Laith Ashley talks ‘friendly stripper’ role in upcoming movie My Divorce Party
Exclusive: The star on his first role in a feature film and the state of on-screen trans representation in 2021
Words: Jamie Tabberer; pictures: Laith Ashley, shot by Santiago Bisso for Attitude
Laith Ashley‘s routine has been disrupted – not (just) by the pandemic, not by Attitude calling first thing in the morning, but by his friend’s dog.
“I’m not a morning person, and I went to bed maybe three hours ago!” the star tells us from LA during our catch-up. “I’m babysitting a friend’s dog and she’s a handful!”
Otherwise, the last 18 months have been “pretty normal” for the male model, actor, singer-songwriter, and activist.
“Most of my work is digital, fortunately,” he says. “I know that’s not the same for a lot of people, but I wasn’t struggling.”
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That said, his next big project can’t be Zoomed in: he’s landed his first role in a feature film, as an ‘alluring but insightful male stripper in Joshua Tree’ (as per production notes) in My Divorce Party.
The upcoming movie follows a woman who blows through her savings on a girls’ trip, to ensure her soon-to-be ex-husband can’t seize their money in a settlement.
“I play a friendly little stripper Ajax, who they go and see,” laughs Laith, who’s modelled for Diesel. “I’m excited to show what I can do.”
Laith will play the character of Ajax in My Divorce Party (Picture: provided)
Laith’s previously said of Ajax: “l’ll be playing a cisgender character, which isn’t a common occurrence in film and TV for a transperson. We are just now getting the opportunities to appear in the media in a positive light as a whole, and having the chance to just be a performer telling a story, is huge.”
So, has he been stripping off in front of the mirror in preparation? “I have not!” he answers. “I actually need to start working out more consistently and build up my body.”
Laith – who posed on the cover of Attitude with Olympian Gus Kenworthy in 2019 – says he’s been too busy to exercise as normal, explaining: “To someone who’s not really looking, you probably think I look the same, but not at all. I’m a lot smaller than I was when I was working out six days a week. […] To prepare for the role, I’d ideally like to be in the gym five days a week.”
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“RuPaul told me he appreciated the things I was doing for the community”
Laith’s previous screen credits include Pose, Strut, and RuPaul’s Drag Race, on which he was famously a pit crew member. “RuPaul pulled me off the line before we started filming and told he appreciated all the things I was doing for the community,” he remembers. “I couldn’t believe that.”
The star only caught a few eps of the last season (“I stream shows as background noise!”) but has since worked with runner-up Gottmik, whose inclusion on the show he calls “a huge deal.”
“I did a video with him [the music video for Ezra Michael’s song ‘Girl Baby’, below] where we played parents – he was in drag. He was very professional.”
Despite his busyness, Laith has recently binge-watched Euphoria (“amazing”) and His Dark Materials. On trans representation in TV and film, he says: “It’s getting better… But whenever I look at casting breakdowns, when they’re looking for a transgender person to play a specific character, they don’t have the language right yet. They misgender.”
“There’s really not much representation besides Pose,” Laith continues. “I can’t put it on other people to write these stories. I always say, if you’re a transperson and a writer, actor or creative, make your own.”
As such, Laith’s writing his own show “loosely based on my story and a friend of mine; I want us to star.” He’s also teaming up with LGBTQ creators such as a Kit Williamson and Guillermo Díaz on upcoming projects.
Speaking of LGBTQ stories, Laith undoubtedly heard hundreds while working as a social worker at an LGBTQ youth centre pre-fame. What was the most important lesson he learned?
“To listen and be patient,” he reflects. “When you’re working with youth and marginalised community members – young people thrown out of their homes by the people who were supposed to take care of them, for being who they are – you have to listen to what they have to say and offer support.
“And they might not be responsive right away. They might have suffered traumatic experiences living in shelters, dealing with adults and adult situations while being children. Working there was a great experience for me as an individual and employee. I was able to come out as trans myself, and start my own transition.”
Principal photography is set to begin on My Divorce Party this autumn.
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