Ian Alexander says that & # 39; The OA & # 39; helped the family to accept him as transgender

Netflix's "OA" changed the personal and professional playing of actor Ian Alexander.

In an appearance on Wednesday in "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", Alexander – an American of Vietnamese descent and identified as transgender – explained how the awarding of Buck Vu's role to the hit series had helped his Mormon family to adopt his gender identity.

"I was about 11 or 12 years old when I started questioning my bad," said Alexander, who played alongside Brit Marling, co-creator of "The OA." "It was only when I was 13 that I met other transbadual people for the first time and I thought," Wait, you have the right to do that? You have the right to change your pronouns and your name? 'So it really gave me the courage to go out and finally accept who I was.'

As for Alexander's family, "they did not really take it well at first," he said. Seeing him on "The OA", however, "really helped them realize that I could be happy and successful as a trans person and as a weird person".

"It was the first time my mother used my name and my correct pronoun," he said. "So it made my heart grow."

Now 17 years old, Alexander also recalled the first time he had noticed the public call for Buck Vu's candidacy on Tumblr and had decided to "try his luck" despite the fact that he did Had no experience as a comedian. Although nearly 400 other actors auditioned, he won the role.

"It was specifically 14 to 15 years old … an American of Asian descent … a transbadual man," he said. "I thought, OK, check, check, check. "I had the impression that it was the fate that called me."

The second season of "The OA" was premiered on Netflix on March 22nd.