The first time E.R. Fightmaster heard a gender-neutral pronoun applied to them was on a date with a previous partner.
“You like them, don’t you?,” the woman asked her cat.
It was a crucial and enlightening moment for Fightmaster’s journey of accepting their identity as a gender non-binary person, someone whose gender identity is not male or female.
As an adult, the “Grey’s Anatomy” actor and comedian tested out feminine and masculine appearances before grappling with a more nuanced understanding of their identity. Certain friends and family members refused to use Fightmaster’s preferred pronouns, they/them. Fightmaster said that, since 2018, they have completely embraced their identity and accepted the fact that some people won’t, but the people who matter do.
E.R. Fightmaster plays Dr. Kai Bartley on “Grey’s Anatomy.” (Courtesy of ABC)
“When I came out as non-binary, I think that once I actually became comfortable with it and stopped making excuses for a few people who were just going to be rude for no reason about it, then I enhanced my point of view,” the 29-year-old said. “I think people know what they're going to get when they hire me, and I think that's kind of exciting to people.”
However, Hollywood hasn’t always been excited about casting non-binary actors and creating non-binary characters for them to play. It took the North American television industry until 2017 to feature a non-binary character (Taylor Mason on “Billions”) and 2019 for one to be included in a major film (The Adjudicator in “John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum”).
Having recently made history for playing a non-binary character on “Grey’s Anatomy,” Fightmaster has become a voice for non-binary viewers who feel vastly underrepresented in media. And for aspiring non-binary actors who have to fight harder to make it in Hollywood than their cis-gendered colleagues, Fightmaster is leading the charge.
And they’re not alone. Over the last couple of years, actors such as Asia Kate Dillion, Ezra Miller and Sara Ramirez have joined Fightmaster in widening non-binary representation in film and TV.
Fightmaster said having a clear and radical voice helped them during their seven years as an improv comedian in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles to work on the “Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase” for CBS. Fightmaster has also appeared in Hulu’s “Shrill” and Showtime’s “Work in Progress,” but broke new ground when they were cast in 2021 as Dr. Kai Bartley on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” the longest-running primetime medical drama’s first gender non-binary doctor.
Fightmaster said they had discussions about which acting category they want to be submitted in for Emmy consideration for their work on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
The series has received more than 20 acting nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards during its ongoing 18-season run. The Television Academy has 12 acting categories for lead, supporting and guest actors in drama, comedy and limited series. However, the categories are divided by gender, placing Fightmaster in a difficult position as they do not identify as male or female.
Major award shows such as the Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards have long maintained actor and actress categories. For all four of these shows, non-binary actors have to pick which category they would like to be considered for.
“It puts us in a position where instead of being celebrated, we have to constantly be doing activism,” Fightmaster said. “I understand if you’re on the margins you are going to have to fight for a community, but sometimes it's nice to just be nominated for an award and not have to worry about being embarrassed on a massive scale and say this award is more important than my identity.”
Approximately 1.2 million Americans identify as non-binary making up, according to a 2021 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. The report was the first broad-based population estimate in the nation. An estimated one in five Gen Z adults identified as LGBTQ in 2021, according to a Gallup poll. The Pew Research Center defined in 2019 that anyone born after 1996 is considered Gen Z.
However, non-binary representation remains minimal on film and television. There were 25 non-binary characters on television in 2021, according to GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV Report – 2021-2022 report. There were zero non-binary characters counted in the major studio films released in 2020, according to the 2021 GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index.
Yet representation isn’t nonexistent.
Asia Kate Dillion as the Adjudicator in “John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum.” (Courtesy of Warner Bros)
In 2019, “John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum” introduced The Adjudicator, the first non-binary character in a mainstream Hollywood movie, played by Asia Kate Dillion, who is non-binary. In “Billions,” Dillion played Taylor Mason — the first non-binary main character in a major North American television series. Recent shows like HBO’s “And Just Like That” and Netflix’s “Sex Education” also feature non-binary characters with authentic casting.
Netflix announced in April that it will feature a non-binary character, played by gender nonconforming author Alok Vaid-Menon, in the film “Absolute Dominion.” Non-binary actor Carl Clemons-Hopkins also stars in HBO’s “Hacks” whose first season premiered in 2021 and second season airs May 12.
From the lack of categories to include non-binary actors to a lack of roles in TV and films, Hollywood still hasn’t figured out how to allow non-binary actors to fairly coexist with their cisgendered counterparts.
