Mae Martin has been making headlines with their portrayal in Wayward. Their genre-bending Netflix series has become one of the most loved series lately. However, the show also brings a leap for Mae as they step into a darker territory, playing a trans police officer caught in the grip of a cult-like community, and even sharing a surreal fight scene with a childhood comedy hero.
Mae Martin explored trans identity and hypermasculinity through the Wayward role
Mae Martin’s essays on the role of ‘Alex Dempsey’ in the series. A transgender cop who moved to the peaceful-looking town of Tall Pines with his pregnant wife. However, the town’s liberal façade hides a disturbing truth —the one that mirrors Alex’s internal conflict. Talking to Deadline about the same, Mae has opened up about their experience playing the character. They were quoted as saying:
“Alex is a character who’s desperate for acceptance. He finds what seems like a liberal utopia, the way a lot of those cults in the ’70s did seem to promise all of the right things. And he’s definitely someone who’s seduced by and yearning for that kind of heteronormative hypermasculinity and a nuclear family. So, it was juicy to explore that.”