Interview: Mya Taylor, breakout star of trans hit ‘Tangerine’
She’s been up since 7am and is jetlagged as hell, but nothing dulls Mya Taylor’s sassiness or her enthusiasm for being the breakout star of groundbreaking transgender comedy-drama Tangerine.
The film, which stars Mya and Kitana Rodriquez as sex workers whose adventures on the seedy streets of Hollywood are both hilarious and heartbreaking, has been earning rave reviews since it premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It also wowed audiences at the London Film Festival last month, which is when Attitude’s Simon Button caught up with Taylor, 24, to chat about issues raised by the film, progress in the transgender community and why haters should mind their own damn business…
How do you feel about the producers of Tangerine launching an Oscar campaign for Kitana Rodriguez and yourself as best actress and best supporting actress?
Oh my God, I’m super-super-happy about that. I feel blessed. Life has been really hard for me before all the movie stuff and everything. I mean, I’ve always been gorgeous but life was really tough and now it’s a lot easier. It’s still stressful, but now the stress is all about the next project and the one after that and the one after that. I want to make sure that I stay relevant.
In what ways was your life hard before?
I used to have to sell my body to get by because I couldn’t get a job. I tried so hard. You’re talking about the bitch who was sleeping on her friend’s floor, because I didn’t have my own place, on my iPhone applying for job after job. I applied for 186 jobs in one month and I had 27 or 28 interviews and did not get one single offer. I know that my skills were there. I wasn’t picky; I applied for janitorial jobs, for pet-sitting, for car dealerships because I know how to sell cars – I know how to sell my body so I can certainly sell cars. But I just could not get a job.
Do you feel Tangerine is inspirational to trans women like yourself?
I think it’s inspirational because they see these girls are on the streets but they have each other. That’s how it was for me. It was me and my best friend Alfred – who is actually in the film, he’s the guy with the pink headphones, going ‘Hey bitch, you don’t want to go back to jail’. That’s my best friend right there.
How much of you is in the character of Alexandra?
There are some similarities but she’s a complete character, though. She really is. When I look at her I think she’s just a less-polished version of me.
The dialogue is wonderfully naturalistic. How much of the film was improvised?
Everything was scripted and there was a balance we had to do. We were able to do improv, which is why it looks so natural, but there’s a balance of ‘We can make this scene a little funny but not too much to throw the serious stuff out’.
What were the big challenges of making this movie?
The big challenge was that I had just started my transition. In the movie I look different to how I do now. I’d started my transition three months before so I was not comfortable with myself. I was the girl who’d walk around with big shades on, even at nighttime, because I was so insecure about how I looked in my face and I’d wear jackets because I was insecure about my body because I knew I still looked like a man. I’d mask myself so people wouldn’t be able to tell and I wouldn’t get picked on. I never struggled with people being mean to me during my transition, except people of my own colour. It’s always them but it’s only the women, when they do figure it out. I don’t know what the root of the problem is and I don’t know why they don’t just mind their own fucking business. One of them got punched in the face for it. By me? Yep.
The Oscar talk is amazing but does it feel like the road to transgender recognition is still a long one?
It does, yes. I think about how in society it’s ‘Trans people want us to accept them’ but I’m like: ‘No bitch, I don’t want you to accept me. What makes you think you have the right to decide you’re going to accept a trans person or not? It’s not about acceptance, it’s about respect.’ People always go back to religion. God doesn’t want you to do this or that. But I’m like ‘Bitch, do you know God?’ People talk about ‘God didn’t put you here to do this or to do that’ but OK, God didn’t put you here to judge people either. If someone wants to walk around with their dick sticking out of their pants it’s none of your business.
Does it feel like an exciting time, what with yourself in Tangerine, Laverne Cox in Orange Is The New Black and Jamie Clayton on Sense8?
It absolutely does. We’re all breaking down certain barriers, but I also feel like it’s not enough. My dream, as I say, is for everybody to just mind their own business and to stop being mean. I think about all the suicides or all the trans people who are being murdered.
How did you react to the Caitlin Jenner Vanity Fair cover story?
That’s groundbreaking. But now, people say Caitlin Jenner is the face of trans people, but I feel like Laverne Cox is the face for all of us because Laverne Cox is the person who has pushed all of this forward. Laverne inspired Caitlin to become her true self. I don’t know if it’s because Caitlin is white or rich but I’m like ‘Come on’.
What do you feel the film is saying about transgender friendships?
For one, when you’re out on the streets a lot of those girls don’t have family so you turn to each other and you become each other’s family. The bond for friendships is really strong there. They stick together and they even say ‘This is my sister’ or ‘This is my brother’.
And what is it saying about the men who are attracted to transgender women?
I feel like a lot of men try to use us as fetishes. I’m very much engaged and I’m very much in love with my fiancée and I’d never cheat on him. I don’t care if it was Daniel Craig himself and he’s one of the finest men alive. But there are men who send me messages on social media. Sometimes it’s a picture of their dick or they want to hook up with me. A lot of trans people will get with a guy to validate themselves, because they haven’t been loved, and we are so known for prostitution and porn that some guys think we’re all about that. One guy was messaging me with ‘I want to suck your dick’ and I’m like ‘You don’t even know if I have a dick and what makes you think I want your nasty-ass mouth on it?’ That is do disrespectful and so fucking nasty. I know why men do this; they think we’re all fast and all the same.
You’ve just completed Happy Birthday, Marsha. What’s the film about?
It follows the life of Marsha P. Johnson, the trans activist. In the film she’s supposed to be having a birthday party and no-one shows up so she decides to go to the Stonewall Inn to have a drink and a good time. Then the police come in and raid it, which is when she starts the historic riot.
What would be your dream role?
I’d like to be in something really heavy like Precious. I want to be like the Mo’Nique of Precious. She was mean as fuck and I loved it. I’d also like to do an action film or be the person who trips and gets killed in a horror movie.
Tangerine opens in UK cinemas this Friday November 13th.
Words by SIMON BUTTON
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