Talisa Garcia recalls losing out on role for trans character to non-trans actress in Bad Girls TV series: ‘They could have broken every boundary’-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro

Trans actress Talisa Garcia has opened up about being rejected from a role for a trans character, explaining how ‘upsetting’ it was for the part to go to a cisgender performer instead.

Since 2019, Talisa has been best-known for starring as Kim Vogel on Baptiste opposite lead actor Tchéky Karyo, a role she played in the first season of the gripping TV series.

Her first credited professional role came 15 years prior, when she starred in two episodes of Silent Witness.

However, before that, she auditioned for ITV prison drama Bad Girls and came very close to being cast… before losing out at the final hurdle, she told Metro.co.uk.

Now starring as Queen Arianna in new Disney Plus series Willow, the mother of Tony Revolori’s character Prince Graydon, Talisa recalled how Bad Girls could have ‘broken every boundary’ by including her in the cast, but they chose to go in a different direction.

‘I auditioned for a part that was a trans part. I remember getting right into the final. I got to the point of auditioning in front of eight people,’ she recollected.

Talisa’s most prominent role has been as Kim Vogel in Baptiste (Picture: BBC)

‘When you’re auditioning for eight people, you know you’re right at the end. It didn’t go to me, it went to somebody else who wasn’t trans, and I know that they loved my audition because it’s just one of those auditions that I’ll never forget. I had to cry on the spot. They all had tears in their eyes.’

Talisa remembered feeling as though she’d ‘nailed’ her audition, only to find out that she hadn’t been successful.

‘It was really upsetting and it went to somebody that was non-trans. I think they could have broken every boundary. They would have been the first then, it would have been the first time ever.’

Shortly afterwards, the actress – who completed her master’s degree in acting at the Arts Educational School in London in 2003 – was offered her role in Silent Witness.

The actress was in two episodes of Silent Witness (Picture: BBC)

However, she missed out on a part in Bad Girls, which ran from 1999 to 2006 (Picture: ITV)

‘Eventually Silent Witness was the one that hired me as a trans character,’ she said of the BBC crime drama.

‘They were brave enough – but it was a very small part,’ she added.

Now that Talisa has worked in Lucasfilm production Willow, she has high hopes that one day, she could play a pivotal role in the Star Wars universe, having been a huge fan of the franchise throughout her life – and even has a fully-fledged idea already mapped out for the character she has in mind.

‘I’d been thinking ages ago when I was doing Willow, wouldn’t it be really amazing… I know Darth Vader’s mum has already appeared through the film, but because I was adopted, what happens if that wasn’t his mum?’ the Chilean-born actress said.

Talisa can currently be seen as Queen Arianna in TV series Willow, a sequel to the 1988 film (Picture: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

Explaining her idea in greater detail, she continued: ‘What happens if because his mother was so evil – which would be me – so they took him away… I’ve made the whole story up.

‘I was like, that would be amazing, if I played Darth Vader’s mum but she was just worse than Darth Vader. She was going to be this iconic role. Wouldn’t that be amazing? I have thought about it, and I have dreamed about it.’

In the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Shmi Skywalker (Pernilla August) was introduced as Anakin Skywalker’s mother, who revealed how she became pregnant with the boy (Jake Matthew Lloyd) through the Force.

Nonetheless, the idea that perhaps there might be more to Anakin’s conception than fans are aware of might not be beyond the realm of possibility!

Talisa expressed how much of a Star Wars fan she is (Picture: David Rose/Rex/Shutterstock)

Speaking about her wider career, Talisa outlined how 90% of the roles she auditions for are for cisgender characters, while only around 10% of the auditions she goes for are for transgender characters.

‘I’ve always wanted to play a mother. That would be great. What’s so good about television and films and the craft and the art that we do is that you put things out there, you start normalising things,’ she said as she opened up on the importance of trans visibility on screen.

‘If you put a trans person with a child in a soap, you start normalising it. Eventually you get the younger crowd and they watch it, they grow old and their kids watch it – it becomes normal.

‘Now more than ever, we still need visibility. We’re nowhere near it. We need it more than ever. Visibility is a must.’

Metro.co.uk has contacted ITV and Wall to Wall (which acquired Shed Productions) for comment.

Willow is available to watch on Disney Plus.

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