{"id":15306,"date":"2018-10-20T09:45:13","date_gmt":"2018-10-20T13:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=15306"},"modified":"2020-05-01T10:50:11","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T14:50:11","slug":"nothing-can-stop-her-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/nothing-can-stop-her-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicole Maines"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; width: 100%; height: 500px;\" src=\"\/\/e.issuu.com\/embed.html?backgroundColor=%23f2f2f4&amp;d=oct18_instant_flipbook_ed200f15adf0be&amp;hideIssuuLogo=true&amp;hideShareButton=true&amp;pageNumber=39&amp;u=portlandmagazine\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nNothing Can Stop Her Now<\/h1>\n<p><span class=\"s1\">From landmark court case to groundbreaking television role, <strong>Nicole Maines <strong>seizes the day.<\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><em><span class=\"s3\">Interview By Olivia Gunn Kotsishevskaya<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s4\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-15308 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Nicole-Maines-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"Nicole-Maines\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Nicole-Maines-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Nicole-Maines-200x120.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Nicole-Maines.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>I<\/span><span class=\"s2\">n 2014, it was likely you\u2019d recognize the name \u201cSusan Doe\u201d before Nicole Maines. Today, the young actress who challenged state law, discrimination, and minds in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court transgender rights case <em>Doe v. Regional School Unit 26 <\/em>is nationally known as a hero\u2014in more ways than one. This Fall, Maines stars as television\u2019s first transgender superhero, Nia Nal (a.k.a. Dreamer), in Season Four of the CW Network\u2019s <em>Supergirl<\/em>, premiering October 14. She caught up with <em>Portland Monthly<\/em> while filming new episodes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Are you in Vancouver right now?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\">Yes, I am. I just recently moved here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s6\"><strong>How did you end up auditioning for the role of Nia Nal?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> I\u2019d been doing auditions for a while. I\u2019d 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 <em>Supergirl<\/em>: \u201cHey, this one is very, very big, so pull out all the stops.\u201d So I hired someone to help me film, and a friend read with me. We did a professional-looking job. Soon after that, I went out to Los Angeles to film <em>Bit<\/em>. While I was out there, my agent was contacted by <em>Supergirl<\/em> production. They asked if I could send another self tape. My agent said, \u201cNo need, she\u2019s in Los Angeles and can come into your offices.\u201d I met with Robert and Jessica and read in the room with them. I felt really good about the audition. They said, \u201cWe\u2019d love to take this to the next level.\u201d The next day, they offered me the part.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>How did you feel the second you learned you got the role?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> It was very strange. The night before I\u2019d been filming. I had a 13-hour day, and I got home around six in the morning. I was sleeping, and my agents called me. They were all on the phone and told me they were offering me the part. I was so tired I said, \u201cOh, wow.\u201d It was a combination of disbelief and being half awake. They told me three times, and I was like, \u201cThat\u2019s far out, man.\u201d And I went back to sleep!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p8\"><span class=\"s7\"><strong>H<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"s8\"><strong>ow did they ask you to prepare for the audition? <\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"s5\"> I got there a half hour early, and I worked with someone in the production office. They gave me the information that they wanted to move the character in a new direction. They want her to kind of mirror Kara\u2019s energy from season one and bring her in with a wide-eyed, ing\u00e9nue energy. They gave me a little bit more direction than they had when I was self taping. By that point, I\u2019d already seen the first season, so I knew the energy they were looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p8\"><span class=\"s9\"><strong>Did it come up that you\u2019re from Maine? Some people on the West Coast consider us a foreign country. To them, Maine feels like an international flight.<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"s5\"><br \/>\nIt does! I was at the grocery store picking up food, and when I went to pay, the cashier asked where I was from. I told him I was from Maine. He said, \u201cYou all live in igloos.\u201d I said, \u201cYep. Igloos and log cabins.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>And of course you only eat blueberries, and your dog is a moose.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> Yes, absolutely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Now that you\u2019ve been on set\u2014and you\u2019ve worked on sets before, but maybe not to this extent\u2014what were some of the biggest surprises for you?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> I\u2019m endlessly surprised by how welcoming and friendly everyone in the crew and cast is. I feel like I always hear, \u201cOh, you know it\u2019s not normally like this. People aren\u2019t always this friendly.\u201d And I feel extremely privileged because, in every production I\u2019ve worked on, from<em> Supergirl <\/em>and <em>Royal Pains<\/em>, everyone was so nice. I feel like I have completely lucked out with incredible casts and crews. I\u2019m kind of waiting for people to not be so nice. I\u2019m waiting to walk into a production some day and have some open-hand slap me in the face. Oh, that\u2019s the Hollywood they\u2019re talking about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Who taught you about acting? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> I started acting in middle school. When I was in sixth grade, my brother Jonas and I started doing drama club together. The first thing we did was <em>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/em>. He was Charlie, and I was Veruca. It just kind of continued from there. I took some acting classes that were offered by the school. Nothing formal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Did you have anyone you looked up to as a mentor?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> No one was ever telling me, \u201cDo this, do that for your career.