Tommy Dorfman, best known for playing Ryan Shaver on Netflix’s hit series 13 Reasons Why, has officially reintroduced herself to the world.
In an interview with Time, Dorfman shared that she has been in the process of transitioning and is ready to tell her story.
“For a year now, I have been privately identifying and living as a woman — a trans woman,” Dorfman said.
The 29-year-old star also posted on Instagram Thursday morning photographs of herself, wearing a dress and heels, thanking those who have paved the way for her.
“I’m especially grateful to every single trans person who walked this path, broke down barriers, and risked their lives to live authentically and radically as themselves before me,” Dorfman said in the post. “Thank you to all the trans women that showed me who I am, how to live, celebrate myself, and take up space in this world.”
She also gave a shout out to her “day one team” who has supported her “evolution in the most affirming of ways.”
Dorfman has amassed a sizable following on social media, talking frequently about LGBTQ causes. She told Time that she was initially afraid that transitioning would damage her Hollywood career.
“It’s impossible for me to separate my personal and professional transition, because my body and face are linked to my career,” Dorfman said. “I feared that by actively transitioning in my personal life, I would lose whatever career I’ve been told I’m supposed to have. But I’m no longer interested in playing ‘male’ characters — except for maybe in a Cate Blanchett playing Bob Dylan way. Sometimes you just have to say, ‘No, this is just who I fucking am.’”
Dorfman also said she is not changing her name because she is named after her uncle, who died one month after she was born.
“This is an evolution of Tommy,” she said. “I’m becoming more Tommy. It’s funny to think about coming out, because I haven’t gone anywhere. I view today as a reintroduction to me as a woman, having made a transition medically. Coming out is always viewed as this grand reveal, but I was never not out. Today is about clarity: I am a trans woman. My pronouns are she/her. My name is Tommy.”
The next project we can expect to see Dorfman in is Lena Dunham’s Sharp Stick, a feature film that was completed in secret during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plot details are still under wraps, but Dorfman will appear opposite Taylour Paige, Scott Speedman, Jon Bernthal, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
