Meet Shakina Nayfack, The ‘Trans Truther’ From ‘Difficult People’

The TV Tropes wiki might be packed full of television’s most overused clichés and storytelling devices, but nowhere throughout its thousands upon thousands of web pages will you find an entry for “trans truther.” That’s because there has only been one such character in the history of TV, and she’s played by New York’s own Shakina Nayfack.

Nayfack, a performer and actress who debuted her one woman rock musical, Manifest Pussy, at Joe’s Pub last June, recently joined the cast of Hulu’s Difficult People. She plays Lola, a selfdescribed “trans truther” who’s as eager to call out transphobic comments as she is to tell anyone within earshot that “Bush did 9/11.”

I recently had the chance to speak with Shakina over the phone. Over the course of our conversation, she touched on a number of important conversations like casting trans actors in trans roles, playing an “imperfect” trans character (i.e., a narcissistic asshole who happens to be trans), taki ng Manifest Pussy on the road in protest of North Carolina’s anti LGBT legislation, and, yes, whether or not jet fuel can melt steel beams.

Have you watched the latest episode of Difficult People yet?
Oh, of course! I stayed up till midnight last night to watch it as soon as I could.

I know some actors feel weird about watching themselves on screen. Do you feel that way?
No, I don’t have that dissonance. It’s exciting! I mean, acting on TV is so new to me, but it’s awesome.

How did you land the part of Lola? Did Julie Klausner reach out to you, or…?
I auditioned just like everybody else. There was a casting call that was distributed rather discreetly, looking for a transgender actress to not only play the role but also consult with them on the character. The one thing they knew was that they wanted this character to be a “trans truther,” so the jokes were all about 9/11 and assumptions people make about being a trans woman. After I was cast, I read all the scripts, gave feedback, and made suggestions about what Lola might say or do in a scene

What are some of the suggestions you made?
I don’t want to give away any jokes that are coming up, but, well, I introduced everyone to the concept of biological essentialism. And in the first episode, I wrote the line: “Check your privilege, faggot! And I can say that because I was one.”

The levels to that line! I’ve literally never heard anything like it on TV before. It’s so cool how you get to break a lot of new ground with this character.
She’s a politicized character, however flawed and hyperbolic her politics may be, so I get to speak some real truth on the show. I really love when Lola’s able to call out people’s assumptions, label them, and correct them. There’ve been times in my own life when people have treated me like a drag queen or a sex worker just because I’m a trans woman, so we bring those experiences to Lola so that she can shut them down and give voice to a trans experience that, so far, isn’t reflected in mainstream media.

How does Lola differ from the, albeit super limited, number of trans characters we’ve seen on TV in the last few years?
I think Lola might be the first, or at least one of the first, comedic transgender roles played by a transgender actress on TV. Even though people will qualify other shows as “comedy,” the trans characters don’t get to do anything funny. There might be comedy happening a round them, but they’re never the ones generating the laughs. That’s what’s really exciting about Difficult People. The show is about narcissistic thirtysomething New Yorkers, and Lola is allowed to be just as imperfect and offensive as everybody else—while still being on the right side of the joke.

Do you think that balance would have been more difficult to strike if the show had cast a cis actress in the role of Lola?
Sure. I mean, if you let someone else tell your story, they’re going to get the details wrong. Trans representation is really on trend at the moment. We’re seeing it more and more in pop culture and in national conversations about civil rights and legal protections. So if you introduce trans characters that aren’t played by trans people, you’re not really doing any favors to further trans visibility. It’s not just our narratives that are on the line; it’s our bodies, our presence—our very existence. This past year, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in hate crimes and murders of trans women of color, and it’s no coincidence that this uptick in violence comes at a time of increased trans representation in popular culture and political discourse.

Speaking of art and politics, do you want to talk about the Manifest Pussy protest tour in North Carolina?
Sure. So, I have this onewoman rock musical, Manifest Pussy, that tells the story of my coming of age in terms of gender, sexuality, and spirituality. It opened at Joe’s Pub in June, and then I took it on the road to North Carolina to play eight cities in nine days in protest of HB2, the bill that removed nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people and made it the law that transgender people in the state have to use bathrooms that match the gender marker on their birth certificates.

What was that experience like, the protest tour?
It was one of the most awesome, challenging, and rewarding artistic experiences of my life. I met hundreds of people who all supported, loved, and appreciated the show. The greatest thing I learned is that, point blank, the action of the government does not represent the will of the people. Time and time again, I spoke with folks who were so baffled by what their legislature had come up with. As part of my protest, I also only used men’s bathrooms in compliance with state law. [Shakina’s birth certificate still lists her gender as “male.”] I didn’t have any dangerous experiences, but I did see plenty of dudes do this quick double take when I’d walk in, which made me feel nervous for my safety. I can only imagine how stifling and terrifying it is for trans folks who have to deal with the reality of the law day in and day out. It’s really heartbreaking. On top of all that, the shootings in Orlando happened the night after the first performance.

That’s right. It must have been really difficult to be thousands of miles away from home when something so traumatic was taking place.
I had my band, which was great. The day after the shooting, we went to a vigil and stayed until our next showtime. That night, I added a preshow speech about the shooting and said that “If we allow hatred and violence to silence us, then we allow hatred and violence to win.” The tour went from being this irreverent “Fuck you!” to the bathroom bill to this chance for people to come together and mourn and heal. That’s something I share with my character on Difficult People, the criticism that we, as a culture, move on from societal trauma too quickly. We should encourage each other to spend more time in dialogue about the way that Orlando or Alton Sterling affect us, instead of signing off with a flippant Facebook post or tweet.

Do you share any of Lola’s other, more truthery tendencies?
Well, I don’t think jet fuel can melt steel beams. [Laughs] But I do love that, 15 years later, she is still obsessed with 9/11 because she feels unresolved. I actually came out as trans right after 9/11, so Sept. 11 is really embedded in the foundation and formation of my trans identity. It’s so weirdly synchronistic that, years later, that date would become the driving force of my character on my breakthrough TV role.

This interview has been edited and condensed. For more information on Shakina, visit here.