Famous Cisgender Actors Who Played Transgender Roles

Gael Garcia Bernal

CIS actors playing trans characters
IMAGE BY: MoMA

Bad Education (2004): Pedro Almodóvar is one of the most important queer filmmakers in history, and his films are littered with CIS actors playing trans characters. Starting in the 80s up until his divisive 2011 The Skin I Live In, his films run the gamut from groundbreaking to offensive in their portrayals of trans woman. This is one of his best reviewed films and Gael García Bernal gives his greatest performance as a transwoman struggling with a legacy of abuse from her Catholic upbringing.

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