At Sunday's Emmy Awards in Los Angeles,
Laverne Cox and Jeffrey Tambor called on Hollywood to cast more
transgender actors.
In accepting his Emmy for his portrayal
of Maura Pfefferman, who comes out transgender to her adult children,
in Amazon's Transparent, Tambor called on Hollywood to hire
more transgender actors.
“Please give transgender talent a
chance,” he said. “Give them auditions. Give them their
stories.”
“I would not be unhappy were I the
last cisgender male to play a transgender female on TV,” he added,
a reference to the recent controversy surrounding the casting of Matt
Bomer as a transgender sex worker in the upcoming film Anything.
“We have work to do.”
(Related: Mark
Ruffalo responds to uproar over casting Matt Bomer to play
transgender woman.)
Cox, who in 2014 became the first
openly transgender actor to be nominated for a primetime Emmy, echoed
those sentiments while presenting the Emmy for Outstanding Directing
for a Variety Special, which went to the Grease: Live
directing team of Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinksi.
“Give trans talent a shot,” said
Cox, who is best known for her work on Netflix's Orange is the New
Black. “I would not be here tonight if I was not given that
chance.”