Theo Germaine, a transgender overnight Netflix actor who is best known for his character James Sullivan on the famous series of Netflix, Ryan Murphy’s satirical “The Politician.” Theo being a non-binary actor played an androgynous role which is a much-needed “trans male role that doesn’t revolve around gender” as any other actor can put in, which is new to the viewers.
However, Theo Germaine identifies his role as James Sullivan ‘Unique’ because the gender identity of the role is not addressed in the series, it’s simply left open to interpretation.
As in a telephonic interview with the international non-binary magazine, Gay times. Theo Germaine thanked Ryan Murphy for his transformation journey as non – binary.
“Ryan Murphy’s writing and his work and this show have really changed me from a person who was like, ‘Is this possible?’ to ‘This is totally possible and it’s going to happen’.”
Theo Germaine’s Early Life
Theo belongs to a very conservative small town, Murphysboro, Central, Illinois where he was born in the year 1988, with a family background of theatre. By birth, he is an American and moved to Chicago where he completed his education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for college. He also worked at a coffee shop before being offered the role of James Sullivan in a Netflix hit series and moved into Los Angeles to make the filming of the series more convenient. However, he just relocated to Los Angeles for the filming; this was a temporary move.
In an interview with Vogue magazine, Theo Germaine comprehends his birthplace,
“I grew up in Central Illinois, in a very, very small town. Where, there was basically no diversity, and there were a lot of very rigid gender roles and a lot of Eurocentric standards of beauty at full force. So my understanding of beauty has been shaped by these stereotypes and then by breaking out of them.”
His journey of transformation from a ‘Conditioned Girl’ to a Non-Binary Actor
Theo Germaine, just at the tender age of 13, he found out his love for makeup that he uses to paint his face as a canvas. At that age, he felt like a boy but he also felt like dressing up as a princess. That is where he started to have these gender feelings. But belonging to a stereotyped society he shut himself like,
“This is not working for me. I like it as a costume, but it’s not me.”
When he found out what he really wants and identified himself as a non-binary. He was conditioned as a girl, before finally deciding his identification as a non-binary. Theo Germaine spent his late teenage years as a man.
Then he was lucky enough to be offered the role of James Sullivan in ‘The Politics’, which is suitable for his condition. The show became a big hit by the end of the first season of the show, where the star cast started to realize the potential for their future success because of it. After the big hit of his character as James Sullivan, as a trans man, one question started to revolve around the fans which were, “Is Theo Germaine female or male?”
Later on in an interview, Theo Germaine cleared the clouds by stating that,
“While I was a female, I had gone through some legitimate transformation, and I am male.”
First Debut in the Film Industry
The role of James Sullivan was not the first role that was handed to him by the casting directors of the series. But he made his first appearance as an actor on the show The Holy Trinity as Baby and later on that same year, played the role of Carlisle in the show ‘Adam’. In addition, he was then offered the role of a trans man as Chris in the new Showtime Original series ‘Works In Progress.’ His trans man role as Chris is now being called one of the smartest and most real comedy shows released in a long while.
What is Theo Germaine up to nowadays?
Presently filming the Netflix hit series, season two of The Politician and season two of Showtime Original, Work in Progress. Theo Germaine is now working on HBO Max’s new historic TV show, Equal, where his role is written by the New York Theatre Workshop. Germaine’s role in this show will deal with mental health, polyamory, trans identities, and family trauma.
If you think Theo Germaine is just a Non-Binary Actor, then there’s something more you should know
Despite being a non – binary actor, Theo Germaine is also an activist who regularly speaks about how the society can direct as a society to help at-risk trans people, and their ambition to radically move the playing field for trans actors in the film and TV industry. Whereas, Germaine thinks that he has overcome a lot in his life at such an early age, debilitating childhood trauma, growing up in a small town with stereotypes, and being a non-binary trans, especially.
Moreover, Theo Germaine dreams to help trans people to create content for trans actors and crew and for those who are willing to join the film industry as a non-binary like himself. By making a first short film on the journey of trans people as an inspiration to many other trans people. This short film will be an encounter that shows how trans people deal with real-life anxieties on a daily basis.
How Theo Germaine sees Fashion Industry for Actors and Actresses
Theo Germaine thinks the fashion industry needs more change and revolutionization because there are so many burdens and pressures for one person to handle to just look a particular and certain way. There are so many finest actors and actresses who are overlooked because we as an audience are too obsessed with the standards of beauty as a racist society.
Someone faces a certain number of challenges because of their complexion, height, the weight just to look in a certain way according to the beauty standards settled by a racist society we are a part of. Theo admits that not just non-binary actors but also other actors and actresses still face a lot of challenges because of the standards of beauty, that’s why he thinks he has to play his part in this regard.