Real world article
(written from a production point of view)
Ian Alexander (born 20 April 2001; age 23) is an American actor and Twitch Streamer who played Gray Tal in the third and fourth seasons of Star Trek: Discovery.
Alexander is best known for his role as Buck Vu in The OA from 2016 to 2019 (also starring Jason Isaacs). In 2018, he portrayed Vic in the film Every Day.
Alexander is transgender (non-binary and transmasculine) using he/him or they/them as pronouns. The promotional materials state Gray is transgender like him. [1] Alexander was assigned female at birth.[1]
Alexander stated in an interview with USA Today that the role of Gray "allowed him to 'realize my worth' and represent his community by 'just existing and being myself.'" He also stated that he hoped that "other trans actors can get more casting calls, inclusive storylines and opportunities behind and in front of the camera." [2]
Star Trek appearances[]
- DIS:
- "Forget Me Not"
- "Scavengers"
- "Su'Kal"
- "That Hope Is You, Part 2"
- "Kobayashi Maru"
- "Anomaly (DIS)"
- "Choose to Live"
- "All Is Possible"
- "Stormy Weather"
- "...But to Connect"
- "Jinaal"
- "Face the Strange" (voice and image only; uncredited)
References[]
- ↑ https://www.intomore.com/culture/16yearold-trans-actor-ian-alexander-is-bringing-queer-power-to-the-big-screen/ "Initially, Alexander felt the role didn’t reflect the trans experience –or his, anyway. Vic’s character was described as “biologically female but gendered male” in the script, but after Alexander asked for a revised description, and even had a hand in the rewrite, the more-inclusive language came to instead acknowledge that “sometimes someone’s mind doesn’t match up with their body.” .. For Alexander, he first confronted his feelings for the same sex at 11, before realizing that “maybe this isn’t all I have to discover about myself.” He would Google “female-to-male transgender”"
External links[]
- Ian Alexander at Wikipedia
- Ian Alexander at the Internet Movie Database
- Ian Alexander on Twitch