KAOS star Misia Butler on landing role in Netflix’s new show: ‘They wrote a character I felt was quite like me!’
Attitude catches up with actor Misia Butler – who’s about to blow up on Netflix show KAOS – the day before London Trans+ Pride. “I’m very much looking forward to it,” says the excitable star. “It’s a place where me and my mates can properly get together and do a proper Pride. I don’t have my outfit planned yet!”
The actor, who is a trans man and identifies as queer, plays Caeneus in the show. (The streamer’s official log line for KAOS calls it ‘a darkly comedic and contemporary reimagining of Greek mythology, exploring themes of gender politics, power, and life in the underworld.’) The role is quite the industry introduction for the star, who grew up in London “making theatres in back gardens with friends!’
As an adult, he attended an acting course for trans people put on by Gendered Intelligence. “There were a few workshops to get trans actors trained and exposed to the industry,” Misia recalls. “One thing led to another, and I got an audition and an agent through that. Gendered Intelligence have done a lot for me, definitely.”
Co-starring Jeff Goldblum and Suzy Izzard (“knowing I wasn’t the only version of transness being expressed on-screen was really beautiful” says Misia of the latter), the show drops on Thursday 29 August. Here, Misia tells us all about it.
Were there any trans public figures you looked up to, growing up?
On the acting front, I remember seeing Laverne Cox in Orange Is the New Black. I was in awe of the fact a trans character got to have so much screen time. Strangely enough, I also always had an affiliation with Elliot Page. I just understood him. For the longest time, I felt that connection. Seeing him come out and be so visual, present and open about his transness now has been really moving.
Can you give us the KAOS elevator pitch?
It’s a modernised take on a whole bunch of different Greek myths. Humans that find themselves coming together and dealing with their connections with each other and the cosmic significance that they take up as they try to survive the worlds of ruthless and arrogant Greek gods.
Can you describe your character?
He’s a bit of a dark horse. He’s very quiet and unassuming. We meet him in the underworld 10 years after his death. He’s just trying to get through his existence! Everything changes when he gets a promotion and meets this stranger who shows him he might be a lot more significant than he thinks.
Can you tell us about his gender identity?
What Charlie [Covell, series creator] does really well with this character, and something I really connected with was the fact his gender identity and transness is really embedded in the story, but it’s not something that takes up the whole of his character. He’s got a bit of a hero’s journey in many ways, and I felt privileged doing that. But all of his journey is influenced and informed by his transness, but it never takes over his entire personality.
Did you have much input into the creation of the character, or did you perform as per the script?
What I really appreciated with Charlie is, many of of us in the ensemble got to have really long, deep chats about each of our characters, and what they were hoping for with the character, what we were responding to in the script. What I found was, they’d written a character I felt was just quite like me! I didn’t have much to add, because I felt so akin to him.
What does it mean to you and how does it make you feel, playing this character?
It’s very special. They’ve done a really good job of having a rich, complicated character who happens to be trans, and whose transness is relevant. I think that’s the key there, that’s so satisfying with good representation. It makes you feel that you’re being seen, and not being used. I hope that resonates with people.
Were you familiar with this Greek mythology beforehand?
I had a place at Bristol to study classics! I sacked that off to be an actor instead. It’s full circle. I’ve been an Ancient Greek myths nerd for as long as I can remember.
What was your most memorable day on set?
One that really stuck with me that I told a few people about afterwards was working with David Thewlis, who plays Hades. I got to work with him on a scene. The presence and generosity of that man was stunning. I felt so moved by it. It hit me, the scale and the intensity of what we were doing.
What was it like working with Jeff Goldblum?
We did get to spend some time together chatting. He’s just an incredible person. He’s so organically himself. There’s no pretence. He’s so giving. He learnt everyone’s names on set; he really went out of his way to chat to me and other cast members.
Would you be comfortable sharing a little about your journey with your queer identity?
There are so many different aspects of queerness I’ve grappled with over the course of my life. It’s a hard thing, to pull out one thread and go: ‘This was isolated here, and my transness here, and sexuality here.’ They’re all so jumbled! I could fill a book. I’m still learning about aspects of fluidity and what gender really means to me. Even though I’ve transitioned physically a long time ago, I feel like there’s always more stuff to learn. I’ve had a privileged experience with it. There’s always hardships with these things, in this world, but the people I’ve been surrounded by have been incredible.
Have you been able to connect with many other LGBTQs in the industry?
I don’t even mean to, but I’ve been drawn to a lot of other queer creators. I find myself surrounded by, not even necessarily LGBTQ+, but there’s an aspect to that openness and fluidity through the way they live; I feel glad I have a network of creators on that spectrum.
What do you think the purpose of Pride is in 2024?
It’s absolutely a protest. Pride in itself, as a word, is about uplifting. Finding power and happiness and queer joy. And it’s about representation. I’ve been having lots of conversations about KAOS, and how seeing a character who has been there for thousands of years is very satisfying to create. It is a moment of going: you’re here, but you’ve always been here.
What content was formative for you growing up?
Tomboy by Céline Sciamma. That felt so on-the-nose of my experience in so many ways. It was told so delicately and beautifully. It really resonated. That and Percy Jackson – as I say, I was a Greek myths nerd! I know a lot of people don’t like the movies because of the books, but I loved everything about it!
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