Following the release of her new film, Skincare, DIVA caught up with the trans trailblazer
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES CONTENT GROUP
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez has been smashing through barriers her entire career. Her role in the hit show Pose was in and of itself groundbreaking. It was made even more so when Michaela won a Golden Globe for her role as Blanca Evangelista, the first trans woman to do so.
She’s already accomplished more than many could even dream but Michaela’s not slowing down anytime soon. Her new film Skincare is now available on digital release. We caught up with Michaela to chat about the film and trans representation.
Congrats on the film? Did you know the story before you got the script?
No, actually, believe it or not, I did not know anything about the story. I found out about it just upon receiving the script. And I really liked it. The whole plot of it just really intrigued me. And I was like, wow, I definitely want to be a part of this. I knew Elizabeth Banks was going to serve.
Did you relate to your character, Marine?
I did feel like I related to the character of Marine at certain points in my life. I’ve definitely matured a little bit more than Marine, but she’s dealing with an onslaught of things she doesn’t understand, coming from the unknown. I’ve definitely been in those positions before. Maybe not in the workspace, but in life. I knew I could bring that to the table.
What was it like to dive into the beauty industry for this film?
It felt good. We are expected to fit a certain mold when it comes to beauty. And when a man comes into our territory [as Angel does in Skincare], it can be a big, big scary space. The discourse says a trans woman can’t be in that space, but this movie shows otherwise.
She’s such a go-getter. What keeps your fire burning?
My love for not just the arts but I think the lives that I influence and possibly – I don’t assume – the lives that I change. I think that’s what keeps me going. And the haters. But more than anything, I would say the lives that I’ve changed. It just makes me go: “Okay, well, I’ve got to keep changing lives.”
I would definitely say you’ve been changing lives. You’ve been doing it since Pose, for sure. How has the industry changed?
I definitely saw the change and I think we can continue to progress by staying vigilant, informed and having discernment and boundaries. If there’s one thing for me, it’s keeping it very regal and trying to be as classy as I can.
What’s your vision for the future?
I hope at some point, we don’t have a specific spotlight when it comes to our transness. We don’t know the identity of Marine. We don’t know if she’s cis or trans. We know that Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is trans and we can assume the character is trans because of that but that wouldn’t be acting. This movie shows a trans woman being able to play a woman and you don’t know if she is trans.
Skincare is available on digital release now.
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