Alexandra Billings attends Equality California’s Special 20th Anniversary Los Angeles Equality Awards at the JW Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE on 28 September, 2019. (Getty/ Matt Winkelmeyer)
Alexandra Billings, star of the Roseanne spin-off The Conners, said she thinks it “took a lot of guts” to introduce a trans character to the show.
The Hollywood legend, who previously starred as Davina on Transparent, guest stars in ABC sitcom The Conners as recurring character Robin, a trans factory supervisor in the workplace of Darlene and Becky.
She told Advocate: “The cast and crew are so smart and funny and kind and open, they’re just great. It’s a wonderful set.
“They were really smart about making this show a reflection of who America has turned into, but to throw in a trans character, I thought, took a lot of guts, and they did it with great aplomb, and they were smart about it.”
Billings said it is “especially fun” to be “playing a trans character who’s just a little bit of an asshole”, and said that she show’s creators wanted her “ideas and input” when creating Robin.
She continued: “So much time I’m playing what I like to call the ‘magical trans lady’, I come into scenes and I’m sort of like, ‘I’ll solve the problem.
“It’s kind of nice to just be a little edgy. Robin is smart and fun, she’s still a human being, but she’s got some edges to her and that’s really fun to play.”
Alexandra Billings said her character on The Conners shows that it’s okay to come out when “you’re comfortable and safe”.
Previously speaking to ET about Robin’s coming out episode on The Conners, Alexandra Billings said her character shows that “you can be a trans person and reveal when you’re comfortable, when you need to, when it’s safe”.
In the episode “Protest, Drug Test and One Leaves the Nest”, Robin tells Becky that she is trans, and explains that she doesn’t want to be forced to come out when the factory introduces mandatory drug testing.
Billings added: “I always tell any trans human being, wherever they are in their journey, that whenever they decide to reveal, that they do it when they feel safe.
“And safety can be complex, but you know in your gut when you are being forced to do something, when you feel pushed to do something.
“And you know in your gut when you make the decision and you say to yourself, ‘This feels really good. It feels necessary. It feels right. I feel good about it. It’s bringing me a little bit of joy.’”