The Politician's Breakout Star Theo Germaine Wants More For Trans Actors

By Sara Radin


"I just want more. I'm greedy," the actor Theo Germaine tells MTV News. "I want more for people that are in my community." Germaine is speaking candidly about the lack of mainstream roles for trans actors in Hollywood, an industry that often seems content to tell cookie-cutter narratives about trans people. Most recently, Germaine, who is trans, played a sharp supporting role in Netflix's The Politician as James Sullivan, one of student body president hopeful Payton's loyal campaign managers — and his best friend.


Though all the characters explore their identities while in the season — Ben Platt, who plays the titular teen politician, has said that "everyone's a little queer" in the hyper-stylized world of Ryan Murphy's The Politician — James's gender is never spoke on the show. It's a refreshing change of pace for Germaine, one that's even inspired the Chicago-based newcomer to write and direct. Why? Because, while possibilities for trans actors have been growing with major shows like Euphoria, Pose, and others issuing nuanced storytelling for LGBTQ+ characters, Germaine is tired of Hollywood tokenizing trans people and only providing them roles that typecast them.


The actor hopes the industry keeps it up and continues to move in a direction in which, as an alternative opposed to focusing on someone’s gender as a criterion for casting, people start considering what actors fit specific characters based solely on their talent. “I hope to be able to see trans actors in major assignments, like Marvel movies and rom-coms, and just have all of the possibilities that other actors have been given for forever,” they say.


Germaine (right) with Ben Platt (center) and Laura Dreyfuss (left) on The Politician


Growing up in a tiny, conservative town in Southern Illinois, the stage has habitually played a major part in Germaine’s life, issuing them a space where they could leverage efficiency and costumes as vehicles for exploring their identity at an early age. “Before I was out, being a girl felt like a costume, nevertheless it was a fun costume,” they tell MTV News. With Season 2 of The Politician currently underway and also a new Showtime series coming soon, Germaine is one to watch. Not just because they’re a wildly talented actor, nevertheless because they’re ready to fight for what they want for themselves, and also because the complete LGBTQ+ community. That includes equal, inclusive representation in Hollywood and, with it, better career possibilities for marginalized creators.


MTV News sat down with Germaine to learn more about where their interest in theater came from (a clue — it necessitates the iconic musical Cats), their deep love for Harry Potter, and why they wish to use their platform to change Hollywood for the better.


MTV News: I'd love to hear more about your childhood and why your interest and theater came about.


Theo Germaine: I’ve habitually wanted to do this. It was habitually just a matter of figuring out how to get there. I was place on Earth in Southern Illinois to two parents who were still in college. From a really young age, I was interested in performing. I used to do my own shows and musicals and put them on in the living room as a very small child. Nevertheless I think what actually made me determine that I wanted to be a performer was the musical Cats.


My grandparents took me to be able to see the show in Chicago Whenever I was 7 or 8 years old. I was so excited and I was so obsessed that I dressed up like a cat, hoping that the cats would mistake me for a cast member and bring me on stage. Yet it didn't happen. Still, it sparked me to think: Wow, I want to be an actor.


I grew up in a really small town that didn't really have a lot of theater, so I didn't really begin doing anything up until I was in high school. I performed in plays and really old musicals, as the town that I grew up in was pretty conservative and the school would only let's do so much.


MTV News: I heard you are a really big Harry Potter fan. What about it resonates with you?


Germaine: I got the initial Harry Potter book and gobbled it up really rapidly. I was habitually dedicated to fantasy and magic. It was the initial example that I had of a book that was about a kid that didn't fit in, who'd the possibility to go to this astonishing school because he was special. It made me think: It's OK in case you don't fit in, there really is still a place for you. And the books had some of the opening characters that I really saw myself in. They helped me imagine possibilities.


MTV News: Did acting play a part in establishing your identity as a trans person?