According to the UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, only one lead non-binary actor in broadcast TV and two in digital TV were cast for 2019-20. The report also lists two white non-binary actors in broadcast, one in cable and four in digital TV, as well as one Latinx non-binary actor in cable, one Black non-binary actor in digital and two multiracial non-binary actors in digital.
Dr. Ana-Christina Ramón, a social psychologist and co-author of the UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, said databases used by industry professionals do not often track if an actor is non-binary. Her team uses news articles about actors coming out publicly as a way to track representation.
“It's really something that just needs to have improvement in terms of those databases,” Ramón said. “The non-binary actors don't necessarily have to be playing non-binary roles, but you want to make sure that you know you understand who is getting opportunities in the industry and where there are large gaps and where there's a definitely underrepresentation.”
Ramón said the industry will feel pressured to change when there are more high-profile younger non-binary actors.
The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which monitors representation of fictional characters in media, released its Inclusion in Netflix Original U.S. Scripted Series & Films' report in 2021. According to the report, there were only three non-binary characters with names and speaking lines across the 126 films and 172 scripted series evaluated.
USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s Inequality in 1,300 Popular Films report published in 2020 revealed only 1.4% of speaking characters across the 100 most popular U.S. films of 2019 films were queer. The report did not include data on non-binary representation despite tracking lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters.
Haley Rouse, a non-binary 22-year-old and aspiring English teacher from Florida, said it’s rare for them to find a non-binary character without having to scout them out. With the lack of representation, Rouse said they often gravitate toward non-binary coded characters, male or female characters who appear androgynous, as a substitute.
“Film and TV is a good way to relate and feel like you're not alone in the world and that other people are experiencing the same things that you are,” Rouse said. “And if you can't see any people that are like you on screen, then you just feel kind of lost like, ‘Why am I the only one who feels like this?’”
Hearing from non-binary viewers feeling represented who feel represented by Dua Saleh, is one of their favorite parts of joining the third season of Netflix’s “Sex Education.”
Dua Saleh performs at the Masonic Lodge in Hollywood on May 8. (Anthony Robledo)
The Sudanese American singer’s first acting role as Cal Bowman marked the show’s first major non-binary character at the fictional Moordale High.
“It felt a bit daunting. I was having a lot of anxiety when they reached out because it came out of nowhere. I wasn’t seeking out acting jobs or anything. They literally just asked me to audition, and I was like, ‘I can’t really say no to this Netflix show,’” Saleh said.
The positive experience on the show prompted Saleh to continue acting while maintaining a music career, they said.
Saleh said as Black non-binary actor they challenge the Western understanding of being non-binary.
Dua Saleh plays Cal Boweman on "Sex Education." (Courtesy of Netflix)
“When people say or use they/them pronouns, there's often a very distinct image that people have in their mind about what that non-binary person is, how they're supposed to act and how their supposed to navigate the world,” Saleh said. “But for me, there's a lot of complexity to that because of my ties back to Sudan and Darfur.”
The series also showcased another non-binary character, Layla, played by Robyn Holdaway. The two characters are involved in a storyline in which the high school principal forces every student to wear a gendered uniform. Layla conforms to the feminine clothing despite their gender identity while Cal rebels against it and is punished. Both Saleh and Holdaway said they enjoyed their experiences on “Sex Education.”
Holdaway said non-binary and transgender stories are becoming increasingly popular, giving actors more roles, but the roles themselves often become the problem.
Robyn Holdaway plays Layla on "Sex Education." (Courtesy of Netflix)
“We forget that the writers are all white, able-bodied, cisgender, straight, all these things. And there's nothing wrong with being any of those things, but they don't have the same lived experiences,” Holdway said. “Sometimes the roles can be a bit limited. They're not as nuanced or as full so that they become more about being non-binary than they are about being a person.”
Fightmaster said when non-binary actors are cast to make a show more colorful and diverse, it’s rare for their character to be written with integrity.
“I don't want to constantly be cast because they need non-binary representation. I want to be cast because I'm a good actor and I want them to make the character non-binary because it's the right and interesting thing to do,” Fightmaster said. “Non-binary people exist just like people who identify very strongly as men and women exist. So there's no reason not to be integrating them seamlessly into your stories if all you have to change is a pronoun.”
USC sophomore Jamie Gallo, left, and USC senior Jephtha Prempeh are two aspiring actors who identify as non-binary. (Anthony Robledo)
Aspiring non-binary actors face additional barriers
Starting and maintaining a career as an actor under any circumstances is not an easy road. Even with increasing representation in the entertainment industry, for those who also happen to be non-binary – such as Jamie Gallo, a second-year acting student at USC – a career path is even less certain.
