In Major Leading Role, Theo Germaine Discusses Authenticity in 'They/Them'

Trans, non-binary actor Theo Germaine is a rising young actor to watch. From their role as James Sullivan on the Ryan Murphy Netflix comedy "The Politician" to the candy-colored madness of Molly Hewitt's satirical romp "Holy Trinity," as well as their TV appearances on "Work in Progress" and "The 4400," Germaine grabs your attention.

"They/Them," the directorial debut of Oscar-nominated gay screenwriter John Logan, is Germaine's first leading role in a feature, and it's no surprise that here, too, they are a standout – and not simply because their character, Jordan, is written as a first among equals in an ensemble cast portraying a group of LGBTQ+ teens who have been sent to a "conversion" camp by their parents. Some of the kids, experiencing feelings of shame and self-rejection, honestly want to change their fundamental natures. Others are there simply to hold up their end of a bargain. Jordan is one of the latter, the agreement with their parents being that if the camp doesn't change them into a cisgender heterosexual, then they will allow Jordan to become emancipated and start life as an adult while still under the age of 18.

The camp is staffed by a roster of nasty homophobes, the slickest and most convincingly affable of which is Owen Whistler, played by Kevin Bacon. But there's hidden viciousness and bloodthirsty evil lurking in the camp, and it's not simply a matter of the staff's two-faced manner of dealing with the kids. There's also a masked killer on a rampage,�and you can never tell when the vengeful figure will pop up, or who the next victim will be. One thing's for sure from early on in the movie: Jordan is every bit as much a force to be reckoned with as either Owen Whistler or the mysterious killer that's haunting the camp. Indeed, Jordan might have the film's best line, one that's guaranteed to get a shout of gleeful agreement from audiences across the country.

EDGE caught up with Theo Germaine to hear about working with John Logan and Kevin Bacon, how the heroes in this film are usually othered in real life, and why they believe that social commentary about trans and non-binary people is "crucial" for this moment in time.

EDGE: I've seen you in different projects, like "The Politician" and "Holy Trinity," which was strange and fun. But I think this is your first leading role.

Theo Germaine: Yes. This is really the first time that I've ever done a lead role on screen. Also, I can't believe that you've seen "Holy Trinity." Nobody's seen that, because it was just so indie. And it was so local, and so Chicago.

EDGE: "They/Them" is also John Logan's first feature film as a director, so did you share a little bit of that first-timer energy together?

Theo Germaine: You know what? You mentioning that makes me think that, yeah, we definitely did. I had remembered listening to a podcast interview that John had done before "They/Them" was announced as a project, and in the interview he had said that he wasn't interested in directing. But then when he decided to write the script, he very much was like, "You know, I wrote this, and it's very close to my heart, and I'm going to branch out and I actually do want to go ahead and direct this." So, yeah, definitely.

And I felt very supported by him, you know, as someone who was really taking on a lead role on screen for the first time, and I felt really supportive of him in regard to him being a first-time director –�and John was really good. He really knows how to talk to actors. Part of me thinks that's because he also has a theatre background. He spoke to me in a way that I was like, "This guy, he does screen, he does stage, he really knows what he's talking about, and he really cares about things being done right."

EDGE: It's my understanding that you actually had the opportunity to present him with your perspectives on the character you're playing, which is a trans and non-binary character.

Theo Germaine: Yeah, I did. He was super open right off the bat – he was like, "Let me know what your thoughts are. Do you have any notes or questions about the script? Is there anything that's really not making any sense? Or is there anything that your character says that doesn't actually sound like what you think this character would say?" Even down to the clothing that the character Jordan wears in the movie, I was able to have a say in it – different qualities that the character had. One thing in particular is, I'm a visual artist and John learned that, and then he wanted to put some of my visual art, which shows up a little bit in the film.

Basically, in almost everything, he was like, "I want you to have a say in this," and I felt really respected. I know that not everybody is like that – you know, not every writer-director in Hollywood is going to be like, "Yeah, please tell me what's up, and if something doesn't sound right, I want it to sound right."

