curry (center) with Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Hubert Page (Janet McTeer) & Albert Nobbs (Glenn Close) , Albert Nobbs (2011)
McTeer and Close each earned Oscar noms for playing trans men struggling to keep their true identities secret in 19th-century Ireland.
Pictured: Janet McTeer and Glenn Close
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) , Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Swank won her first Oscar portraying the true story of Brandon Teena, a trans man in Nebraska who was killed in a hate crime by acquaintances.
Pictured: Hilary Swank and Chloë Sevigny
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Vera Cruz (Elena Anaya) , The Skin I Live In(2011)
Vera is not trans by choice in this intense thriller directed by Pedro Almodóvar. She's actually Vicente, the young man who attacked plastic surgeon Robert's (Antonio Banderas) daughter before her suicide. As revenge, Robert submits Vicente for sex reassignment surgery, transforming him into Vera, whom he makes his lover. It's all very complicated.
Pictured: Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Kitten (Cillian Murphy) , Breakfast On Pluto (2005)
Patrick Braden becomes Kitten in this quirky Northern Irish drama about glam rock and the IRA.
Pictured: Cillian Murphy
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Ruth Applewood (Tom Wilkinson) , Normal (2003)
After 25 years of marriage, Roy Applewood announces to his family that he has gender dysmorphia and would like to live his life as Ruth. The family struggles to adjust to the news while Ruth faces setbacks in society.
Pictured: Tom Wilkinson with Hayden Panettiere, Jessica Lange, and Joseph Sikora
Photo: HBOPhotofest.
Leon Shermer (Chris Sarandon) , Dog Day Afternoon(1975)
Sarandon scored an Oscar nom for playing the preoperative trans wife of Al Pacino's bank robber in this Sidney Lumet classic. The character is based on Elizabeth Eden, the real-life trans woman whose boyfriend, John Wojtowicz, attempted to rob a bank so he could finance her sex reassignment surgery.
Pictured: Chris Sarandon
Photo: Warner Bros/Everett Collection.
Ángel Andrade (Gael García Bernal) , Bad Education(2004)
It's not just sexual identities that get blurry in this story within a story. In true Pedro Almodóvar fashion, people are not who they seem, and no subject is taboo.
Pictured: Gael García Bernal
Photo: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock.
Tina (Chris Williams) , The World's Fastest Indian (2005)
Williams (the brother of actress Vanessa Williams) plays a trans woman motel clerk who befriends bike racer Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins).
Pictured: Chris Williams
Photo: Magnolia Pictures/Everett Collection.
Ricky (Michelle Hendley) , Boy Meets Girl(2014)
Hendley, a trans YouTube personality, made her film debut as a young trans woman who gets embroiled in a love triangle with her male best friend and a cis woman.
Pictured: Michelle Hendley
Photo: Wolfe Video/Everett Collection.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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