Oscar Actors: Davidson, Jaye–“The Crying Game” (Trans in Movies)

Jaye Davidson as a trans character became a sensation in the U.S. with a savvy word-of-mouth marketing campaign.

Jaye Davidson as Dil, a role that earned him an Oscar nomination. It just so happened that tonight, I didn’t have anything else to do, a blasé Davidson told THR at the 1993 ceremony. — Jaye Davidson as Dil, a role that earned him Oscar nomination. ceremony. Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection

More than 30 years before Emilia Perez became an Oscar contender, a different movie featuring a trans character spurred Oscar attention.

Writer-director Neil Jordan’s 1992 drama The Crying Game centers on Jody (Forest Whitaker), a British soldier taken hostage by the IRA before befriending one of his captors, Fergus (Stephen Rea). Fergus later gets ensconced in Jody’s world and develops a relationship with Jody’s partner, Dil (newcomer Jaye Davidson), who is revealed to be a transgender woman.

The Irish Jordan initially sought a woman to play Dil until Davidson, a model, was discovered at a party.

The Crying Game did not make a big splash in the U.K., but when Miramax released it in the U.S. on Nov. 25, 1992, with savvy marketing that kept Dil’s identity as a trans woman a secret, the film earned $62 million, plus six Oscar nominations, including best picture and supporting actor for Davidson.

In 2017, Jordan noted that the political themes made the movie a tougher sell in the U.K., whereas Americans were more focused on the “gender issues.”

Oscar Actors: Davidson, Jaye–“The Crying Game” (Trans in Movies)

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