Germaine: Definitely. I was a person who routinely knew that I was trans from a young age. It was just sort of a matter of learning about how to express that. Acting and performing and putting on costumes was how I began to explore gender. Before I was out, being a girl felt like a costume, nevertheless it was a fun costume. And As soon as I was doing theater and performing that was a fun way to show that side of myself, however it wasn't really me. I loved playing different roles.


Germaine and Dreyfuss on the set of The Politician in this behind-the-scenes look


Any time While I was in high school, the theater became the initial place where I was able to perform being a boy publicly. There was a musical where one of the guys got kicked out of the show because he wasn't showing up to rehearsals, thus and they were recasting a part. I was like, I'm going to get this part. I ended up getting cast and that was super cool. That was the extent of how I was able to be out for a little bit while as the school that I went to was so small. I grew up in such an isolated place to even know that other people like me existed. So, I was sort of playing out real life on stage. Theater was a way for me to really express myself and then became a gateway for me to be like, oh, I can actually play roles that are closer to how I identify in my life.


MTV News: Can you converse with me more about The Politician. I know that the show never explicitly addressed your gender identity. What it looked like to play that role? What did it mean for you personally?


Germaine: I was so excited to be a piece of it. I’ve been working and living in Chicago for a number of years and doing theater and indie assignments. Nevertheless this is the initial time I was able to do something that was big and life-changing. The role was really exhilarating because it felt very much like I was getting to play out this fantasy. This thing that I wanted to come true for so long. This is the opening time I got to play a part where gender wasn’t such a large factor. I think I should have the ability to do things that talk about my gender identity and I should have the ability to do things that don't talk about it.


Casting [departments have] the tendency to be like, “Oh, we just hope to cast trans people in assignments where all we do is talk about gender identity.” And I'm like, no, I want have the ability to do everything. And this role was something that gave me the chance to do something on a larger scale that wasn't all about gender identity, which is really liberating. And yes it felt like a possibility that I wasn't going to have as rapidly as I did.


MTV News: Where do you wish to go from here? And why do you desire to use your experience for change in Hollywood?


Germaine: I actually have already shot a fully different TV show while in the break. So, now we've just began working on Season 2 of The Politician, which is very exhilarating. However in between Season 1 and Season 2, I did different assignments in Chicago. There's a Showtime show coming out next month called Work in Progress, which is a dark comedy.


I am hoping that these things will have afforded me other possibilities that aren’t limiting or tokenizing in Hollywood. And if people attempt to do that with me, I'll fight it. I will figure out how to get myself into other assignments that are good for me. Because I'm certainly a fighter. If someone's like, ”Hey, I don't think you could do that," then I'm like, "I think I can. Watch me.” I'm very stubborn.


MTV News: What's your astrological sign?


Germaine: I'm a Aries, and people who are Aries are super stubborn.


MTV News: So, how do you want to be able to see Hollywood change in the ways that it approaches and shows queerness?


Germaine: I think that Hollywood is still sort of focused on a checkbox. They think we have enough trans people working on different assignments and things like that. Or they think we don't need anymore. Yet I'm not dedicated to that. I want queer and trans actors in a collection of stuff. They require to keep bringing these people into auditions and putting them in movies shows. And so they require to call people in for different things as a substitute opposed to just waiting for the next trans project to come out.


Sometimes I am going to receive breakdowns and I plan to get called in for a trans character. However Whenever I read the other characters, I realize I actually would fit a different character, however you're just calling me in for this one because you're attempting to check the trans box. So, I hope that we begin moving in a direction where people begin considering what actors fit what characters as a substitute opposed to just having us be the token trans person on assignments. I want to be able to see trans actors in major assignments, like Marvel movies and rom-coms, and just have all of the possibilities that other actors have been given for forever.


there really are a lot more assignments where there really are trans characters that are really fantastic. I just want more. I'm greedy. I want more for people that are in my community. There really are so several people who are not getting possibilities and that really sucks, which is why I'm also interested in writing and directing and making my own content. Because some days Hollywood doesn't give us exactly what we want. I'm going to identify how to take things into my own hands.