Jamie Clayton :: Sensing Change With 'Sense8'
The Wachowski's Netflix series "Sense8" has created considerable buzz since it premiered in June, not the least of it is for actress Jamie Clayton, who plays Nomi on the adventurous, trippy sci-fi series.
The series features an ensemble of characters in nine different parts of the world each of whom discover that they are connected through a form of telepathy called "Sense8." At first their visions are disconcerting, but slowly the psychic relationships begin to make more sense. What's interesting about Nomi, a hacker and activist living in San Francisco, is it isn't until the second episode that she's revealed to be a trans woman formerly named Michael.
"I think that that's part of the issue that society as a whole has viewed transgender people as not normal for so long," Clayton said. "I think that the shift is going towards people understanding, 'oh my God, we are all human beings.' There is no normal. There really isn't. It would be so egregious and awful for me to sit here and to tell any one of you that you're not normal because of where I come from and what my friends look like and the language that we speak and the way that we talk to each other. It would be awful."
Trailblazing series
"Sense8" follows trailblazing shows like "Transparent" and "Orange is the New Black" which feature trans women in central roles. "I think that there's definitely a shift that's happening. Whether it's a trend, whether people think it's cool, I don't know," Clayton said. "If it gets trans people a little bit more attention in a positive way then I'm all for it. If I can be part of that then I'm incredibly pleased. I feel incredibly blessed that I'm on a show playing a trans character that has been written by a trans woman."
Clayton has appeared in recurring roles on series like "Hung" and "Dirty Work," but Nomi may be the role she's been waiting for. "I've done a little bit of acting and I've been really careful within my career to pick parts that I feel represent who I am and the community in a really positive way. I've turned down a hell of a lot more work than I've actually done because I haven't liked the parts that have been presented to me. With this part, I knew in my gut that it was going to be done well. I just knew that."
Part of the sibling directing team, Lana Wachowski, is also a trans woman, born as Larry and credited as such on some early films she worked on with her brother Andy (including the mega-hit "The Matrix.") The duo engendered trust in their actors. "I knew that Nomi was going to be incredible and from the minute that I met Lana and Andy, I trusted them and I would say and do anything that they asked me to do. I never felt more protected and I never felt more safe on a set than I did with them. I think when people see the show and they see Nomi and they see the journey that she goes on with the other sense8s that people are going to be so incredibly pleased."
Nomi... 'know me'
The name Nomi has added significance too. In popular culture, the most famous Nomi may be the lead character in "Showgirls," but it's not a snarky reference in "Sense8." It is a name Lana Wachowski chose carefully. "Lana and I had a really big talk about it," Clayton said. "I won't give the entire story but I'll tell you it's 'know me. Do I know me? Do you know me?' Lana has this really amazing idea about knowing one's own personal limits and knowing how far you can go, knowing what you will do. 'Do I know me? Do you know me? How far will I go for the people that I love.'"
With its group of disparate characters living in all parts of the world, the way these stories connect unfolds over the first season, and presumably subsequent seasons of "Sense8." (The renewal of Season Two has yet to be announced, but it is rumored to be imminent.) It is a recurring theme for The Wachowskis. Their film "Cloud Atlas "explored how characters in six different times related.
"I love the human nature of the show," Clayton said. "We all are connected, whether we like it or not. We're all human beings. Every single one of us sitting at this table. We're all the same. You strip it all away and we're all literally the same. The same organs, the same blood, the same everything. And the show, the way that it shows these people all over the world and how they're connected to one another. They don't even know it and need help before they start to help each other, I love that theme of helping one another and the human kindness in that. It doesn't matter where we're from or who we know or who we love. We are connected."
Characters all connected
The cast of "Sense8" was all connected as well, at least until they had to separate to film their own portions of the series. "We were together for the first two weeks in San Francisco. We did table reads and rehearsals and screen tests and things like that, so we were all together. I remember the day that we all showed up and came into the room, we all met for the first time, 'I'm so and so and I'm so and so.' We did the table reads and we were bonding and going out to dinner, and then all of a sudden we were ripped apart from each other. Everyone was going back to their respective cities to start training and stunts and things like that. Then as we would all meet up again, then we weren't together again until Iceland. And that was like ahhhhhhhhh. It was amazing."
That connectedness is "Sense8's" macro message, although having a lead trans woman character as a micro message is significant too. "My hope is that the audience, as they're watching will sort of forget the color of these characters' skin and who they're going to bed with and all of those things. I hope they just see, 'wow, these people are helping each other.' They have these struggles that I've been through, or that someone that has been through, and that they can relate to in a certain way. And then realize we are all the same, even though they're in Nairobi and Berlin."
The new frontier
Transgender characters are the latest frontier in the evolution of television, as it took decades for gay characters and married gay couples to be accepted in prime time. Clayton sees it evolving far beyond even herself and Netflix's latest show.
"I think that there needs to be more of everything," Clayton said. "The amount of diversity that is shown on 'Sense8' is mind-bogglingly amazing. It's diversity within ethnicity and gender and sexuality and cities and the types of food that we're eating. There's not one person that can tune into 'Sense8' and not feel at some point connected to either a person, place or thing on the show. I didn't have that growing up, so I hope that when people see Nomi that they can relate to her and when people see Will they can relate to him."
Perhaps the next evolution is to include diverse characters without labeling them. "We don't ask any questions. We don't question each other. We just are there and I think that that's what we've lost. As a society, we need to help and stop asking questions and stop this whole thing about who's normal and who's this. Oh, you look like that or you talk like this... No, let's stop."
Season One of "Sense8" is available on Netflix.