Trans Director Silas Howard Joined the Crew of Transparent

To better tell the stories of Maura Pfefferman and her dysfunctional brood, Jill Solloway-- creator of Amazon's Transparent--opened up the creative process to trans creators.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, new directing addition Silas Howard discussed the importance of Transparent, the representation of trans stories in the media, and his own experience as a trans male director.

1) Jill Solloway thought Howard was a perfect addition to the Transparent team:

"Silas is a master at exercising one of our No. 1 leadership principles: be chill. He brought an energy to the set that cultivated a safe space for experimentation and ultimately served this story with performances that hit every beat."

2) Howard personally connected with Maura Pfefferman's transition and the way Solloway portrayed it:

"When I transitioned, my professional life was like, 'Oh, that's so cool, that's great.' [But] family was trickier, it was harder, it took a longer time and there's ways that people know you and don't let you move forward. I've recognized that part in Maura's story."

3) His first experience as a creator, 2001's By Hook or by Crook, was a passion project with friend, Harry Dodge:

"We made this feature film without having made a short or anything, because we're like, we have the urgent need to tell this story, to have these different faces on the screen."

4) Howard is worried he will be typecast as a director for trans or other-based stories:

"In narrative Hollywood film, there's an unspoken rule that if you're not a heteronormative, blah blah blah, middle class cis-gendered, then you're not interesting unless you're explaining your otherness."

5) He fears trans stories might be the theme du jour rather than a media mainstay:

"You hope that trans isn't a fad. I've been a member of a lot of these fads. There was this idea that queer punk is a fad. But the thing with fads is that they do seem to keep resurfacing in different forms one way or another."

Transparent has already been renewed for a third season, and its entire second season will be released December 11 complete with a guest starring role for Anjelica Huston. The first episode is currently available on Amazon.

ICYMI, here's the trailer to get you caught up: