Ian Alexander (actor)
Ian Alexander | |
---|---|
Born | Salt Lake City, Utah, USA | April 20, 2001
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Actor |
Ian Alexander (born April 20, 2001) is an American actor from Salt Lake City known for his role as Buck Vu on The OA.
Biography
Alexander was born in Salt Lake City, Utah,[1] to a Caucasian father and a mother of Vietnamese descent who migrated to the United States from Vietnam.[2] Due to his father's work with the Department of Defense, his family often moved and has lived in places such as Hawaii, Japan and Washington, DC.[3] During elementary school, he would participate in community theater and chorus.[3] He received viral attention online through his photo response to a transphobic incident perpetrated by four UCLA college students.[4]
Though he was raised in a Mormon family, he is not a participating member.[5] He first came out as transgender in 2014,[6] uses he/him pronouns, and identifies as trans masculine and pansexual.[7]
Career
Alexander's debut acting role was on Netflix's The OA, where he plays Buck Vu. Buck, like Alexander, is also a transgender youth and was partially based on Alexander's real experiences.[8] He was cast from an open casting call online that spread through Tumblr.[9][10][11] Later he was cast in the 2018 feature film Every Day, based on the book by David Levithan, playing Vic, a trans teen whom the spirit "A" inhabits for a day.[12] In October 2017, Naughty Dog announced Alexander had joined the voice cast for The Last of Us Part II, the sequel to their popular video game.[13]
In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, sparking the start of the modern LGBTQ rights movement, Queerty named him one of their Pride50: "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people".[14] Similarly, Alexander was one of the cover stars for them.'s 2019 Pride issue, "spotlighting three rising queer artists whose work and lives are breaking new ground for LGBTQ+ visibility".[15]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016–2019 | The OA | Buck Vu | TV series; main cast | |
2018 | Every Day | Vic | Film | |
2020 | The Last of Us Part II | Lev | Upcoming video game; featured voice and motion capture role |
References
- ^ "16-Year-Old Trans Actor Ian Alexander Is Bringing Queer Power to the Big Screen". Into. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
- ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray; Ramos, Dino-Ray (2019-04-02). "The OA's Ian Alexander Is The Future Of Trans Visibility In Hollywood". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
- ^ a b "Q & A with The OA's Ian Alexander". blog.angryasianman.com. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
- ^ "People Can't Handle This Trans Teen's Response To This Viral Anti-Trans Photo". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- ^ "r/TheOA - I'm Ian Alexander/Buck! AMA". Reddit. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
- ^ "Meet The OA actor who wants to help pave the way for trans representation". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
- ^ "The OA's Ian Alexander on His Big Acting Debut and Trans Representation". Vulture. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
- ^ "Meet The OA actor who wants to help pave the way for trans representation". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
- ^ "Casting Call: Netflix series seeks Asian Transgender Teen". blog.angryasianman.com. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
- ^ "The OA's Ian Alexander on His Big Acting Debut and Trans Representation". Vulture. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
- ^ Houlihan, Ryan. "How Netflix's Newest Teen Actor Landed His Job on Tumblr". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
- ^ "Watch This Exclusive Clip From Every Day Featuring Trans Actor Ian Alexander". 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
- ^ Naughty Dog [@Naughty_Dog] (2017-10-30). "Ian Alexander is Lev. #TheLastofUsPartII" (Tweet). Retrieved 2018-10-31 – via Twitter.
- ^ Reddish, David (2019-05-24). "The OA's Ian Alexander is making it safer for trans teens to come out & parents to accept them". Queerty. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
- ^ "Welcome to Our Pride Issue, Featuring Ian Alexander, King Princess, and Chika". them. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
External links
- Male actors of Vietnamese descent
- Transgender and transsexual male actors
- Living people
- 21st-century American male actors
- Transgender rights activists
- Pansexual people
- Actors from Utah
- LGBT entertainers from the United States
- LGBT American people of Asian descent
- American male television actors
- American people of Vietnamese descent
- Eurasian Americans
- 2001 births
- LGBT people from Utah