Even though the show is gone, we should still remember it for all its glory
The Knockturnal: You played Lola on the show ‘Difficult People.’ How much of you inspired Lola and how much of Lola now inspires you?
Shakina Nayfack: What was cool about the way they created the role was that Julie and Scott created this character together and she started in season 2. But they knew they wanted to bring someone in to build the character around and with. What I brought in was maybe a little more of the political savvy around the hot-button issues about trans identity and trans issues. So what Lola brought before me was this crazy conspiracy theorist and what I brought was this militant trans woman. And they wanted that character trait but I had the specifics. I have been an activist for many, many years and I have been on my own quest for trans representation so it kind of fit.
The Knockturnal: And playing a trans character on a show like this, what does this sort of representation mean to you?
Shakina Nayfack: Well, what I like about it is that Lola is so cutthroat and like everyone else on the show says what they think. And I think there could have been another world in which I had my breakout role on a show that forced me to be more conservative or self-centered where my platform and my voice is so similar to Lola’s where I am allowed to be more of myself.
The Knockturnal: Who was the person you had the most fun on set with?
Shakina Nayfack: Well, everyone is so much fun. And the interactions are different with everyone but with Cole Escola I cannot keep it together. He is the funniest person I have ever met and he is such a brilliant actor and comedian that you will never know what he is going to pull out. There’s a script but there’s also just Cole. And he the one who will make me break character every single day. And even one time in season 2, one day Jeffrey came up to us and said ‘you can break one more time,’ because I was just losing it. And then there was one time where Gabby and I, we talk a lot of shit and we get to riff together. Even though we might not have a lot of lines we are kind of just daggering each other with our eyes and figuring out cool ways to interact with each other on set. And Derrick is my rock. I was really nervous especially not having done TV before and he was just my champion. He was like ‘you got this. Don’t worry. You’re so funny.’ And he gave me a lot of courage and confidence.
The Knockturnal: What was your favorite scene to film on set?
Shakina Nayfack: The scene in episode 9 of season 3 which was the ayahuasca trip. The thing about that was that when I came back for season 3, Julie and Scott asked me what I wanted to do. And I said I want to bring some friends on and I want to give some opportunities to other trans actors, especially some trans actors of colors. And so they wrote the episode where you get to meet three people out of Lola’s sorority. And they are all women I love. Aneesh Sheth, who is a really brilliant actress, who is a dear friend who I have been promoting in my own way. And Justin Vivian Bond, who is a legend and who I have seen perform at Joe’s Pub and has inspired me to do all the work that I have started doing. And so it was really cool to have this posy. And then the episode itself was really crazy. And another thing is that I am kind of like a shaman warrior princess in my own way. And to be guiding this ayahuasca trip and fanning the flames of these hallucinations—for my friends watching the show they were like, ‘this is so you.’
The Knockturnal: How has life changed for you while on the show and now after the show?
Shakina Nayfack: Well, Lola is a breakout role. For me and for the industry. To have this sort of out there, comedic, trans woman on television is something that has not happened before. So, for me, what it has done has obviously given me more of a platform. And I’m not like famous…yet. But there are more people that follow me on social media and want to hear what I have to say. I have more opportunities to write, content wise, for other people. So this sort of voice that was introduced by Lola, with virtue to the similarities that I have with my own voice as Shakina the human, I am able to use that voice more and I feel like I am able to do that for the benefit of others. And there has been some critical recognition that has been motivating. Like Out Magazine listed me as their top 100 this year. I was joking with a friend saying that Lola should have her own voyeur consideration campaign for the Emmy’s. But, the hope as an artist and as an actor is that work leads to work. So, I am hopeful that what I have demonstrated in terms of my comedic timing and my skills can help me get more opportunities and I am excited.
The Knockturnal: And this was your first TV role. What kind of roles would you want to take on in the future?
Shakina Nayfack: There are two things I have in my mind. I am working on a sitcom pilot that is loosely based on my own life and so it features me in the leading role. And it is sort of like the trans woman’s “Master of None.” But I envision it in sort of a 90’s sitcom. But I would love to play a leading role in a sitcom. That is really where I see myself going. And the reason for that is that one, in this really critical time where trans representation is moving forward whether people want it to or not, and I think comedy is a way to make it less threatening for the people who don’t get it. And it is great that we are getting more and more allies, but there is a conversion process where people who are transphobic or unexposed or on the fence need to feel like they can wrap their minds around it a little more. And comedy is a great way to do that. It is the way to get folks on board. Just get to people’s living rooms through the screen that they watch and getting to hang out with you. And then the other thing that I really like about playing more roles on television is that if you are blessed enough to get a show that goes on for multiple seasons, you get this ability to have these long and complex and always evolving character arcs. So as an actor, you are not always playing the role beginning to end as if you were in a play, which has the same script every night, or a movie where it is the same thing. But, it’s like you come to set and you have new adventures and it informs your character and your character grows over time as you as an artist grow over time as well. And I think that is really exciting.