Australian star feels 'deeply grateful' to be Marvel's first ever trans actor

Australian actor Zoe Terakes feels ‘deeply grateful’ to be Marvel’s first transgender actor.

The Aussie, who is non-binary and trans masculine, has been cast in the upcoming Disney+ series Ironheart.

During an interview with Collider, the 22-year-old discussed the significance of joining the MCU.

They said: “I think as trans people, growing up I didn’t get to see myself anywhere, so I didn’t really know that I existed.

"And especially not in a superhero show or movie.

“I think I just feel deeply grateful and moved that little trans kids and trans teens have something to look at and to know they exist and to know that they can have superpowers, and that that’s where we belong.

“We don’t just belong in trauma stories on the fringes dying in things, you know? We belong there with the big guys.

"So yeah, it meant a lot to me.”

The actor will appear alongside lead actress Dominique Thorne, who will portray teenager Riri Williams (aka Ironheart), a brilliant inventor who develops the world’s most advanced super suit.

We first saw a sneak peek of Williams in Wakanda Forever as the 19-year-old MIT student running a homework business.

Little is known about the upcoming MCU series, but we have learned it will be based on the original Ironheart comics and feature many characters from the Marvel spin-off.

Over the years, the MCU has copped criticism for its lack of LGBTQI+ representation.

News Corp writer Brett White acknowledged that while a handful of queer characters have been portrayed on screen, there’s still a long way to go.

He wrote: “So… where are our action movies? Where are our superhero movies? Where are the movies where queer people get to be heroic and/or badass?

“It is time to plug up this hole in the marketplace, Marvel, because you already have the characters.”

However, just days after Loki was revealed to be sexually fluid on the Disney+ series, Marvel Studio’s executive vice president of film production Victoria Alonso promised there would be more queer storylines on the horizon.

She told Variety: “There’s a lot that we have coming up that I think will be representative of the world of today.

“We’re not going to nail it in the first movie or the second movie or third movie, or the first show or second show, but we will do our best to consistently try to represent.”