The Knockturnal spoke with Molly Bernard, known for her role as Lauren Heller on Younger.
Younger is a comedy-drama series created and produced by Darren Star. And the show boasts a repertoire of high-profile members, including Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff, and Peter Hermann. The show revolves around 40-year-old Liza Miller, a divorced mother attempting to fill the monetary cracks left behind by her husband, a gambling addict. Miller then finds herself as an assistant at a publishing firm, which still provides a host of challenges, given her age.
Bernard plays Lauren Heller on the show.
The Knockturnal: What brings you to the event?
Molly Bernard: My name is Molly Bernard. I’m an actress on the shows Younger and Transparent. I’m here to support an equal environment for all gay, lesbian, queer – the entire spectrum of youth in our country.
The Knockturnal: Talk about your role in the show?
Molly Bernard: I play a pansexual-like, fluid woman. A woman identifying, female, on the show Younger. And she’s incredible. She’s the only pansexual on TV. So that representation is incredibly important.
The Knockturnal: How does GLSEN resonate with you?
Molly Bernard: You know, I went to a performing arts high school. And so, we didn’t have sports. There were no jocks. There was nothing aggressive about my high school other than the aggression of musical theatre kids and the art kids. And so I grew up in this very loving, open environment with a lot of queer kids around me. It was like, a paradise. No gay kids were teased, and I wish that experience for everyone. Because a lot of my friends who came out had f–ed up; really nasty experiences. I’ve had friends – trans and gay friends – who have been beat up; who have been chased. That was just not my experience of my adolescence. So it’s important and it’s something that must be worked on.
The Knockturnal: What are your thought about LGBTQ representation in the film world. Do you think progress being made?
Molly Bernard: Yes, yes, absolutely. Although we have so much more work to do. You know, there’s this – I’ve just read this quote from the New York Times last weekend – that a movement becomes – the goals seem far-fetched until the movement’s goals are reached, then suddenly the reflection of it is that they’re inevitable. And essentially a movement is what happens in between. It’s what took place from something being difficult to achieve, to suddenly it’s happened and now we reflect that this was necessary and inevitable. So engagement is the most important thing. And as long as people are aware that we have work to do, I think it will never really be done. But we all have to be a part of it.
The Knockturnal: Future roles to discuss?
Molly Bernard: I just wrapped Younger last week. And I am taking the summer off. I’ll be doing a play in September.