While Gallo values not being identified as male or female, they said they have no problem playing either role. Having attended an all-girls high school, they often had to play male roles in school productions. Gallo said most of their roles have been male, which is ironic because they believe professionally they will have to take female or non-binary roles.
“It's difficult because I don't want to be seen as somebody who can only play non-binary people or gender-expansive or gender-fluid people,” Gallo said. “But I also don't want to be somebody where somebody looks at me and is like, ‘Well you're just going to have to play women for the rest of your life.’”
Jamie Gallo, right, a second year acting student at USC, performs at a rehersal for "Next To Normal." (Anthony Robledo)
Successful non-binary actors playing cisgendered characters is nothing out of the ordinary. Ezra Miller, who will star in the upcoming “The Flash” movie as Barry Allen, and Sara Ramirez, who played Callie Torres on “Grey’s Anatomy” for a decade, are both non-binary.
“It'll be interesting to see how the acting world and the casting world perceives me because I wonder if they'll pigeonhole me into only queer roles, which I mean I'm comfortable playing and I want to bring an authentic voice to, or if they'll pigeonhole me into female roles because that's what they perceive me as,” Gallo said. “I don't know. I just hope to not be pigeonholed in any way, but that’s kind of not how the industry works.”
Playing roles based on how others perceive them is a burden that USC senior Jephtha Prempeh is familiar with.
Prempeh majors in non-governmental organizations and social change at USC and minors in music production and dance. They said they are interested in multiple forms of performance, including modeling and acting. Like Gallo, Prempeh also doesn’t identify as male or female.
Jephtha Prempeh, a USC senior, is pursuing interests in modeling, music and acting. (Courtesy Photo)
“People want me to play the athlete or something like that, and it goes against the growth I’ve done within my gender to go to these places of hyper masculinity just for the sake of that marketability,” Prempeh said. “I know in a lot of ways, I'm kind of like the least marketable person or at least marketable image of a person, unless maybe you wanted to put me in a super masculine role.”
As a Black person, Prempeh is critical of the white androgynous non-binary character promoted by Hollywood as it still appeals to the archetype viewers understand. Prempeh said this stereotype frustrates them as it goes against the principle many gender nonconforming people experience: feeling the need not to abide by a certain perception of gender.
“I think of ‘Euphoria’ and Jules. Great character, great trans representation, but that is still this white woman that, physically speaking, this is something that we are completely used to now,” Prempeh said. “I feel like there is a tendency in our media to just push the envelope enough to feel like, ‘OK people are not going to come with their pitchforks and run us out of town.’”
Jamie Gallo and Jephtha Prempeh met on April 15 and discussed their experiences being aspiring non-binary actors. (Produced by Anthony Robledo and Jason Chua. Edited by Anthony Robledo)
Fightmaster, who plays one of the few non-binary characters on television, criticized the minimal screentime the transgender character Jules received on the second season of HBO’s “Euphoria.”
“You could tell that the director and writer is a man that kind of got bored riding the trans story, and she's just not in it anymore,” Fightmaster said. “If you are cast to fill a quota, it's more rare that your character will get an actual story with integrity.”
Fightmaster said they do not have a problem with non-binary actors playing male or female characters, but they have a problem if those are the only roles made available to them.
As a successful non-binary actor on network TV, Fightmaster advises those going into the industry to have conversations with themselves about the obstacles they will face. Fightmaster said aspiring non-binary actors don’t want to be caught off guard by cis-gendered people.
“Unfortunately, we have to be relatively — at least publicly — sure of our identities,” Fightmaster said. “And it's not to say that our identities can't be fluid. It just means that when cis-hetero people come to you and they ask you a question about your identity, it's best not to look like you haven't thought about that thing before in front of them because they're already looking for ways to invalidate you.”
Outside the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, where the 94th Academy Awards were held. (Anthony Robledo)
How gendered acting awards can exclude non-binary actors
In the United States, only the acting categories for the major awards ceremonies – the Oscars, the Emmys and the Golden Globes – are gendered, while other craft awards like directing, editing and makeup are not.
Non-binary actors are eligible to submit consideration for these awards in either actor or actress categories, however Fightmaster said having to enter a male or female category is egregious.
“Do I go into one or another category just to get my foot in the door? So that I can basically, if I won this award, make an acceptance speech and talk about how messed up it all is,” Fightmaster said. “Or do I say, ‘No, I don't want that. I don't want that accolade that we all want and sit out because there's no room for me.’”
Dillion turned down Emmy consideration in 2017 after being asked by Showtime whether they would enter the best supporting actor or actress category for their role in “Billions.” In an interview with NPR, Dillion argued that the gendered acting categories should be abolished because they are arbitrary and absurd.
