Asia Kate Dillon

Asia Kate Dillon (born November 15, 1984)[1] is an American actor, best known for their roles as Brandy Epps in Orange Is the New Black and Taylor Mason in Billions. Dillon is non-binary and uses singular they pronouns.[2][3][4] Their role on Billions is the first non-binary main character on North American television,[5] and earned them a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.[6][7][8] They also played the Adjudicator in the action film John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019).

Asia Kate Dillon
Dillon in 2017
Born (1984-11-15) November 15, 1984
Ithaca, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation
  • Actor
  • producer
  • director
Years active2007–present
Known for

Career

Dillon graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.[9] They enrolled in and completed the Meisner training program at The Actor's Workshop of Ithaca during their junior year of high school at age sixteen. They were the youngest student ever admitted to the class.[9]

In 2007, Dillon took the titular role of Rachel Corrie in the play My Name Is Rachel Corrie.[10] Afterward, they took part in a workshop of plays with Academy Award- and Tony Award-winning playwrights.[11][9] This was followed by a featured lead role as Lucifer in The Mysteries, and a role in The Tempest at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC.[12][13]

Dillon played white supremacist Brandy Epps, a penitentiary inmate, in eight episodes of Orange Is the New Black in 2016, making them one of the first non-binary actors cast in a major television show.[9][14] They also played a recurring role in season 2 of Showtime's Wall Street drama Billions in 2017.[15] The role they played is a non-binary character, Taylor Mason, a hedge fund intern,[16] who is reported to be the first non-binary character on mainstream North American television.[2][17][18][7] Showtime confirmed in April 2017 that Mason would be a regular character in season 3.[19] When submitting their name for an Emmy Award for acting, Dillon was allowed to submit for whichever gendered category they wished, and chose "actor" over "actress" because it is a gender neutral word.[20][21] They received submission for supporting actor.[22] Their effort to clarify the matter for all non-binary people prompted the MTV Movie & TV Awards to combine their gender-segregated categories.[23] They presented the award for Best Actor at the MTV Movie & TV Awards on May 7, 2017.[24] In November 2018, it was announced Dillon would star in The Outside Story.[25]

Dillon is the founder and producing director of MIRROR/FIRE Productions. Within the company, they created US, a performance piece exploring racism and the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States.[11]

In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, an event widely considered a watershed moment in the modern LGBTQ rights movement, Queerty named them one of the Pride50 "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people".[26]

On March 28, 2020, Dillon released their first EP, Handsomehands, with profits being donated to Marsha P. Johnson Institute.[27]

Personal life

Dillon was born in Ithaca, New York. They were assigned female at birth,[28][29] but identify as non-binary. Dillon explained that around 2015, they began removing gendered pronouns from their biography, and auditioning for the part of Mason helped them understand their gender identity.[3][4] Dillon identifies as pansexual, stating they are attracted to multiple genders.[30]

Credits

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2009My Popcorn NightsAsiaShort film[31]
2015Opus for AllHomeless woman/Lucifer[32]
2019John Wick: Chapter 3 – ParabellumThe Adjudicator
2020The Outside StoryInez

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2011Hitting the WallJocelynnTelevision movie[33]
2011Marcus Garlard: A Necessary OptionAsia
2015YoungerBald GirlEpisode: "IRL"[11]
2015Master of NoneLine Lady #1Episode: "Plan B"[11]
2016We're All Gonna DieSex Shop AttendantShort[34]
2016–2019Orange Is the New BlackBrandyRecurring; 19 episodes[9]
2017–presentBillionsTaylor Mason47 episodes[9]
2019Gen:LockVal/entina RomanyszynWeb series
2019The SimpsonsPaulaEpisode: "Marge the Lumberjill"

Video game
Year Title Role Notes
2020 Fast & Furious Crossroads Cam Stone Voice and motion capture[35]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result
2017 Critics' Choice Television Awards[36] Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Billions Nominated
2018 Screen Actors Guild Award[37] Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Orange Is the New Black Nominated
2018 Critics' Choice Television Awards[38][39][40] Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Billions Nominated
2019 Nominated

