Laverne Cox is all too used to making history as a trailblazer in Hollywood. Now she’s ready for trans people to reclaim their stories.
After a turbulent childhood in Mobile, Alabama, the 54-year-old actress found herself in New York City in the early 90s, where she spent the next two decades refining her craft and attending audition after audition in hopes of landing her big break.
This, of course, came in the form of Orange Is the New Black, Netflix’s first streaming megahit in 2013, where she played one of the most prominent trans characters of this century, Sophia Burset, in the drama set in a women’s prison.
Since then, she has gone from strength to strength, making history as the first trans woman to cover TIME magazine, be nominated for an acting Emmy, play a series regular on network television, and have a bespoke Barbie. Need I go on…?
In a career defined by firsts, we’ve seen Laverne’s celebrity reach towering heights at the same time as trans rights have cycled through change for the better, and in recent years, an alarming regression across the Western world.
But with more voices than ever staking their claim in the toxic debate over equal rights for the trans community, Laverne tells Metro that, ultimately, trans people know themselves best.
It may seem an obvious point, but as the actress celebrates the release of her powerful new memoir, Transcendent, it’s clear she’s not done being a beacon for those most in need.
‘It’s insanely vulnerable,’ she says of the book.
‘I could cry at all of the wonderful messages I’ve gotten from people who’ve read it and who’ve deeply connected to my story and have found language for their experiences they didn’t have before. That has been an incredible gift.’
We can be trusted to tell our stories ourselves.
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This was by no means an easy process, from the writing through to the audiobook recording. She described it as ‘torturous, very difficult, triggering and retraumatizing’, though she conceded ‘the reward is people getting to see themselves.’
Most importantly, however, when cis people like Elon Musk and JK Rowling seem to be at the forefront of discourse when it comes to trans lives, Laverne hopes it drills home an even more vital point.
She explains: ‘We live in a time where trans people just aren’t really listened to or believed when it comes to us talking about our experiences. We’re so delegitimised in terms of talking about our own lives, so I hope that people will read the book and understand that we are experts in our own lives.’
For Laverne, this memoir is a reflection of all the work she’s put in to be the most authentic version of herself in the world, even when it’s been the most painful choice.
‘It’s not just a physical transformation; it’s been a very spiritual experience for me… I hope people seek out other trans stories because we can be trusted to tell our stories ourselves.’
The Promising Young Woman star is absolutely radiant on my screen when she Zooms in to talk about her latest role in Animal Farm, the Andy Serkis-helmed animated adaptation of George Orwell’s classic, which serves as an allegory for the Russian Revolution.
Although this is a classroom staple for many students, Laverne admits it passed her by as a kid, which is ‘really, really bizarre’.
‘I became aware of Animal Farm and Orwell in general, probably in college, and that’s when I really delved into [it]. Not just Animal Farm, but the whole Orwellian oeuvre,’ she adds.
In this 21st-century take – also starring Seth Rogen, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson and Kieran Culkin – Laverne plays a gender-swapped Snowball, a pig who leads the animals to revolt against the humans and usher them into a four-legged utopia.
As jaded as I could be at this moment in my life, I still am very optimistic, and I believe in equality for everyone
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It’s all going dandy until she’s toppled by the power-hungry Napoleon who eventually turns them into the monstrous humans they worked so hard to overcome.
Although Snowball being a woman is not the central point in this version, Laverne does believe there is still something that can be taken away from the creative choice.
Living in a world that didn’t elect Kamala Harris as the US President, Animal Farm offers us a glimpse, however briefly, into a parallel universe.
‘What’s fun about it is thinking about everyone listening to this woman and understanding that she’s the smartest person there and that she can lead.
‘She’s undermined, but it’s understood very quickly that she knows what she’s talking about and that’s really exciting. If the world listened to more women, particularly women of colour, black women, we’d probably be so much better,’ Laverne wryly adds.
On a deeper level, the TV star relates to Snowball as an ‘idealist.’
‘As jaded as I could be at this moment in my life, I still am very optimistic, and I believe in equality for everyone,’ she explains.
And, as with every role she takes on, she hopes her performance will spark curiosity in young people watching and remind them just how much power they have to make a difference.
Getting to do this with [Andy Serkis] was so unbelievably joyous.
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‘I hope it inspires young people to become more educated about history and how power works, how it has worked historically, and to understand that we can fight back.
‘That revolution is possible. That when masses of people rise up, we can make a difference and learn from the mistakes of the animals of Animal Farm.’
For those who do tune in to this Orwellian adaptation, you may notice that it takes a decidedly more optimistic route with its plot, something Laverne stands behind, even if it is off-piste.
‘We’re in very perilous times. We’re in very scary times, and it is very difficult to have a sense of hope with the way things are going. So something that is hopeful feels really necessary to me personally,’ she reflects.
Meanwhile, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Lord of the Rings icon Andy in the recording booth was an acting masterclass in its own right. The acclaimed chameleon did the voices of every other character opposite Laverne with a seasoned ease.
‘I’m such a geek about really wonderful actors, and just getting to be in the presence of them brings me so much joy.
‘Getting to do this with him was so unbelievably joyous. We played so much with Snowball and doing the lines in so many different ways; it was so fun to see what they chose,’ she reflects.
Sometimes I think people forget that I’m an actress.
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‘Andy just gave me sort of free rein to just be crazy and to try anything. He has that spirit as well,’ she adds, calling his improvisations ‘exacting, cultivated and glorious’.
Over three decades after Laverne first arrived in the Big Apple to hone her craft, it’s clear she still has an appetite to constantly expand her repertoire and become the very best performer she can be.
When I ask if she has any dream roles for the future, there’s a glint of steely determination in her eyes.
After a beat, she says: ‘More than anything, I want to get better at what I do. I’ve been so blessed to get to do so many different things in the entertainment industry; sometimes I think people forget that I’m an actress.’
But she’s ready to put that to rights by developing her own solo show where she plays multiple characters, unafraid of the challenge.
And she also hopes to try her hand at musical theatre in the future, but it’s clear that her singing – for which she’s getting lessons to improve her chest and belt voice – will have to reach her exacting standards.
Whether delving into animation or musical theatre, penning deep-seated truths or breaking barriers at the heart of Hollywood – Laverne Cox is just getting started.
Animal Farm is in UK and Ireland cinemas. Transcendent is available to buy now.