Quotes from Asia Kate Dillon

I have disregarded gender when deciding which part to audition for.

Me feeling ambiguous about my gender identity has been a lifelong feeling, certainly.

I love my ability to generate empathy and compassion within myself and others.

If you don't meet luck halfway with really hard work, luck won't get you all the way there.

Ithaca is sort of a populated and diverse area. There's a wide spectrum of people living there. In that sense, it was a wonderful place to grow up because it was a microcosm - ultimately, I would learn - of New York City.

There was a time when it was important culturally to have the word 'actress,' I suppose, but when it comes to awards ceremonies, we don't have 'Best Directress' or 'Best Cinematographeress!'

Some people's gender identity conforms to the sex they were assigned at birth, and some people's identity doesn't. That realization was certainly very freeing for me - and could be very freeing for other people.

I first started removing the 'she,' 'her,' and 'hers' pronouns from my online material. I was just using my name in place of a pronoun, and that felt really good. Then I read the script for 'Billions' and did a little more research into non-binary, and it just really clicked for me.

When you see white, cisgendered, heterosexual men having conversations about gender identity where they go, 'Oh, those are your pronouns? OK, great. Let's get back to work,' it allows other people to say, 'Maybe if they can do it, I can do it.'

I was gender-nonconforming in high school in terms of the way I dressed, in terms of the way I cut my hair.

I grew up poor, financially lower class. Worked in restaurants for 17 years while going to acting school and trying to become a working actor. Because I know what it's like to not have money, I turn down roles if I don't want to play them.

I see reflections of what I love about myself in the love and care I receive from my friends, family, and co-workers who, in turn, allow me to love and care about them.

Creating more characters that represent historically marginalized and historically disenfranchised people in television and film is certainly important.

The stories I grew up with, whether it came to queer representation or representation of anyone that was different, it was always a story of, like, very sad, usually ended up with somebody dying, and it made the idea of being queer or different really scary, actually.

Sometimes you have to see the thing to know that it exists. Maybe there's a queer person in a town, but they don't feel comfortable or safe coming out, frankly, and the only representation they feel that they have or connection they have is on television or in a movie, and that's really powerful.

If someone says 'she' or 'he,' and it's unintentional, I can tell if it's coming from a place of love. It's only when someone misgenders me on purpose that it becomes hurtful.

I was assigned female at birth. My gender identify is non-binary.

Once people are made aware of things that they were previously ignorant of, I think people are a lot more willing to really try.

Non-binary is a term used by some people, myself included, who feel that their gender identity falls outside the tradition boxes of man or woman.

The very first time I buzzed my head, I was 21 - I'd had short hair since I was 14 - I just remember it was, like, 2 in the morning, and I just was like, 'I really want to do it. I want to see what I look like and what my head shape is.'

I'm really proud that MTV has joined the conversation about breaking down binaries.

I remember specifically a couple of performances that I saw when I was young - River Phoenix in 'Stand by Me' and also Michael Jackson, in particular his ability to command such power and love while maintaining such deep vulnerability. It really moved my soul from a very young age.

Honestly, from a very young age, before I had the language, really - anywhere that I encountered binary, whether it was in clothing or in toys or in media, it always made me uncomfortable.

I spent so many years not understanding my own gender identity and not having the language for it, and not having those conversations, that now I'm so eager to talk about it. Then I learn more about myself and other people.