Misia Butler, star of the Netflix hit Kaos, has shared insights on portraying one of the show's trailblazing transgender characters.
The series puts a contemporary spin on Greek mythology, in which Caeneus starts life as a girl but becomes a man following an assault by Poseidon.
Netflix's adaptation, praised for its fresh take on ancient tales, follows Caeneus as he navigates his trans identity and develops feelings for Eurydice/Riddy (played by Aurora Perrineau) in the underworld, reports the Express.
"I learned about the character in school, so I'm like, even more obsessed," Misia revealed.
"To just experience such incredible writing that really allows for a trans masculine character to have such, well, 'character' outside of their identity is really special.
"I think that it doesn't happen so often and I feel very blessed for that."
Caeneus finds himself entangled in a prophecy predicting three mortals will bring about Zeus's (Jeff Goldblum) ruin.
Yet, his love story with Riddy faces potential doom as Orpheus (Killian Scott) secures entry into Hades' (David Thewlis) realm, thanks to Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan).
Reflecting on an emotional day on set, Misia recounted a scene that brought both him and Kaos' creator Charlie Covell to tears.
"I think it was my first day of filming, we were doing this scene, my audition scene, where me and another character on a bench were just chatting for a long time, and I was so moved," he shared with Radio Times.
"Then I saw Charlie was really moved too. We both were crying.
"I just know that if I was watching this scene as a child, as the child that I was, I would feel immeasurably seen and just have had a much stronger experience because I would have been represented in such a strong way."
The Netflix series' diverse cast is just one aspect of the gripping new Greek mythology series that has been lauded by fans and critics.
As LGBTQ+ actors still struggle to land mainstream roles, Misia admitted he never expected to become a romantic lead in a major streaming series.
Speaking to Yahoo UK, he said: "It's so hard sometimes to see yourself, there's so many tales that we go through in our lives - there's the romantic lead, the workplace person, the son, and one that I really struggled with growing up was the idea that I'd ever be a romantic lead.
"To be able to play Caeneus in Netflix's KAOS has really changed that perspective in me, and I hope that it does that for other people.
"I think that his romantic plotline with Riddy as a trans masculine person, puts people like me in that sphere."
Kaos is available to stream on Netflix.
