Cisgender Actors in Transgender Roles Elle Fanning, Eddie Redmayne and More. From left to right Courtesy of The Weinstein Company, Focus Features and Photofest. In The Weinstein Companys latest film, 3 Generations, Elle Fanning takes on the role of transgender teen Ray, who is transitioning from female to male. The Cosby Show Season 8 Episode 2. Fannings casting in the film was met with controversy as trans activists spoke out about yet another cisgender actor playing the part of a transgender person. Similar backlash occurred with the casting of Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club, Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl and most recently, Matt Bomer in Anything. The decision to put yet another man in a dress to portray a transgender woman touches a nerve for transgender people, and rightfully so. Nick Adams wrote in an op ed for The Hollywood Reporter in response to Bomers casting in Anything. He is the director of GLAADs Transgender Media Program. Its yet another painful reminder that, in the eyes of so many people, transgender women are really just men. That message is toxic and dangerous. These cisgender actors often win or are nominated for prestigious awards for their performances, performances that trans activists say would be better represented by transgender people themselves. This is only added to by the fact that transgender actors are underrepresented in Hollywood, aside from a few exceptions like Laverne Cox in Orange is the New Black. Heres a look at other cis actors who have played trans roles. CAKE takes us into the darkly funny world of Claire Bennett Jennifer Aniston who initiates a dubious relationship with a widower Sam Worthington while confronting. Slant Magazines film section is your gateway to some of the webs most incisive and biting film criticism and features. Transamerica stars Felicity Huffman as a man who feels compelled to become a woman. The surgery is only a week away when Sabrina Bree, for short learns that 17. Southern Comfort is a wellmade film, but it suffers from a certain predictability. I suspect the predictability is part of the movies point.