At THR's Raising Our Voices event, Nava Mau says that studios need to stop being afraid to take risks in trans storytelling. Plus, she talks about the success of Netflix's 'Baby Reindeer' and what the fan response has been like for her since the show came out.
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00:00You're participating in our Future of Trans Visibility panel here today.
00:04What do you hope people might learn or take away from this conversation?
00:07I mean, I think that so much of what we do when it comes to film and TV and trans representation
00:14is about connecting on a heart level with people.
00:18And so I hope that we get to do that today and that it encourages people to keep promoting
00:23work and creating work that is about connecting heart to heart and humanizing the many experiences
00:31of trans people around the world.
00:33This is our Raising Our Voices event, but what's your message to allies in Hollywood?
00:37Why is now the time to raise their voice and speak up about trans rights?
00:41Well, unfortunately I think we've seen a huge surge in anti-trans legislation around the
00:48country that is also part of a wave of anti-trans hate around the world, and so it's really
00:55important that everyone can be as loud as possible about protecting trans people, loving
01:01trans people, and embracing trans people as the parts of the communities that we are because
01:06we belong here and we always have and we always will.
01:10What steps do you think Hollywood can take to support trans and non-binary individuals
01:15when it comes to being in Hollywood both on screen and behind the scenes?
01:19Well, I think first and foremost the studios need to stop being so afraid to take risks.
01:27I think we've seen time and time again that it is really beautiful when somebody gets
01:32to tell a story that is pulled from the real world, from the heart, from their imagination
01:38that includes or even centers a trans character.
01:42Audiences tend to respond to that with huge acceptance, with glee, with a tremendous amount
01:50of connection, and so we just need to keep doing that and I think that audiences are
01:57going to appreciate us for it.
02:00Congratulations on your Emmy nomination for Baby Reindeer.
02:04It's a big week for you.
02:05How have you been preparing for the show this week?
02:06Do you have your dress picked out?
02:09You know, we've been working on it.
02:12I'm so excited that it's all coming together and I'm just enjoying the ride this week and
02:19getting to talk to a whole bunch of different people and I'm just staying present so I'm
02:25here today.
02:27Baby Reindeer was a hugely popular show.
02:30What was the fan response like for you?
02:32Did a lot of people reach out to you and share how the show made them feel seen?
02:37I mean, it was overwhelming.
02:38It was like literally within a couple days I started seeing that online people were talking
02:47about it amongst themselves, they were reaching out to me and I think the past five months
02:51have just been a non-stop whirlwind and what I keep coming back to is realizing that the
02:58same way that I felt when I read the script and the same way that I felt when I was performing
03:03on the series is how a lot of people felt watching it and that is such a gift and so
03:09it's kind of like I know how they feel.
03:11It's like I needed it too so I feel like it's something that we get to all share and it's
03:16really beautiful.