O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8 3 7 isn’t that… from top: dc comics; imdb Interview By Olivia Gunn Kotsishevskaya From landmark court case to groundbreaking television role, Nicole Maines seizes the day. I n 2014, it was likely you’d recognize the name “Susan Doe” before Nicole Maines. Today, the young actress who challenged state law, discrimi- nation, and minds in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court trans- gender rights case Doe v. Regional School Unit 26 is nationally known as a hero— in more ways than one. This Fall, Maines stars as television’s first transgender su- perhero, Nia Nal (a.k.a. Dreamer), in Sea- son Four of the CW Network’s Supergirl, premiering October 14. She caught up with Portland Monthly while filming new episodes for the series that opens this month. AreyouinVancouverrightnow? Yes, I am. I just recently moved here. HowdidyouendedupauditioningfortheroleofNiaNal? I’d been doing auditions for a while. I’d film them on my laptop with the help of a family member or friend, whoever was around. Then my agent sent me the audition for Supergirl: “Hey, this one is very, very big, so pull out all the stops.” So I hired someone to help me film, and a friend read with me. We did a profes- sional-looking job. Soon after that, I went out to Los Angeles to film Bit. While I was out there, my agent was contacted by Super-