What It Feels Like for a Girl has been the television show on everyone’s minds (and hearts) since its release in June. Based on Paris Lees’ coming-of-age memoir of the same name, the show has been described as “deeply disturbing and totally fearless”, as it follows 15-year-old Byron (played by Ellis Howard) who lives in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire who is trying to figure out his identity and desperate to escape his home town. While he faces trouble along the way, he also finds comfort in a rowdy gang of trans and queer friends who help him find his footing.
“I hope that what this show says is that trans people have been here forever and will continue to be here beyond this very precarious political moment,” Howard tells Dazed. Hailing from Liverpool, the 28-year-old breakout star, who has also starred in Red Rose, Romeo & Juliet and Catherine the Great, feels an enormous sense of pride in the show. “What this show can do hopefully is stand on the shoulders of amazing shows like It’s A Sin, Queer as Folk and Pose.”
Below, we speak with Howard about how he prepared for the show, why the story is so important, and what advice he’d give his teenage self today.