References
  1. "ASIA KATE DILLON". Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  2. Dowling, Amber (February 24, 2017). "Meet TV's First Non-Binary-Gender Character: Asia Kate Dillon of Showtime's 'Billions'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  3. Todd, Carolyn L. (February 27, 2017). "Meet Billions' Asia Kate Dillon, TV's First Non-Binary Star". Refinery29. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  4. Jones, Ellen E (February 14, 2017). "Billions star Asia Kate Dillon: 'I cried when I read the script'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  5. Hibberd, James (February 19, 2017). "'Billions' Premiere Introduces TV's First Gender Non-Binary Character". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  6. Masters, Jeffrey (April 13, 2017). "Asia Kate Dillon Talks Discovering the Word Non-Binary: 'I Cried'". HuffPost. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  7. Williams, Lauren C. (March 20, 2017). "Behind the scenes with TV's first gender non-binary character". ThinkProgress. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  8. "Critics' Choice nominations vault 'The Shape of Water' into best picture race". EW.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  9. Lee, Steve (December 19, 2016). "Asia Kate Dillon makes history as one of the first non-binary gender identifying actors to be cast on mainstream TV". LGBT Weekly. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  10. Jones, Ellen E (February 14, 2017). "Billions star Asia Kate Dillon: 'I cried when I read the script'". Evening Standard.
  11. Artavia, David (February 17, 2017). "Asia Kate Dillon Is Blazing a Trail for Gender-Nonconforming Actors". The Advocate. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  12. MIRROR/FIRE Productions
  13. "Asia Kate Dillon Is Blazing a Trail for Gender-Nonconforming Actors". The Advocate. February 17, 2017.
  14. Appugliesi, Jordan (March 20, 2017). "'Billions' Star Asia Kate Dillon On Being First Non-Binary Gender Identifying Actor On A Mainstream TV Show". ET Canada. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  15. "Actor or actress? Billions star Asia Kate Dillon on how non-binary people fit into the Emmys". CBC Radio. April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  16. Birnbaum, Debra (April 6, 2017). "'Billions' Star Challenges Emmys Male-Female Acting Categories (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  17. Garrido, Duarte (February 20, 2017). "Billions shows TV's first gender non-binary character". Sky News. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  18. ellentube team (March 19, 2017). "Ellen Meets Trailblazing Actor Asia Kate Dillon". ellentube. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  19. Patten, Dominic (April 9, 2017). "Showtime's 'Billions' Ups Asia Kate Dillon To Series Regular For Season 3". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  20. Williams, Megan (April 6, 2017). "Billions star challenges Emmy Awards over gender-based categories". The Independent. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  21. Andrews, Travis M. (April 6, 2017). "Gender non-binary star Asia Kate Dillon ponders Emmys: Actor or actress?". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  22. Flynn, Paul (April 15, 2017). "'You didn't win, we won': the great LGBT TV revolution". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  23. Saunders, Emma (April 7, 2017). "Is it time to scrap gender specific awards?". BBC News. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  24. Serrao, Nivea. "Billions' Asia Kate Dillon to present at the MTV Movie & TV Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  25. N'Duka, Amanda (November 28, 2018). "Sonequa Martin-Green Joins Brian Tyree Henry In 'The Outside Story' Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  26. "Queerty Pride50 2019 Honorees". Queerty. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  27. "Mx. Asia Kate Dillon's Instagram profile post: "MY FIRST EP 'HANDSOMEHANDS' IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOADING & STREAMING EVERYWHERE!!! 100% of profits will go to the @mpjinstitute 🙏🏻 "The…"". Instagram. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  28. Ennis, Dawn (March 22, 2017). "'Billions' star Asia Kate Dillon schools Ellen on being non-binary". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  29. Nordstrom, Leigh (May 16, 2017). "Asia Kate Dillon is making a mark as 'they'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  30. "#11: You've Told Me This Before". Nancy, S1 Ep11. June 4, 2017.
  31. Daniel Slottje (director, writer) (2009). My Popcorn Nights (Short film). USA: Daniel Slottje.
  32. Andy Zou, Ronnie Rios, Ramon O. Torres (directors) (June 7, 2015). Opus for All (Opus 4 - Our Better Angels) (Short). USA.
  33. Jack Skyyler, Joel Brook (directors) (April 7, 2011). Hitting The Wall (Motion picture). USA: Dear Skyyler Productions. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  34. Jamie Sisley. We're All Gonna Die (in production) (Short film). USA: Jamie Sisley.
  35. https://www.engadget.com/2019/12/13/fast-and-furious-crossroads-game-pc-ps4-xbox-one/
  36. Tapley, Kristopher (December 6, 2017). "Netflix, FX's 'Feud' Lead Critics' Choice TV Nominations". Variety. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  37. Rubin, Rebecca (December 13, 2017). "SAG Award Nominations: Complete List". Variety. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  38. Sheehan, Paul (December 10, 2018). "Critics' Choice TV Awards nominations 2019: Full list led by Netflix, HBO, FX shows". GoldDerby. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  39. "Critics' Choice Awards: 'The Irishman' Leads With 14 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  40. Jackson, Angelique (January 12, 2020). "Critics' Choice Awards: Full Winners List (Updating Live)". Variety. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
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