Quotes from Trace Lysette

I don't have shame around where I've been or what I've done to survive to get to where I'm at in my life. When you don't have shame around something, it can't hurt you.

Everyone has a voice. I mean, that's the good side to the Internet Age and social media. Obviously, there's negatives to it, but I think that the fact that everyone has a voice now is a tool that we can use for good.

Transparent' does a good job of pushing the envelope in a real way, not in a sensational or salacious way.

It's important to be transparent, to remove secrecy from issues of equality.

Transparent' was my coming-out party.

I used to watch 'Star Trek' on weeknights as a kid while I did my homework for school.

Going to meetings for Time's Up has been deeply affirming for me.

It was a dream of mine to be in an action film.

Trans women should be accepted and celebrated, whether they look a little bit more on the masculine side of the spectrum or they're the femme of all fems.

When we get to a point when trans folks are included in the creative process, the narrative will be much more authentic. Trans actors playing trans roles is a key part of that. But some of the trans talent is not even making it into the audition room, let's be honest.

That is the next step for out trans actors - to just be treated as actors and not 'trans actors.'

I happen to believe that trans people are anointed, and because of our experiences and the unique way we see the world, we can bring so much to a role. We just need the opportunity to show that.

I lived what we call 'stealth' for a number of years. Even when I started acting in the industry, I didn't disclose. I didn't come out. My first job on 'Law & Order' was not a trans role.

I recall the magic being on set for season one of 'Transparent.' The trans inclusivity of our set was unparalleled at the time.

My own experience of dating cis-hetero men has really been a challenge, because of the stigma they have to endure for attempting to love us.

How will I become Meryl Streep if I can't even get in the door with Jennifer Lawrence for the same role? I think that it starts with casting directors and executives and studio heads opening up their minds, and really putting an effort into being trans inclusive in their projects, whether they're trans-specific or not.

I feel like if Hollywood can stretch for inclusion and intersectionality, and being intentional with its intersectionality, that that can ripple out past Hollywood into whatever industry and kind of affect society as a whole.

Oftentimes, I feel like, because of my cisnormative look or my aesthetics, that sometimes my talent might get overlooked.

Trans women are conditioned to accept that society sees us as overly sexualized objects - even more so than how society already sexualizes cis women. It's almost as if they don't see us as fully developed human beings.

I think it's really important to understand that every trans story is not the same, and we are as varied as any other group of people.

I think I had something to prove to myself, that I could book a cis role and then if I did come out one day and start auditioning for trans roles, I could say, 'Look, I've already worked in a cis role.'

It's tough advocating for trans visibility and not being pigeonholed as just a trans actress.