‘Baby Reindeer’ Star Nava Mau on Becoming a Trans Advocate

“Baby Reindeer” star Nava Mau may become a trans role model after the success of the Netflix drama and her Emmy nomination for her work on the show, but the actor isn’t ready to call herself an “activist” just yet. to call.

“I really shy away from that word because I think people who are activists are often involved in organizing and I have a lot of respect for that work,” Mau told me Friday at the Television Academy’s Performer Nominee Celebration at The Wallis in Beverly Hills. “I prefer to call myself an advocate.”

Mau’s nod for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Anthology Series or Movie makes her the first transgender woman nominated in that category.

She becomes emotional when she hears trans youth thanking her for her visibility. “It makes me cry a little,” Mau said.

She recalls being honored with the CMF Barrier Breaker Award at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month. “It made me think about what the reality is for transgender people, which is that we have to encounter and break so many barriers to survive,” Mau said. “It is remarkable and groundbreaking that we can pursue our dreams.”

MORE: Michaela Jaé Rodriguez on Why an Emmy Win for ‘Baby Reindeer’ Star Nava Mau Would Send an Important Message for Trans Acceptance

Asked to name some of her trans influences and inspirations, Mau lists the cast of “Pose,” Jamie Clayton on “Sense 8,” indie filmmaker and actor Rain Valdez and “Her Story,” a 2016 web series starring Angelica Ross and Jen Richards in the lead role. . “All those pieces are pieces of me,” Mau explained.

Mau also said that her dream role is to play a witch.

A good witch or a bad witch? Mau smiled, “They’re never all good or all bad, are they?”

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