Pride and positivity

• Published date: 26 July 2022
• Publication title: Signal

EVA REIGN had wanted to be an actor since she was 10 years old. As a transgender woman, though, she wasn’t sure what opportunities would be available for her

Even during her days as a journalist and trans activist, Reign was always taking acting classes and ‘‘trying to find a way into the industry’’. Watching trans actors such as Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black) and Michaela Jae Rodriguez (Pose) find success in Hollywood gave her the confidence to continue pursuing her creative ambitions.

Now, movie audiences are being introduced to Reign in Anything’s Possible, Billy Porter’s feature directorial debut. Reign stars as Kelsa, a trans high school pupil whose plans for a quiet senior year are complicated when she develops feelings for her cisgender classmate, Khal (Abubakr Ali).

It’s a breakout role and performance for Reign, who would love to be just one of many trans actors being celebrated for their work.

‘‘Before, I wasn’t sure if there was a place for me because I wasn’t really seeing anyone else like me on television or in movies,’’ Reign said. ‘‘It’s really cool and I’m super grateful. I just wish it wasn’t so rare.’’

Porter directed Anything’s Possible ‘‘like a piece of theatre’’, Reign said, with plenty of time for rehearsals, fleshing out individual characters and examining the history of trans people on screen. Porter had the film’s young cast spend a week watching all of the LGBTQ+ rights docuseries Pride and discussing what they learned to help them grasp the enormity of what they were doing.

She said that as a director, Porter was ‘‘always trying to instil confidence in me and everyone else’’. That included encouraging her to speak in her natural voice, a seemingly simple thing that actually meant the world to Reign. It was the first time anyone had given her licence not to raise her voice an octave in an effort to sound more feminine. She has a deep appreciation for Porter instinctively knowing ‘‘what’s up and to make space for trans actors in that way’’.

‘‘Billy gave us a lot of space to explore and play with things and try new stuff,’’ Reign said. ‘‘I just felt very seen, very heard, very taken care of throughout the whole process. It felt like we were kind of building the blocks of the story piece by...