Glass speaks to trans-actor Mj Rodriguez about her hit show Pose and how she hopes to help bring about a more accepting future
MONTHS prior to this interview, I decided to begin watching FX’s television show, Pose, on Netflix. Unaware of the plot and how it had made history by having the largest transgender cast on a scripted television show, the series transported me back to the 1980s New York ballroom scene. Pose is brought to life by 28-year-old American actor, Mj Rodriguez, who play lead character Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista, a trans-woman who after being diagnosed with HIV starts her own “house”.
MJ Rodriguez. Photograph: David Dunan
With this being Rodriguez’s first TV role catapulting her from the stage to our screens, she seems to have exceeded all expectations with her outstanding performance episode after episode. What makes her perfect for the role isn’t just her shared gender identity with Blanca, but her own experiences growing up that feed into the richness of her portrayal on screen. “Pose was a resonating image of what I was a part of when I was younger – I was a part of the ballroom scene at the age of 14,” she says as she reflects on her teenage days, mentioning her house father Timothy J Smart. Although she left it all behind her at the age of 17 to focus on her acting career, her role as Blanca has allowed her to make a spectacular return: “Who would’ve thought now I get to do acting and be a part of my community!”
From the first time she read the breakdown of the show, Rodriguez saw herself in Blanca. “When I read her story, I saw that we resonated together a lot,” she explains. “Our personalities were very much the same, there are a lot of differences between me and her but the nurturing, the caring, the persistence and her fight to win are a lot of things that are embedded in me. I remember going to the first audition – I knew right then and there that I wanted to be a part of something that was possibly going to shift the narrative.”
MJ Rodriguez. Photograph: David Dunan
Apart from seeing a reflection of herself in the lead, what made this the right show to be a part of? “I saw a group of women who were trying to simply live and it just so happened that they were a part of world that a lot of people either didn’t know about or did not want know about.”
MJ Rodriguez. Photograph: David Dunan
Pose, though filled with all its glitz, glamour and voguing, stays incredibly close to the truth of what it really meant to be a trans-person at a time when acceptance was something few could imagine. “There was also an epidemic that was totally different from the pandemic that we are going through right now,” says Rodriguez referring to the HIV/Aids crisis. “It was very dire and fully blamed on the people in the LGBTQAI+ community.”
Although there is a difference between then and now, Rodriguez says that the struggle that the trans-community has to go through every day is still the same 40 years on: “That was the tipping point for me that I knew that this could be something extremely relatable.” Not only does Pose show the truth of Aids and HIV but it also depicts moments of deep oppression highlighting the sobering reality of what some in the trans-community face.
A notable scene is when Candy Ferocity, played by Angelica Ross, is fatally attacked in a motel room. “It just so happens that at the time we were shooting this scene, three trans-women of colour passed away,” states the actor. “It was so important to make sure that we let the audiences know that though there is beauty in the ballroom scene there is also a lot of [grim] realism. There is a creative fantasy in our world, but our lives are at stake, especially trans-women of colour.”
MJ Rodriguez. Photograph: David Dunan
With season three set to air next year, Rodriguez hints at her character’s newfound love, recently announced to be played by Emmy-nominated Jeremy Pope. Alongside Blanca’s happiness, the actor lets me know that her house children will be really thriving as the show enters a new era.
Although there is more to come from Pose, I ask Rodriguez what she wanted the viewers to take from this multi-faceted show. “There are two messages I want people to take from it,” she begins. “These aren’t just characters. They are portrayals of a conglomeration of ancestors who were a part of the LGBTQAI+ community and are packed up in one individual character: Candy, Lulu, Angel, Electra and Blanca. The second message,” she continues, “is to know that this show is about family. It is about inspiration and it’s about love. If you can really look in to a show like this and have your heart changed because of the person that you see in front of you versus them just being a part of a specific community then you will be going home with something good.”
MJ Rodriguez. Photograph: David Dunan
Not only has the cast changed history, but Ryan Murphy’s show is directed by Janet Mock, a trans-woman of colour. Every inch of it is fuelled with passion a shared goal to change our outdated narrative into a more inclusive one.
Even beyond set, Rodriguez uses her social media platforms as a mouthpiece for change, highlighting the Black Lives Matter, the Latina Lives Matter, Trans Lives Matter and Black Trans Lives Matter movements. “When I speak about those things, I know that there are people behind me and understand my concept of what needs to happen,” she declares. “If I am not doing that, then I am not doing my job. It is important to keep doing it because I, at the end of the day, want us to reach some sliver of peace. It takes a while but that is my goal.”
MJ Rodriguez. Photograph: David Dunan
With this Glass issue having the theme “Together”, she gives an appreciative smile, adding: “We have to listen to each other, see where our lives are at and to see how we can push forward.”
by Imogen Clark
Photographer DAVID DUNAN
Stylist MALEEKA MOSS
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Talent MJ RODRIGUEZ
Special Thanks to CONTRA STUDIO
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