Hilary Swank in “Boys Don’t Cry” (1999)
Swank plays real-life Brandon Teena, an American trans man who is beaten, raped and murdered by men after they discover he is transgender.
Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica” (2005)
Huffman played a transgender woman who tried to reconnect with her estranged son, played by Kevin Zegers.
Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club” (2013)
Leto starred as an HIV positive, transgender woman in the film for which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2014.
Chris Sarandon in “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975)
Sarandon played a pre-operative transsexual in the film, for which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Tom Wilkinson in “Normal” (2003)
Wilkinson stars as Applewood, who after 25 years of marriage shocks his wife (Jessica Lange) when he tells her he wants to transition into a woman. He renames himself Ruth.
John Cameron Mitchell in “Hedwig & The Angry Inch” (2001)
Mitchell played Hansel Schmidt, an East German man who falls in love with an American man and they decide to marry so he can escape East Germany. However, the couple needs to consist of a man and a woman, so Schmidt undergoes gender reassignment surgery, but it gets botched.
John Lithgow in “The World According to Garp” (1982)
Lithgow played Roberta Muldoon, a former football player who transitions after being pro.
Jaye Davidson in “The Crying Game” (1992)
The now retired actor played trans woman Dil in the film, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Lee Pace in “Soldier’s Girl” (2003)
Pace starred as Calpernia Addams in the film, based on a true story. Addams came out as a transgender woman during her last year in the military.
