being an actor while trans?

[crashnburnn]

So one thing that concerns me about transitioning (as I have not started, and am still sort of undecided) is that I want to be a television actor. Like, really really badly. But being an actor is hard enough. And I worry, if I'm trans, am I making my chances worse? But then other times I feel like I might do better as trans. I've done local theatre, and I get a lot of androgynous roles, and male roles several times. It's kind of a weird thing to wonder about, but anyone in the same boat?

[Jeh]

I'm a singer/stage actor. I've only been transitioning for 10 months and haven't done much acting since but I'm doing a little show at a school and a hospital next month. I've also played/sang in a few coffee houses.

The best feeling was when I finally auditioned as a man. Not as a girl reading the guy's part, but as a guy, auditioning as a guy.

I got a callback for my university's show choir, but they knew I was trans and I was just 5 months on T at that time, and they wanted my voice to develop more.

[nickm1492]

I don't see it as an issue...it isn't exactly a high risk job with background checks up the wazoo lol Most important thing would probably be your looks, and actual talent.

[KamTheMan]

I don't see it as an issue...it isn't exactly a high risk job with background checks up the wazoo lol Most important thing would probably be your looks, and actual talent.

Yup.

[Make_It_Good]

Thats a good point raised.
I actually think Id like to do abit of acting too. (My Uncle and a friend are actually an actors. This is England,  anyone? :p)
   But to me, while there arent necessarily background checks etc that has been mentioned, my biggest worry is if I were to be on anything that came on tv, all it would take is for one person to recognize me from my past and come forward with this gossip, and it could come out. Ofcourse, Im not saying from me maybe being in one small thing Id make headlines, as I know I wouldnt be some A list star, but even for it to come out on some blog or something on the internet and for people to know, I couldnt bear that.

[tekla]

For some small part, in a minor show they won't check your background, but for any lead roll in a big TV deal, or a movie they will.  Well, not the show, the insurance company that's going to write a completion bond.  There is far too much money at stake to take any chances.

And yes, someone could recognize you.  Or, on the off chance you make it, the press will start digging.

And acting like modeling and stuff like that - - they don't care about you, as much as they care about how you look on the screen, if you have the look they want, they won't care about other things.  But, they do care about PR (a huge amount) and having a trans actor would be good press, I'm sure they would want to make it a publicity item.

[Make_It_Good]

For some small part, in a minor show they won't check your background, but for any lead roll in a big TV deal, or a movie they will.  Well, not the show, the insurance company that's going to write a completion bond.  There is far too much money at stake to take any chances.

And yes, someone could recognize you.  Or, on the off chance you make it, the press will start digging.

And acting like modeling and stuff like that - - they don't care about you, as much as they care about how you look on the screen, if you have the look they want, they won't care about other things.  But, they do care about PR (a huge amount) and having a trans actor would be good press, I'm sure they would want to make it a publicity item.

Yeah,all this sort of thing.

[Berger]

In the artsy community people tend to be more open to lgbt stuff as well, so they might end up being more supportive than you think. If you really wanted to develop a niche as a trans actor who plays a trans character, you'd have a lot less competition and the amount of trans roles in tv shows are starting to grow as the world becomes more progressive.
Being stealth should be fine, too. Don't let being trans make you hesitate to follow your dreams. We may face greater discrimination in some areas, but that just means we need to keep fighting just to get the happy lives we deserve.

[tekla]

Being stealth should be fine, too.

Back when me and my friends were all raising kids we faced that kind of uniquely California problem of what to do with the entire range of problems that come from kids and pools in the same location.  The easiest one to solve though was a getting splashed, you know that Mommy, Timmy threw/splashed/did some sort of 'splash dive' with near perfect form and aim thus soaking said child from head to toe kind of thing.  The only sane way of dealing with that problem was not to punish the kid in the pool, but rather impose the edict that: If you don't want to get wet, you don't go near the water. (it's a mantra in places where there are a lot of pools.)

To that end, I would suggest that if your goal was to be 'stealth' then a career in an industry where coverage, publicity, public relations, public image, intrusive reporting, paparazzi, and such things are critical might not be the way to go.

[tgchar21]

For some small part, in a minor show they won't check your background, but for any lead roll in a big TV deal, or a movie they will.  Well, not the show, the insurance company that's going to write a completion bond.  There is far too much money at stake to take any chances.

The "completion bond" will generally be more of an issue with mid- to high-range independent films than other types of productions (i.e. more high-stake than major studio productions or low-budget ones).

[tekla]

Oh yeah, and it's going to be much more of an issue if you are cast to be Scarlet O'Hare in the big-bucks remake of Gone with the Wind then if your going to be 'Fry Cook #3' in some low-budget deal.  But sooner or later if you have any success someone is going to go looking.  It's the nature of the beast. (and because it's just so damn easy, one upon a time doing background checks was a pain in the ass, now its just a couple of key strokes on your desktop/laptop/smartphone.  The easier it gets to do, the more people who will do it, for increasingly trivial reasons.