Candis Cayne is the first transgender actor to play a recurring transgender character on prime time television. Nunn on One talked to the sweet diva herself.
Windy City Times: Hey there. So you've got a new guest spot coming up on Drop Dead Diva.
Candis Cayne: Yes! I'm super-excited about that. They asked me to do a part on the show, and of course, I was like, "Yay"! So the creators and I went to dinner, and they talked about this character they wanted to do, and it's a law show when it comes down to it.
They wanted to kind of discuss the idea of me playing a transgendered character who was married to a woman, and then went through the transition, and so it ended up that the two women were married. And so where's the legal ramification in that and how is that going to work out? Her wife dies and now my character has the house and the assets, and her parents want to take it all away from me because they say we weren't legally married. And so it kind of explores that law. It was a really good experience. And Lifetime was so happy with it, they're going to air it at OutFest next year, and we're going to do a panel afterwards with Cybill Shepherd, because she was on that episode, too.
WCT: Well that sounds awesome; congratulations. That episode sounds like it will be important to a lot of people.
CC: Yeah, the writers called me afterwards saying they were crying at the end, that I did a great job. So it was really a nice feeling to know that my work was good. That's what I most care about, that I portray characters that are true and meaningful.
WCT: Did you study theater?
CC: I've been in theater since I was 10. I've been doing it non-stop forever. So I didn't go to a formal acting school but I just kind of grew up in the theater; dancing, acting, singing and stuff.
WCT: You are from Hawaii?
CC: Yeah, I grew up in Maui, then moved to New York from there. I always felt a little different everywhere I was until I went to New York and found it, it was home. It was a place where there people just like me, and we all created a big family. It was kind of an amazing time in the '90s in New York City and the East Village. I feel so honored to have met the people that I had met, and all the girls who taught me everything. It was a really cool experience.
WCT: And you didn't even know what a transsexual was when you got there, right?
CC: Right, I was totally oblivious. Until I met a couple of girlfriends and I was like, ohhhh, that looks like me. That's the way I'm supposed to be. I decided to do it and as soon as I did, I was just happier than I've ever been.
WCT: I'm so happy for you. It can take so long for anyone to find themselves.
CC: Totally. I think that's one of the things that transgender people go through. They really discover who they truly are and have the guts to change it.
WCT: You have a lot of support, too. You have a twin brother who's supportive of you. Is the rest of your family okay with you?
CC: Yeah, they're all really amazingly supportive. You know, I'm just their daughter now. And actually, I'm super excited, because my whole extended family is from Sacramento we're all meeting there for the Fourth of July for my sister ( well, she's basically my sister, she's my best friend since we were one ) just had a baby and we're all going out to see her.
WCT: Fun!! Now, when you did Dirty Sexy Money, that must have been a wild experience, you know, to be on prime time….
CC: I know, to go from New York City barracuda to an ABC show with Donald Sutherland and Billy Baldwin and the rest of the amazing cast. It was! It was the craziest thing that's ever happened to me.
WCT: I just actually talked to Lady Bunny last week and you did Wigstock for a while.
CC: Yeah! Some of my most amazing memories of New York were doing Wigstock. I mean, at its top, there was like thousands and thousands of people that went to the pier. I remember I did this song, "Mickey"—you know, "Oh. Mickey you're so fine," and I had gotten, like, 13 or 14 dancers, and we're doing a cheerleading number. And we'd go to the park every day, and they all did it for free, and we'd practice for hours until we were doing pyramids and basket tosses. And we went in front of the audience and all you could see were people. It must have been like [ what ] those huge singers feel and see … and doing that number, it was a lot of fun.
WCT: So what's in the future for you?
CC: I kind of went through another transition. I let go of my manager and I changed agencies in the past month or so. And I ended my seven-year relationship. So I'm kind of at this moment having a breath of air before I start back with the whole crazy pitching ideas and that stuff. But it's just started now. … I've just started taking meetings again, so I am excited about the future. I think sometimes you have to change in order to grow. And it's definitely that time for me.
WCT: Are you still doing your cabaret act?
CC: Yeah, every Monday at the Abbey [ in Los Angeles ] , and I'm going to be coming to Chicago. I'm super-excited. I'm going to a club called Spin.
WCT: Oh my gosh! I'll have to come by and say hello.
CC: Yeah, you do!
Candis will be at Spin Nightclub, 800 W. Belmont, Saturday, July 24, with her one-woman show taking place 11 p.m.-midnight. Tickets are $5 in advance, $10 at the door and $20 for the meet-and-greet. For more information visit Spin-Nightclub.com .
