'Yellowjackets' Nonbinary Actor Liv Hewson Isn't Entering Emmys Race Due to Gendered Categories

"I can't submit myself for this because there's no space for me," the actor told Variety

Liv Hewson will be sitting out a potential Emmy nomination this year.

The Yellowjackets actor — who plays the teenage version of Vanessa "Van" Palmer on the hit Showtime thriller — told Variety in a recent interview that they don't plan to submit themselves for Emmy consideration due to the award show's gendered categories.

"There's not a place for me in the acting categories," said Hewson, 27, who is nonbinary. "It would be inaccurate for me to submit myself as an actress. It neither makes sense for me to be lumped in with the boys."

"It's quite straightforward and not that loaded," they continued. "I can't submit myself for this because there's no space for me."

Hewson isn't the first actor to make such a move. Earlier this year, Broadway performer Justin David Sullivan — a principal cast member in the Max Martin jukebox musical & Juliet — withdrew from Tony Awards consideration instead of competing in a gendered awards category.

"I was told that I had to choose [the category in which] I felt comfortable, and in that process, I struggled a lot," the performer told Playbill in a statement. "There's nothing more that I want to empower than nonbinary people, to show that it's possible to be nonbinary on Broadway, play a non-binary character on Broadway and be nominated, and possibly potentially awarded. I felt like I couldn't choose. I didn't feel right being in either category because it didn't resonate with me."

"I decided the only thing that felt right to me would be to abstain from nomination consideration," Sullivan added to the outlet. "So I will not be considered for a Tony nomination."

A rep for the Emmys had no comment when reached by PEOPLE on Friday morning.

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Related: The Cast of Yellowjackets: Everything to Know

Also known for their roles in Netflix's zombie comedy Santa Clarita Diet and the streaming giant's 2019 romantic comedy Let It Snow, Hewson has portrayed the teenage version of Van in Yellowjackets since it premiered in fall 2021.

In season 2, which is currently airing, Lauren Ambrose began playing the adult Van, who comes back into the lives of the other survivors — played by Melanie Lynskey (Shauna), Tawny Cypress (Taissa), Juliette Lewis (Natalie), Christina Ricci (Misty) and Simone Kessell (Lottie) — after 25 years apart.

Lynskey, 45, previously shared her interest in seeing an adult Van enter the equation — and learning what happened to her.

"Because I very much want [Liv] to be on the show forever and ever," she said during a February 2022 discussion at the 10th annual SCAD TVfest, per Entertainment Tonight. The New Zealand native then revealed that Van is her husband Jason Ritter's "favorite character."

Yellowjackets flashes back and forth between a group of high-school soccer players in their teens and as adults as they experience and then deal with the psychological aftermath of being stranded in the Canadian wilderness for 19 months following a plane crash.

RELATED VIDEO: Let It Snow's Liv Hewson Feels "Lucky" to Portray an LGBTQ Character in a Netflix Holiday Film

Back in 2019, Hewson told PEOPLE that they felt "lucky" to portray an LGBTQ character in Let It Snow.

"I loved the opportunity to just play a character, but within the universe of such a cultural staple: holiday romantic comedies," the actor said.

They added, "It was something where I read the script and I was like, 'Oh, damn, this will be fun.' And also, it would've been nice if I'd seen something like that when I was younger."

"So I definitely felt lucky to be able to do that," Hewson said.

New episodes of Yellowjackets season 2 air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime.

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