To “Orphan Black” star Tatiana Maslany, being a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocate is “just a no-brainer.”
Among the 13 clone characters that the 29-year-old actress plays on the BBC America science fiction series is Cosima Niehaus, a bisexual scientist. But an emotional Maslany, who is straight, recently told GLAAD’s Claire Pires that her support for the LGBT community doesn’t stop at the small screen.
“A lot of my friends, you know, have struggled with coming out or identifying how they identify,” she said. “It just makes no sense that there wouldn’t be support for the community [or] that it even has to be a separate community. I don’t understand why there’s a line drawn.”
Cosima, she added, differs from other bisexual television characters in that she is “not on display for the male gaze.” The star is particularly proud of the way the series depicts Cosima’s relationship with her girlfriend, Delphine (Évelyne Brochu).
“They’re not sexualized in that way, but they are sexual with each other and they’re intimate,” she said. “Whether Delphine identifies as bisexual or however she identifies herself, she’s open to loving Cosima and there’s no question. It’s about the love between them; it’s not about the fact that they are two women.”
At San Diego Comic-Con last year, Maslany got visibly emotional while discussing LGBT issues. The actress was left speechless when a fan thanked her and co-star Jordan Gavaris, who plays the openly gay Felix on “Orphan Black,” for helping her to come out of closet.
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