Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón shares thoughts on representing the trans community in film

Spanish actress and 2024 Out100 honoree Karla Sofía Gascón has found herself at the top of the Oscar conversation this year for her transformative performance as the title character in Netflix's upcoming musical drama film Emilia Pérez.

She, along with costars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Zoe Saldaña, won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, making Gascón the first trans actor to win a major prize at the festival.

Now, Gomez, Saldaña, and Gascón have found themselves among the first names mentioned when people bring up Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress Oscars this awards season.

Out's Raffy Ermac attended the Los Angeles premiere of Emilia Pérez, where they got to talk to the stars on the red carpet, including Gascón.

Gascón knows the history of trans representation on screen, and knows how important it would be for a film about a trans woman, and starring a trans woman, to get Oscars attention. But she also knows that this is just one movie, she is just one actor, and her character does not represent all trans people.

"I think that at the end, I only represent myself," Gascón told Out. "I have a lot of responsibility because a lot of people, maybe they need that representation from me. And I take this with my whole full heart to help the minority that I represent."

"But I think it's not only trans people," she continued. "I think there's a lot of people in this world that need freedom. They need to live in a world in peace with the respect for each other. And I think that is the most important."

She also knows that this film is just one part in a larger movement to get trans stories on screen and to normalize trans lives, but she's proud to be a part of that movement, even if it means she becomes more visible and more hate will come her way.