Asia Kate Dillion played Taylor Mason in “Billions.” (Courtesy of Showtime)
A source familiar with the inner workings of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Academy Awards, said there were no Oscar nominees in 2021 who identified as non-binary or transgender.
However, the Academy is prepared to offer both nominee certificate and engraved statuettes leveraging non-binary language with the title of the award being “Academy Award of Merit for performance in leading/supporting role.”
The Academy is continuing conversations around representation and inclusivity in the film industry and discussions are ongoing, the source said.
James Lee, a representative from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, or HFPA, said in an email that the conversation to change the acting categories for the Golden Globes has occurred previously, but the HFPA has not yet made a categorical change.
The creation of the actor and actress categories date back to 1944, Lee said. He added that the HFPA followed the format of the Oscars, which made the gender distinction back in 1929.
Jim Yeager, a representative from the Television Academy, said in an email that since the third Emmy ceremony in 1950, performer categories have been divided between men and women. Before this, the categories were designated as “outstanding personality.”
“Regarding non-binary performers, it is the decision of the individual to submit as either an actor or actress,” Yeager said.
The Screen Actors Guild Awards, which focus solely on acting in film and television, also divide their categories by gender. A representative from SAG declined an interview request and did not offer a statement on why SAG separates its acting categories.
The Gotham Awards, which honor independent films, announced in August 2021 that they will no longer divide acting categories by gender.
Jeffrey Sharp, the executive director of the Gotham Film and Media Institute, said the Gotham Awards, which aired their 31st annual show in November 2021, have evolved alongside the industry, referencing the inclusion of TV awards in 2015.
Sharp said the Gotham Awards were not the first to make the change to the acting categories, acknowledging that MTV Movie & TV Awards went gender-neutral in 2017 and the Berlin Film Festival switched in 2021. Sharp added that they have already included a gender-neutral “Breakthrough Performer” category since 1998.
“It felt like a moment where we as an organization can step up,” Sharp said. “It wasn’t a radical shift for this organization to really just open up the lens and make this move to non-gendered categories.”
Beyond film and television, the Recording Academy stopped dividing the Grammy Awards in 2011, allowing male, female and non-binary musicians to compete against one another. Non-binary singers Sam Smith and Demi Lovato have won multiple Grammys since.
“I've never understood why there is an actor and actress category,” said Alison Trope, a USC clinical professor and founder of Critical Media Project, a media-literacy resource focused on representation and identity. “Acting is a craft, so it doesn't need to be divided by gender. It's, again, a convention. It's something that somebody decided in 1929 to do, but there's no real rationale behind it.”
Alison Trope is founder of the Critical Media Project, a media literacy resource focused on representation and identity.(Courtesy of USC)
Trope, who previously worked for the film academy briefly, said she’s curious whether the gender division potentially reinforces extreme gender roles and questions whether voters reward a particular kind of femininity or masculinity presented on screen.
She said the argument that having gendered categories benefits women who could be nominated at a lower rate, as the industry tends to favor men, could be made about race, which categories are not divided by.
In 2020, the HFPA came under scrutiny after a Los Angeles Times investigation uncovered ethical lapses within the board and revealed that there were no Black members. The backlash led to NBC deciding to no longer broadcast the Golden Globes, leaving the event severely diminished and this year’s ceremony in January untelevised.
Trope said that the acting categories could also be broadened to include more nominees much like the best-picture category at the Oscars. The 2022 Oscars ceremony was the first to increase the nominees in that category from five to 10. A maximum of five male lead actors and five lead actresses are currently nominated every year.
Gallo said a non-binary actor having to enter an gendered acting category would be a deeply dysphoric and self-denying experience. Yet they worry about the negative impact for women if the categories were removed, mentioning that only three women have ever won the Academy Award for best director.
They said they are against the idea of adding a third category for people outside the gender binary as there aren’t enough prominent actors to give that award any merit.
“It seems kind of laughable because it would be like three people every five years,” Gallo said.
E.R. Fightmaster is one of the few non-binary actors in broadcast television. (Courtesy Photo)
Fightmaster is also skeptical of a non-binary category and worries that there aren’t enough actors to ensure its efficiency.
“I think the better option is to get rid of the gendered categories. If someone is the best actor why does it matter if they have a d--- or a p----,” Fightmaster said. “More men would win more awards, but maybe that’s a conversation that needs to happen. I think we have these best actor and best actress categories because they know more men would win. I think they know that and so they have to separate it.”
