For non-binary actor Lachlan Watson, landing a role on Netflix series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina actor was a huge career step; one that has meant a great deal to thousands of trans and non-binary viewers so desperately seeking authentic representation.
On the subject of gender, Watson, who plays non-binary character Susie Putnam on the show, says it all came down to one telling hypothetical: "If I didn’t have this body, if I was just floating meaninglessly in space as a blob of cells, who would I be?"
Speaking in a new Netflix video alongside fellow non-binary actors Jacob Tobia, Shiva Raichandani, and Santa Clarita Diet's Liv Hewson, Watson says that gender doesn't necessarily have a beginning, middle and end.
"People think of gender as a finite and objective thing, that it starts here and ends here. It’s not that," they explain.
"For me, it just keeps going. It’s a continuing line. It’s just like walking straight in the woods and not knowing where I’m going."
Speaking about their experience as part of the cast of Sabrina, Watson is quick to express how open-minded and inclusive the key creatives had been.
While character Susie is still at the beginning of their journey, Watson hints that they had drawn on the young actor's personal journey to identifying as non-binary.
"I got cast in Sabrina and they put at the end of the email: “if you want to share your story, your journey, we’d love to hear it” and I said f**k yeah,’ they recall.
They add: "Here’s all the trauma in my life that prepared me for this moment in particular. Here’s all the shit I can talk about."
"We’re telling a queer story, but we’re telling it right because they’re listening to me."
