Netflix's Kaos star on the show's trans representation
Kaos star Misia Butler has weighed in on the show's trans representation through his character Caeneus.
The Netflix show is a present-day retelling of Ancient Greek mythology through the lens of black humour, with Butler playing a trans masculine character who's key to the plot.
According to the ancient myth, Caeneus was born a girl but, after being raped by Poseidon, he was transformed into a man by the sea-god.
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Speaking about the role of Caeneus with Radio Times, Butler said he'd first learned about the character in school and was "obsessed".
"I learned about the character in school, so I'm like, even more obsessed," he said.
"To just experience such incredible writing that really allows for a trans masculine character to have such, well, 'character' outside of their identity is really special," he added, praising the work of Kaos creator Charlie Covell, who's also behind Channel 4 hit The End of The F***ing World.
"I think that it doesn't happen so often and I feel very blessed for that."
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He also reflected on the impact that his storyline, which sees him in a romance with Riddy aka Eurydice (Aurora Perrineau), can have on trans viewers.
"I think it was my first day of filming, we were doing this scene, my audition scene, where me and another character on a bench were just chatting for a long time, and I was so moved. Then I saw Charlie was really moved too. We both were crying," Butler said.
"I just know that if I was watching this scene as a child, as the child that I was, I would feel immeasurably seen and just have had a much stronger experience because I would have been represented in such a strong way."
Alongside Butler and Perrineau, the star-studded Netflix show also features Jeff Goldblum as Zeus, Billie Piper as Cassandra, Debi Mazar as Medusa and David Thewlis as Hades, among others.
Kaos is available to stream on Netflix.
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