To have arrived at this place in my life. Adult animation has had gay, trans, non-binary characters. Asia Kate Dillon was born on November 15, 1984 in Ithaca, New York, USA. Thank you for doing all the research you did before coming into this. There are certainly a lot of errors. Dillon: When Im engaging in a conversation with someone who is really wanting to expand their own sense of what gender is and can be, and someone who is approaching that conversation with love and an open heart and with vulnerability, then I am totally happy to engage in a conversation with that person about my personal experience of my gender identity. But theyre also the first person to be in the room. Asia kate dillon editorial images - Shutterstock I want to make sure that I get that right.. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. There was no pathway; it was more or less trying to figure it out. A voice faintly hollers in the background: Hollywood Remixed!. Its also about how a cisgender character responds to the partner. I know Im being really specific, but I think its okay. I have the receipts. Theres also the sci-fi of gender nonconforming, non-binary people arent human. I mean, obviously sci-fi is the place where you can explore, but when its the only place that you explore gender outside of cisgender identity, you literally dehumanize it. Specifically as it pertains to gender identity. Do you think thats what Alec Baldwin achieves on SNL?I havent been watching! I love that character so, so much because one of the things that I really struggle with in terms of the way that non-binary is allowed to exist on screen is that most people chalk non-binary up to androgynous. I think that non-binary identity is really kind of behind other LGBTQ communities on screen. Dillon: I identify as non-binary. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. 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. Asia Kate Dillon has been nominated for 2017, 2018, and 2018 Critics' Choice Television Awards, the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Award, etc. Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga in 'Macbeth': Theater Review Asia Kate Dillon: 'Life can be so diverse, mysterious and beautiful And I was thinking that Taylor can be held up in many ways as a universal example of that positive representation not just for non-binary identity, but for so many of the characters on Billions, I feel like the writers have done a great job of making them authentically and organically the identity that they have, whether its racial or gender or different ways, but its never the focus of what their storyline or what their character is all about. I am obsessed with Billions. They are known for playing Brandy Epps in Orange Is the New Black (2013) and Taylor Mason in Billions (2016). Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. The Masons Doug and Taylor are somewhat estranged, but its primarily because of the clashing ambitions between these two incredibly brilliant people, but still there were moments throughout that arc where I feel like viewers got a little sense of what Taylors coming out was like for both father and child. So its realistic to think that we might see this someday. It was created by colonists and imposed on the indigenous peoples of the so-called United States of America. And maybe its just like, Dont cast a cisgender actor in this role, or dont portray it in this way.. ", "Part of my public work is talking about my life experiences and what I've gone through. The gender binary does not exist. In the 1950s, Christine Jorgensen was the first known person to undergo sex reassignment surgery, identifying as a woman some years after her service in World War II. 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. You get to see them as a full human being. Asia Kate Dillon appeared on the silver screen alongside Keanu Reeves in "John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum." In an interview with Insider, the actor revealed how they advocated to bring a bit of their own identity to their role as the Adjudicator in "John Wick." "I also ask for patience. And so we need all different kinds of stories. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/arts/television/asia-kate-dillon-billions.html, Asia Kate Dillon with Lance Reddick in John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum., I dont have to change my body, said Dillon. Dillon is non-binary and uses singular they pronouns. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You have entered an incorrect email address! And that gender identity is placed on top of that assigned sex. We also have Xavin, who is an alien but is a non-binary alien in Marvels Runaways. Born Name Asia, thank you for letting me indulge my inner fan for so long. Matt Dillon ( Full name: Matthew Raymond Dillon) is a 57-year-old American actor and film director who was born on February 18, 1964, in But I think about Bugs Bunny. Dillon, 34, identifies as nonbinary, too, with the same preferred pronouns, a gender identity the Billions role helped them clarify. Oh, this person is starring in this thing. What else are you up to?My partner and I co-founded a production company together. And I realized that once I tried to start learning more about non-binary, its like, Wow, we are so firmly, fundamentally wedded to this idea of this or that, male or female. Thats why today I really wanted to focus on when you are neither this nor that. Sun: It does. Its incredibly significant and the significance of it sits alongside something that is a bit difficult for me, which is the fact that according to GLAAD they have this poll about whether or not there have been any trans or non-binary people in a major Hollywood film because The Adjudicator, the character