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First Trans Actor In Trans Role On Prime Time Show

Candis Cayne is making TV history by becoming the first transsexual to play a transsexual on a primetime show.

Candis, born Brendan McDaniel, plays Carmelita, the role of a married millionaire's transgender mistress on Channel 4's Dirty Sexy Money which starts later this month.

“You know, when I started my transition 10 years ago, I kind of came to realisation that I probably wouldn’t work anymore, which was really heartbreaking for me because it’s my passion and I love it," Candis told MSNBC. "But there were things that were important to me that I needed to finish and fulfill in my life."

As a man, Cayne was a long-time fixture in the New York drag scene, but it wasn’t until he became she that she was finally comfortable in her own skin. She went onto appear in the film To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newar and CSI:NY before her break in Dirty Sexy.

“I didn’t work for many, many years,” she adds. “Until I was happy with, you know, what had happened with me. You can’t form a character without being completely comfortable with who you are as a person.”

Cayne stars alongside Donald Sutherland, Peter Krause and William Baldwin in the ABC-produced series which follows the lives of a wealthy New York family who have more than a few dark secrets. Baldwin, famous for his roles in films like Sliver and Backdraft, plays her lover Patrick Darling.

Patrick is the oldest son of the Darling clan and is a New York Attorney General running for the US Senate.

Baldwin and Cayne’s complex relationship is mostly what attracted Baldwin to the role. In an recent interview he praised his co-star.

“I think it’s really interesting the whole journey you [Cayne] have gone through and how you must have had some doubts and fears and insecurities and second guessing," he said.

"I remember one person saying, ‘Well it’s probably because she’s very conflicted and confused and uncertain and insecure.’ And I said, ‘No, quite frankly, it’s completely the opposite. She was completely certain that she was a woman and she was completely certain that this is what she had to do.’ It was absolutely essential for her to do this.”

Cayne adds while she appreciates the opportunity to play a trans role, she would like to play a woman one day.

“We’re all actors and actresses so I’d like to get to the point where I could play just female roles you know and not always be categorised,” she told the network.

Dirty Sexy Money starts on Channel 4 on Good Friday March 21 at 9pm.

Author: Joanne Oatts

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