Hunter Schafer wants to close a stage and take a new step in her acting career. Following her iconic role in Euphoria, the 25-year-old is seeking projects that allow her to expand her artistic identity beyond her own personal history as a trans woman.
In a revealing interview with GQ, Schafer, who has recently acknowledged that he had an affair with Rosalía, has shared his decision not to accept more trans roles, arguing that his gender should not be the main focus of his career. This decision marks an important moment both for her professional career and for the general debate about representation and different types of roles in Hollywood.
This change of direction is motivated by her desire to be recognized for her talent and her ability to play a wide variety of characters. “I don’t want my future work to be defined by my gender identity,” Schafer said. With this decision, as she has said, she intends to show her determination to overcome stereotypes and have the option to opt for other roles.
Her recent role as Tigris in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes exemplified this desire. In this film she had a true acting challenge far from her personal reality, which she sees as a valuable opportunity for growth.
The actress is also aware of the luxury of being able to choose the roles she plays, a freedom that is not available to everyone in her community: “I have been offered many roles and I simply don’t want to do them.” However, Schafer sees this privilege as a tool to foster positive change, both on and off screen. “Having the ability to reject trans roles is a privilege,” she admitted.
Thus, despite distancing himself from trans roles, Schafer does not want to distance himself from his responsibility as one of the most recognized trans figures. For this reason, he has insisted that focusing on perfecting his talent can, in the long term, benefit the trans community in a more positive way than focusing solely on his gender identity: “I believe that not making my identity the center of everything I do It will allow me to go further.”
In this sense, he feels a certain degree of responsibility and guilt for not having participated more actively as a spokesperson for the community. However, she has maintained that her greatest contribution to the trans movement may come from her success and diversification.
