The ‘Transparent’ Cast Reflects on What They’ve Learned About Themselves From The Show

The third season of Transparent is almost upon us, and if you haven’t already, brace yourself for the brilliance. The first episode of the new season will have you transfixed right away, and in true Transparent form, weaves humor into an otherwise heart-breaking story.

One of the most special things about the Amazon original series, is that every character is discovering something new about themselves, well into their adult lives. Both Sarah (Amy Landecker) and Ali (Gabby Hoffman) discover new things about their sexuality, Josh (Jay Duplass) learns he has a child, and Maura (Jeffrey Tambor) realizes she is Maura and not Mort after all, which is why we’re here in the first place.

So when we sat down with the cast of Transparent to discuss the upcoming season, we asked them each what they’ve learned later in life, and specifically, from being a part of this show? The answers were varied and touching and profound, much like this show continues to be.

Alexandra Billings, who plays Davina, explained, “I feel like the show has brought me a sense of, I’m going to make up a word, but trans-self. And what I mean by that, is it’s brought me closer, especially being with this one (pointing to Trace Lysette), her artistry is always great to be around because she’s so smart about it, but also she’s from a different generation. I’m 54 years old and I transitioned in 1980, so it’s been a very long time and it’s very different now. She brings me back to a sense of my own community that I never really had before and that wouldn’t be possible unless this show was happening.”

Jay Duplass had a bit of a different realization from his time on the show, with the writer/director/producer noting, “I like acting! It’s way easier than writing and directing. It’s so much easier. It’s so fucking easy, guys. I’m not saying that acting well is easy, I’m saying the job of acting is. You hang out in your trailer, people put makeup on you, and then they’re not ready and they’re like, ‘I’m so sorry you have to go back to your trailer for forty more minutes and sit down.’ I was like, ‘What? You’re paying me for this shit? This is insane! This is fucking insane!’”

“See I come from the world of voice-overs, so this is a nightmare compared to that,” Amy Landecker offered, noting that, “I sit in the hair and the makeup in the trailer, when I’m used to going to work for an hour and getting paid the same amount. So I learned I don’t like on-camera which is what I wanted my whole life. I love this job, but I’m like, this is way more work than I’m used to.”

Gabby Hoffman, who many of the Transparent cast members look to as their moral compass of sorts, learned, “I’m much more fearless than I thought I was. I can’t believe the stuff I do, and I’m glad. I don’t care as much what people think as I did in my youth. Learning to be comfortable in your own skin and not caring what people think, and learning that life is short. And this show is all about people being comfortable in their own skin and figuring out a way to be comfortable in their skin.”

Emmy nominees Jeffrey Tambor and Judith Light, truly some of the industry’s finest actors, also have taken some lessons away from the show, with Tambor pointing to the fact that, “If you do it right…it’s very exciting that at the same way we’re sending it, it’s being gotten. And that, to me, it’s so rewarding when people come up to us and just start talking. They just start talking! It’s not always about the trans issues or things like that, but I think it’s going in on an unconscious level. These are times when we need a lift and it’s lifting people.”

Light agreed, saying, “It’s a real honor. I’ve known what to do in a scene, and now I get to be confronted with I’m not quite sure what I do in a scene, and to have your hand shake that little bit, that’s exciting.”

“The interior journey was indeed the more daunting part,” said Tambor. “It’s still going on. What’s hard about it is how accessible she is. Not that it’s easy. I make it harder than it is because it’s so joyful to go there. I am so proud of doing this role. I’m the luckiest guy in the room. There’s no doubt about it.”

And we’re lucky we get to watch him in that room. The third season of Transparent premieres this Friday, September 23rd, on Prime Video.

[Watch Transparent on Prime Video]