that I play, is never referred to as they/them, which are the pronouns The Adjudicator uses, thats what the script was changed to reflect that, it doesnt count as representation because nobody watching the movie knows that. Gender nonconformity has traditionally been a means of exploring horror narratives, they explain. Asia Kate Dillon Talks Discovering The Word Non-Binary: 'I Cried' So when I encountered the character breakdown for Taylor, and it did say female non-binary, and of course Ive encountered the word female all my life, and I had encountered the word non-binary before, but in that moment I chose to look both of them up and encountered for the first time the clear explanation of non-binary as someone who identifies as neither a man or a woman, neither male or female, and then also female and male are an assigned sex at birth. And I think that holds true for the entire Billions world, which is, if whatevers going on with you doesnt in the way of you making money or you making someone else money, then its not really actually a big deal. Prior to that, there have been various examples through the years. Even if nothing in the script or the filming changes, whats the significance of a move like that? Although it has been said that Taylors wardrobe is stereotypically masculine, I dont feel that way, I think its actually neutral. I think about the concept of angels and demons. Because I feel like its also extraordinary to have a character whos never referred to by a pronoun. Having a deep voice but also being pink, being feminine and masculine at the same time, having a body shape that sort of defies what women or men are supposed to look like was really, really appealing to me. I think theres another one that comes up a lot in this subject, which is Steven Universe, created by Rebecca Sugar. I would like to be, though. Sun: No, I appreciate that. And so I think that this storyline on Good Trouble about Gael deciding that hes not going to decide for his baby is really relevant and also really refreshing. 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. Certainly. And there is a part of me thats like, Gosh, I wish I know its historically significant and extraordinarily important, and Im really proud of it, and there is something about it that feels a little bit tainted by the fact that GLAAD doesnt qualify it as trans representation. And so Im wondering if you wouldnt mind I know youve told this story before talking a little bit about what was your framework for understanding yourself prior, and then also, how do you currently identify? Good Omens is a really great example. Business Insider spoke to Asia Kate Dillon, who plays fan-favorite Taylor Mason, about gender identity, fan reactions, and the star's artistic ambitions including a music EP. What do we have in the landscape right now? The first Black person to do anything is both going to be celebrated and also scorned, because they didnt do it the right way and it wasnt enough for everybody. Dillon is competing for an Emmy as Supporting Actor. In one of their interviews, they revealed that they were currently dating a man, however, chose to not divulge any further details such as his name or the duration of their relationship. Last season, we got to learn a little bit more about Taylors past when Kevin Pollak recurred as your father. I think about Billions, I think about Vida. So I do feel left out of conversations that continue to align femininity and womanhood with uteruses and vaginas. The statistics are staggering. And thats what the term non-binary is about: Its more like a sphere that you can walk into, and it exists fluidly. White: Star Trek has always been about exploration and asking questions about identity and community and where we belong and how we belong. It was just not a thing. And I feel like Hollywood treats babies like props anyway. I know for me it's something I'll be doing over again for the rest of my life. Its part of the set design because its true to the world. Asia Kate Dillon is a fierce actor with arresting eyes and a buzzcut, known for breakout roles including a Nazi skinhead inmate in Orange Is the New Black and, currently, a calculating hedge-fund intern on Showtimes Billions. Theres still not enough, so lets keep going. And so some folks have gotten the door to be able to play themselves opened sooner. The mission is to produce work that supports and uplifts historically marginalized and disenfranchised people. I mean, because the trick of Pat was Pat just was clueless. Anyone can read what you share. They dont waver. Someone can have a beard and be trans. Everyone Is Just Scrambling: Hollywood on Edge as Writers Guild Talks Go Down to the Wire, Beef Creators Break Silence on David Choe Controversy, W. Kamau Bell Interviews Multiracial Kids in HBOs 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed Trailer (Exclusive), Warner Bros. Studios Celebrates 100th Anniversary With Diverse Shorts Re-Creating Warner Bros. Theyre like, I didnt make these rules. And how would we talk about Pats gender and Pats partners differently versus when we did it then? The roles that are offered to them are gendered, are specifically gendered as male or female, man or woman. I didnt want to take hormones, thats not my journey. To see a trans body in this ideal spaceon a cover, in an adthese are spaces that have immense cultural power to dictate what is beautiful, what is glamorous, what is aspirational, what is sexy, what is clean. Like, why are you all so obsessed with Pats gender? Baby representation on TV has been a really interesting space in animation and live action. Theyre little, theyre super cute and their storyline is basically about how one helps the other feel better but in the process sort of confesses their love for the other one.