Alexandra Billings, the transgender actress who plays Davina on Amazon’s comedy-drama series “Transparent,” credited her ease on screen to the fact that life is one big performance.
In an interview debuting Thursday as part of Colaborator’s online Gatekeepers series, Billings shared her feelings about the role that gender plays in her life as well as society at large.
“We have to remember that gender is learned behavior; it has nothing to do with anything except rules,” Billings said in an exclusive clip shared with TheWrap. “So the way you behave and the way I behave are things we’ve been taught.”
How society tells us to act, she argued, has nothing to do with who we are.
The actress also spoke about how performance comes from true expression and that every moment in life is a performance. Even when alone, we engage in monologues in our head.
“You’re brushing your teeth and you’re thinking, ‘God, I really need to talk to What’s-Her-Name, cause she’s a real – you know,’” Billings said. “You’re in a monologue… And then you rehearse the monologue, and then you go and you speak to ‘Her.’”
Gatekeepers, a series of interviews aimed at giving advice to storytellers, is hosted on the Colaborator website.
Colaborator is the first project collaboration network, which provides filmmakers and content creators with tools to fund, produce, market and screen their projects all in one place. A Colaborator member can find his or her next project, connect with colleagues and stay up to date on industry happenings – all on one platform.
Gatekeepers previously interviewed Bret Easton Ellis, the controversial novelist behind notable works like “Less Than Zero” and “American Psycho.”
An upcoming episode will feature Anton Corbijn, a famed photographer and director.
Watch snippets from Billings and Ellis’ videos here.
Access Billings’ full interview here. Access Ellis’ full interview here.