Why “Euphoria” actress Hunter Schafer avoids talking about being trans in interviews

Hunter Schafer no longer wants her trans identity to be the “centerpiece” of her career.

The 25-year-old star of HBO’s Euphoria is one of several luminaries to appear on the cover of GQ’s Global Creativity issue, an in the accompanying feature profile, published earlier this week, Emma Carmichael writes that Schafer is increasingly “less compelled to make art that pulls from or speaks directly to her story, or neatly packages the trans experience.”

Related:

Jimmy Fallon sparked outrage for calling Hunter Schafer “bud,” but was it overblown?

Fans jumped to the host’s defense, citing his use of the word with cis women.

“It has not just happened naturally by any means,” Schafer says. “If I let it happen, it would still be giving ‘Transsexual Actress’ before every article ever.”

Never Miss a Beat

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

She has reportedly even begun trying to avoid using the word “trans” in interviews.

“As soon as I say it, it gets blastoff,” she explains. “It took a while to learn that and it also took a while to learn that I don’t want to be [reduced to] that, and I find it ultimately demeaning to me and what I want to do.”

“I worked so hard to get to where I am, past these really hard points in my transition, and now I just want to be a girl and finally move on,” she adds.

On the heels of her success playing trans teen Jules in Euphoria, Schafer says she’s been offered “tons of trans roles.”  

“And I just don’t want to do it,” she says. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Schafer, who will next appear in the lead role in director Tilman Singer’s psychological thriller Cuckoo and has roles in upcoming film from Yorgos Lanthimos and David Lowery, acknowledges that she’s in a privileged position but says that her decision to decentralize transness in her work is intentional.

“I know for a fact that I’m one of the most famous trans people in media right now, and I do feel a sense of responsibility, and maybe a little bit of guilt, for not being more of a spokesperson,” she explains. “But ultimately, I really do believe that not making it the centerpiece to what I’m doing will allow me to get further.”

And, she adds, “I think getting further and doing awesome s**t, in the interest of ‘the movement,’ will be way more helpful than talking about it all the time.”