Modern Family Casts Transgender Child Actor in New Episode

Jackson Millarker, an 8-year-old transgender child actor, has been cast in an upcoming episode of Modern Family, playing the part of Lily's trans friend Tom from school.

The episode is called "A Stereotypical Day," and is directed by Ryan Case, who shared over Instagram:

 

This is Jackson Millarker. He's 8 years old, from Atlanta, and just happens to be transgender. He plays Lily's friend Tom in this week's Modern Family and he's wonderful. One of the many reasons I love being a part of this show.

A photo posted by Ryan Case (@film114) on Sep 26, 2016 at 11:00am PDT

In the episode, Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) are proud to have raised such an open-minded daughter when Lily announces she'll be having her trans friend over after class, but because of a mixup, they begin to think she actually might be not so progressive after all.

Other shows that have cast trans talent include Transparent, Orange is the New Black, Nashville, and I Am Jazz. Jeffrey Tambor, who recently won the Emmy for his portrayal of trans woman Maura Pfefferman on Transparent, said during his acceptance speech, "I would not be unhappy if I were the last cisgender male to play a female transgender on television."

Modern Family Casts Transgender Child Actor in New Episode

Modern Family Casts Transgender Child Actor in New Episode