\u201d I had supportive directors, but I learned a lot just doing theater in high school and watching how the rest of the cast worked. I learned a little bit more with each production. And I continue to learn. From three years ago, when I did <em>Royal Pains<\/em>, to now, it\u2019s an ever-evolving skill set. The older I get and the more experiences I have, the more I have to draw on when I\u2019m acting. You\u2019re acting out experiences. The older I get, the greater the well to draw from.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s10\"><strong>Y<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"s5\"><strong>ou said you watched the show before the audition. Would you consider yourself a fan?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\">Yes! Yes. I just love television, and when I was first starting to work with my agents, they asked me what shows I liked. At the time, I had only seen <em>Arrow<\/em>, but I loved it. If I could be on <em>Arrow<\/em>, I\u2019d lose my mind. Now I am in the \u2018<em>Arrow<\/em>verse.\u2019 The other day I was sitting next to Melissa [Benoist], and she was in the Supergirl suit. It took every ounce of strength in my body. I was, like, \u201cNicole, be professional. Do not touch the cape.\u201d I first started watching when I was going to do the audition. I thought I\u2019d watch a couple of episodes, but then I loved it. I love the show.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s5\"><strong>It must be a breath of fresh air for the rest of the cast and crew to have someone who\u2019s that excited on set.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s11\"> I don\u2019t know. Maybe. I feel like one day I\u2019m going to overstep. Walking into Comic-Con that first day, I always felt like I\u2019d go through the front door. Here I was going through the back and into the green room with the cast. I totally felt like I was some fan who\u2019d managed to slip past someone and get in through the back door. I feel like I\u2019ve tricked someone into letting me be here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s5\"><strong>You said you watched a lot of television growing up. Who were your superheroes?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> Growing up, one of my favorite shows was <em>That\u2019s So Raven<\/em>. I absolutely adored Raven-Symon\u00e9. As I got older? I love Helena Bonham Carter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Yes. She\u2019s a queen.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> Right? She can do no wrong for me. Now when I watch TV shows, I am in love with Viola Davis. She\u2019s incredible. But growing up it was Raven-Symon\u00e9. When I was first looking at names when I was transitioning, I considered changing my name to Raven, but my parents told me no. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>It\u2019s a beautiful name.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> Yeah, but I\u2019m not a Raven. I couldn\u2019t pull it off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s10\"><strong>Y<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"s2\"><strong>ou\u2019ve been called a hero yourself. Can that be overwhelming?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> It\u2019s never overwhelming. It\u2019s just strange to hear. It\u2019s the same kind of thing when I\u2019ll be bantering with my friends and they\u2019ll say, \u201cOh, you\u2019re famous.\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, okay. Sure.\u201d I\u2019m, not going to say that, but if you want to say that, it\u2019s okay. I\u2019m just here doing my best. If that makes me a hero in some people\u2019s eyes, that\u2019s very touching. It means a lot to me. It just feels weird when I say it. So I don\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>With the character of Nia, how do you hope to see transgender representation evolve?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s6\"> I hope, especially with Nia, we are in a time now when we are seeing so many amazing trans characters on television. I think with each new trans character, there is less weight on each character and actor\u2019s shoulders to perfectly portray a transgender character. Back in the day, maybe when we\u2019d only have one or two trans characters, there was so much pressure on those characters to represent an entire community. That\u2019s impossible to do when you\u2019re one person.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>When you can only represent an individual.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s2\"> Exactly. Now with so many different characters across so many different genres of television shows, I think that actors and writers are going to have more freedom in how they portray a trans character and experience. I\u2019m hoping then when we look at a character and say, \u201cWell, trans people aren\u2019t like that,\u201d we can say back, \u201cNo, but this person is like that; this character is like that.\u201d We\u2019ll be looking at an individual\u2019s storyline and not the trans storyline. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair to expect an individual to represent an entire group.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Can you tell me about living in Vancouver?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> Vancouver is the cleanest city I\u2019ve ever been to. It\u2019s so weird. It\u2019s a good food city\u2026 But I don\u2019t think it tops Portland, Maine. As I\u2019m saying that, a red dot appears on my forehead\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>What\u2019s your social life like there?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> The cast of <em>Supergirl<\/em> is amazing, so I hang out with them. We just went to see the Kate McKinnon, Mila Kunis movie, <em>The Spy Who Dumped Me<\/em>. It\u2019s good. It\u2019s rough, though. Sometimes my scenes get squeezed into one day, so I\u2019ll have the rest of the week to not really do anything. I\u2019m, like, sitting in my apartment, just kind of waiting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Just hanging out, being a superhero?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\"> Costumes will call and ask if I\u2019m free, and I\u2019m, like, \u201cYes! I\u2019m free. Free to do anything. I\u2019m free. Let\u2019s go.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From landmark court case to groundbreaking television role, Nicole Maines seizes the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,943],"tags":[229],"class_list":["post-15306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-personalities","tag-october-2018"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15306"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18555,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15306\/revisions\/18555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}