Director calls for more transgender actors to be cast in leading roles

The British director behind a new film starring Eddie Redmayne as one of the first recipients of gender reassignment surgery has urged the industry to cast more transgender actors in lead roles.

Speaking just moments after the world premiere of The Danish Girl at the Venice Film Festival, Tom Hooper, who also directed Les Miserables and The King’s Speech, said there was “a lot more the industry could do” to improve opportunities.

“I think the industry has a long way to go in making sure trans actors and actresses have the same opportunities as cisgender actors and actresses, and in making sure trans film makers have the same quality of opportunity”, he said, adding that film makers should “give them the chance to play both trans and cisgender roles”.