I really needed that, at that time last year. You know, the industry can be a weird scary place still, and there's only a handful of us, you know, who are like me and fall under the trans umbrella who are working. We really need people who are advocates for us, and I really feel like John was an advocate for me.

EDGE: The title of the film, "They/Them," strikes me as kind of a pun because this is, of course, a horror movie, and for a great swath of America, the horror that they've been fed is that of transgender people, especially teenagers. So did you get a feeling also like this, and, if so, did you play to that conceptual pun?

Theo Germaine: Well, the name of the movie changed a couple of times. When we were filming, it actually was not called "They/Them." I think it was going to be called "Whistler Camp" at the time. Retroactively, I'm like, it's really fun. I love the title. I think it's really funny, and I almost think it's like... a lot of people have very specific ideas that are negative about they/them pronouns. And I'm hoping if anybody has that idea about pronouns and about trans or non-binary people, that it will bring them to the movie because they'll be curious, and then maybe they'll be changed by the content of the film.

Also, I think about how it feels like it's paying homage to the [1988 John Carpenter] film "They Live," and there's also another classic horror film from the '50s about giant bugs. It's called "Them." In those cases, the pronoun "they" or "them" is used to be like, "Ah, this really scary thing is going to happen," and "They/Them" being the title of this film sets people up for something very specific – but then the tropes actually get subverted in the film. The person who often is othered is the hero of the movie.

Also, there's something that John and I talked about, which is that the character Jordan arrives at this camp at the beginning of the film very much a hyper-independent, "I need to stick to myself" type of person, you know, a singular they. And by the end of the film, Jordan really, truly learns about the importance of community; feels like they make friends; learns the value and importance of community; learns that they can't be an island. So then it's also like "them," as in the group of people that they will get to be with. That's kind of a personal thing, a personal interpretation of the title, but there's really so many different ways you can interpret it.

EDGE: Horror has been used for social commentary at least since Bram Stoker wrote the novel "Dracula" [in 1897]. Going into this project, did you have that part of the film, the social commentary part, in the front of your mind? Or was that more in the background – or did you not worry about that at all, and focus on making a slasher movie?

Theo Germaine: Just so that I could do my best work, I had to set the social commentary part aside so that I could just be in a moment. But it's definitely something that I thought about a lot. When I didn't need to be focused in a particular way, I was very much thinking about social commentary – what kind of impact this might have on audiences, what kinds of metaphors are happening in the film. Because the film has an allegorical sort of feel to it. Having seen the film, I feel like it's very easy to put yourself into different characters to see parts of yourself that you accept, and parts of yourself that you don't accept.

And also, doing social commentary on conversion therapy, I think, is really important, especially in media, because it's still going on. There are still thousands and thousands and thousands of people that are suffering every single day and being put through programs like this. There are so many people that have been conditioned to deny themselves the right to be free and exist. Especially with the current events that are going on, it really feels like the film is so much more of a crucial commentary on the importance of bodily autonomy and people's right to choose to be themselves.

EDGE: Congratulations for being now part of the Kevin Bacon "Six Degrees" club. What was it like to work with him?

Theo Germaine: Oh my gosh, it was really positive. He's a really good actor. I was kind of starstruck. I was like, "I can't believe that I'm working with this person," because he was the voice of Balto in "Balto," which was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. I actually just saw him a little bit earlier today, and I told him, "I literally would watch 'Balto' and like, go outside and play like wolves with my friends."

I was really, really impacted by his work as a kid, and then meeting him in person and, like, just getting to witness how talented he is in person, I was like, "It makes sense that he has a game, you know, essentially about him, because not everybody is as versatile as he is." He's truly a special guy, and just watching him work every day was truly like a masterclass. I would work with him again in a heartbeat. Honestly, it would be so cool.

Watch the trailer to "They/Them":