AMC: TVGuide Interview w/Zarf

[Josh]

Sassy Q&A with All My Children's New Gender-Bending Rock Star

Hey, suds fans! Have you heard that All My Children is introducing a transgender character on Wednesday, Nov. 29?

Actually, regular viewers of the ABC soap opera have already met this person: It's Zarf, the eccentric rock star Babe and Josh met in one episode back in August. They featured him in an advertisement for their fictional cosmetics company, Fusion.

Well, it turns out, he's a she.

Stay with me here. Although the rocker is biologically male, Zarf identifies as a female. AMC watchers will follow this character as she "comes out" to herself and others about this personal truth, and begins to move toward living life as a woman. It promises to be pretty groundbreaking stuff and fits in well with AMC's rich history of issue-based storytelling. I'm really looking forward to it, so much so that I had to get actor Jeffrey Carlson, who plays Zarf, on the phone.

TVGuide.com: You're best known for your work on the Broadway stage, yes?

Jeffrey Carlson: [boy George's show] Taboo was the last Broadway show that I did two years ago. I played Marilyn, who was in real life one of Boy George's best friends. He was a pop star in the '80s and quite the character. Marilyn used to dress up as Marilyn Monroe; that's how he got his nickname. Taboo was such a fun show and the score is just gorgeous, so you should run out and get the CD.

TVGuide.com: Thanks for the tip! So it sounds like you're already well-versed in playing pop stars with gender issues.

Carlson: Yes, Marilyn could be a stepping stone towards Zarf!

TVGuide.com: Are you excited that your one-episode gig has turned into a contract role?

Carlson: [Chuckles] I'm sorry, I just get giddy thinking about it! When I was little, All My Children was always on in my house. It turns out that I was named after the character of Dr. Jeff Martin. Isn't that hilarious? My mom just told me that. I never realized it. She had such a crush on the actor who was playing Dr. Jeff Martin when I was born. [Editor's Note: Charles Frank was playing Jeff at that time; John James now has the role.]

TVGuide.com: Love it. Speaking of names, does Zarf have a real name?

Carlson: He was born in Indiana with the name Freddie Luper. Zarf's knowledge of her transgender identity began when she was very little. Zarf's parents also knew there was something different about their biological little boy. That's why he ran away... I'm sorry, that's why she ran away as a teen.

TVGuide.com: It's OK, the pronouns are tricky here. You were saying...

Carlson: I think that's partly why she became a rock star. She has a strong personality and was a multimillionaire by 19. She had power and celebrity and that's how she was in control. Zarf was haunted about what she considered an affliction at that time. Lots of people can relate to having a part of oneself that you want to push away, that you just can't get rid of.

TVGuide.com: Zarf will have a close connection to Bianca (Eden Riegel). Tell us more.

Carlson: Zarf instantly falls in love with her.

TVGuide.com: Wow! This will mess with many people's preconceptions. A lot of folks usually assume that a male-to-female transgender person wants to become a straight woman and pursue men romantically.

Carlson: Zarf is someone who is biologically a man that views herself as a lesbian. Plus, Bianca is a lesbian who is having feelings for someone who is biologically a man! Bianca doesn't know for a period of time that Zarf is a woman inside, so Bianca has feelings that she doesn't understand. They share an attraction. They share a kiss!

TVGuide.com: This is very complicated!

Carlson: I know! Some viewers might think, "Don't you dare turn Bianca straight!"

TVGuide.com: That's why it's a good thing we're filling in the soap fans about Zarf ahead of time. We don't want anyone to think Bianca has lost Maggie and she's suddenly going after men now!

Carlson: Right. We discuss Maggie and so, in a way, Maggie still is in the picture, whether Bianca knows what's happening with that or not. By the way, I'm obsessed with Eden Riegel. I love her so much! She has held my hand as I get used to working on daytime TV. I just knocked over a giant street lamp that I thought was real. It was only a prop! [Laughs] Ah, the trials and tribulations of being a newbie.

TVGuide.com: How do you think viewers will receive Zarf's story? It's risky material.

Carlson: I give a lot of credit to the daytime audience, but some people haven't been exposed to stories of the transgender community. As the knowledge goes over the airwaves, you hope that the world will embrace Zarf. I hope that I do my best to please the transgender community. Their stories are being told more often now in movies like TransAmerica and Normal.

TVGuide.com: And on TV shows like The L Word, etc. So will we see Zarf dress as a woman and undergo sexual reassignment surgery?

Carlson: You will definitely see Zarf dressed as a woman. Surgery is an option for a transgender person, but nothing's been finalized on that yet. We're not jumping to an end result. It's a journey.

TVGuide.com: You're very pretty, Jeffrey, but you also have very masculine features. I guess that means Pine Valley residents will be able to "clock" Zarf as someone who was born in a male body, even when she's dressed as a woman. Will that be challenging?

Carlson: When a transgender person walks down the street, people are sometimes afraid to say, "What are you? A man or a woman?" They want to identify things. Our wonderful hair and makeup department will experiment with how they're going to soften me up because I do have strong features. I won't have a drag-queen look at all when I'm dressed as a woman. It's going to be as real as it can be, given that I am biologically male and so is Zarf. I guess Zarf could have cosmetic surgery to change the masculine jawline, but that's not on the plate for me! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: I can't wait to see you out diva Erica Kane.

Carlson: I could never out diva Susan Lucci.

TVGuide.com: But it would be a hoot if Zarf and Erica show up at a party wearing the same dress. They could size each other up like, "Who looks better?"

Carlson: [Laughs] You will have to email the head writer Megan McTavish about that one!

TVGuide.com: Will Zarf be a catty soap diva?

Carlson: She's not catty. She's sharp as a tack, though, and has a very mystical, overpowering presence. She'll turn everyone upside down! She just believes that people should be honest and she doesn't take any crap.

[alwaysAMC]

I'm glad that they plan to have Zarf dress as a woman during all this...can't wait to see what that'll look like - hahaha

[Drew]

All My Children is circling the drain ...