‘Pose’ Star Mj Rodriguez on What It Took to Land Her Dream Role
If you’re already hooked on FX’s Pose, then you’re definitely also obsessed with Mj Rodriguez. You should know, though, that her rise to the top has not been easy.
Mj grew up wanting to be an actress, attending arts schools and creative programs when she was young. After high school, she enrolled in the Berklee College of Music, but during her first semester, she got an opportunity to star as Angel in Rent.
“I was like, ‘Okay, I should stay in college, but I’m going to pursue my career and I think Berklee is going to live for this, ’cause I think that’s why they have me here-to train me to go out and pursue what I love to do,’” she remembers with a laugh.
Mj says it was Rent that gave her the space to be the woman she is today.
A post shared by Mj Rodriguez (@mjrodriguez7) on May 10, 2019 at 6:20am PDT
“There was a physical identity of what people perceived as ‘boy,’ but that’s not how I was feeling inside,” she explains. “The people that I worked with, they saw that when I got onstage and actually got to live in the clothing that I wanted to be in.”
After Rent closed, though, Mj spent three years auditioning with little success. When she got an audition for Hamilton, she felt confident that she would get the role of Peggy-but instead she was told she wasn’t the right fit. “I kinda broke down a bit, because that was something I really, really wanted,” Mj recalls.
Mj credits her mom for encouraging her to never give up. Eventually, she got an audition for FX’s Pose, which would go on to have the largest cast of transgender actors to ever appear as series regulars in a scripted television show.
Now, Mj feels a special connection to her character, Blanca, who is also a trans woman. “I can actually give love to the people that have never received love, so being in this position where I can give my love with my art…I’m happy about it.”
Tune in to Pose Thursdays on FX.
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