Jump to content

Asia Kate Dillon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Hualinfeng007 (talk | contribs) at 17:06, 24 April 2017 (bio chart-notable work). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Asia Kate Dillon
Born
Ithaca, New York, USA
NationalityAmerican
Other namesAsia Dillon
Occupation(s)Actor, producer, director
Years active2009-Present
Known forOrange is the New Black, Billions
Notable workChallenging Emmys Male-Female Acting Category

Asia Kate Dillon is an actor from Ithaca, New York, known for playing Brandy Epps in Orange Is the New Black and Taylor Mason in Billions. Dillon identifies as non-binary, and their character role on Billions is considered to be the first gender non-binary character on television.[1]

Career

Dillon graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.[2] Dillon enrolled in and completed the Meisner training program at The Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca, beginning during their junior year of high school at age sixteen. They were the youngest student ever admitted to the class.[2]

Shortly afterward, Dillon was chosen to take part in a workshop of plays that were written by Academy Award and Tony (nominated and winning) playwrights.[3][2]

Dillon played white supremacist Brandy Epps, a penitentiary inmate, in eight episodes of Orange is the New Black in 2016.[2][4]

Dillon played a recurring role in season 2 of Showtime's Wall Street drama Billions in 2017.[5] The role they played is a nonbinary character, Taylor Mason, a hedge fund intern,[6] who is reported to be the first nonbinary character on mainstream North American television.[7][8][9][1] Showtime confirmed in April 2017 that Mason would be a regular character in season 3.[10] When submitting their name for an Emmy Award for acting they were allowed to submit their name for whichever gendered category they wished, and chose "actor" over "actress" because it is a gender neutral word.[11][12] Dillon was eventually submitted under the category of supporting actor.[13] Their public efforts to clarify the matter for themselves and other nonbinary people prompted the MTV Movie & TV Awards to combine their gender-segregated categories.[14]

Dillon is the founder and producing director of MIRROR/FIRE Productions. With that company they have created the work US, a performance piece that explores racism and the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States.[3]

Personal life

Dillon was born in Ithaca, New York.[2]

Born as a female, Dillon chose to identify as non-binary and uses singular they pronouns.[7][15][16] Dillon said around 2015 they had started to remove gendered pronouns from their bio, and that auditioning for the part of Mason helped them to understand their own gender identity.[15][16]

Dillon claimed that they had never dated in their life.[17]

Dillon has the German word "einfühlung" tattooed on the left front of their neck that symbolizes empathy.[18]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2017–present Billions Taylor Mason 12 episodes[2]
2016 Orange is the New Black Brandy Recurring; 8 episodes[2]
2016 We're All Gonna Die (short) Sex shop attendant [19]
2015 Master of None Line lady #1 Episode: "Plan B"[3]
2015 Opus for All Homeless woman / Lucifer [20]
2015 Younger Bald girl Episode: "IRL"[3]
2011 Marcus Garlard: A Necessary Option Asia [citation needed]
2011 Hitting the Wall Jocelynn [21]
2009 My Popcorn Nights (short) Asia [22]

References

  1. ^ a b Williams, Lauren C. (March 20, 2017). "Behind the scenes with TV's first gender non-binary character". ThinkProgress. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Lee, Steve (December 19, 2016). "Asia Kate Dillon makes history as one of the first non-binary gender identifying actors to be cast on mainstream TV". LGBT Weekly. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Artavia, David (February 17, 2017). "Asia Kate Dillon Is Blazing a Trail for Gender-Nonconforming Actors". The Advocate. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  4. ^ Appugliesi, Jordan (March 20, 2017). "'Billions' Star Asia Kate Dillon On Being First Non-Binary Gender Identifying Actor On A Mainstream TV Show". ET Canada. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  5. ^ "Actor or actress? Billions star Asia Kate Dillon on how non-binary people fit into the Emmys". CBC Radio. April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Birnbaum, Debra (April 6, 2017). "'Billions' Star Challenges Emmys Male-Female Acting Categories (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Dowling, Amber (February 24, 2017). "Meet TV's First Non-Binary-Gender Character: Asia Kate Dillon of Showtime's 'Billions'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  8. ^ Garrido, Duarte (February 20, 2017). "Billions shows TV's first gender non-binary character". Sky News. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  9. ^ ellentube team (March 19, 2017). "Ellen Meets Trailblazing Actor Asia Kate Dillon". ellentube. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  10. ^ Patten, Dominic (April 9, 2017). "Showtime's 'Billions' Ups Asia Kate Dillon To Series Regular For Season 3". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  11. ^ Williams, Megan (April 6, 2017). "Billions star challenges Emmy Awards over gender-based categories". The Independent. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  12. ^ Andrews, Travis M. (April 6, 2017). "Gender non-binary star Asia Kate Dillon ponders Emmys: Actor or actress?". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  13. ^ Flynn, Paul (2017-04-15). "'You didn't win, we won': the great LGBT TV revolution". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  14. ^ Saunders, Emma (April 7, 2017). "Is it time to scrap gender specific awards?". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  15. ^ a b Todd, Carolyn L. (February 27, 2017). "Meet Billions' Asia Kate Dillon, TV's First Non-Binary Star". Refinery29. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  16. ^ a b Jones, Ellen E (February 14, 2017). "Billions star Asia Kate Dillon: 'I cried when I read the script'". Evening Standard. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  17. ^ "Asia Kate Dillon". Orange is the New Black Wiki. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  18. ^ "Asia Kate Dillon". Orange is the New Black Wiki. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  19. ^ Jamie Sisley. We're All Gonna Die (in production) (Short film). USA: Jamie Sisley. {{cite AV media}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  20. ^ Andy Zou, Ronnie Rios, Ramon O. Torres (directors) (2015-06-07). Opus for All (Opus 4 - Our Better Angels) (Short). USA. {{cite AV media}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  21. ^ Jack Skyyler, Joel Brook (directors) (April 7, 2011). Hitting The Wall (Motion picture). USA: Dear Skyyler Productions. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  22. ^ Daniel Slottje (director, writer) (2009). My Popcorn Nights (Short film). USA: Daniel Slottje. {{cite AV media}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

External links

Stub icon

This article about a television actor is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This biography related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender history or culture is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asia_Kate_Dillon&oldid=776999292"