Nicole Maines: The Superhero We Want and Need

For the last three years, actress Nicole Maines has showcased the importance of trans representation by bringing to life Nia Nal, a.k.a. Dreamer, a beloved character on The CW series Supergirl. Playing the first-ever trans superhero on television, viewers could not wait to watch her fight crime and kick ass all while highlighting important social issues. 

However, long before Maines donned a face mask and took to the streets of National City, she had already spent her early years as something of a real-life superhero fighting for trans rights, equality, and visibility. Most notably, she was the anonymous plaintiff in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court case Doe v. Regional School Unit 26, where she argued her school district could not deny her access to the female bathroom for being transgender. The court ruled in favor of Maines. 

Maines tells the whole story of her transition in her biography Becoming Nicole, written by Amy Ellis Nutt, and has appeared on documentaries like The Trans List, Not Your Skin, and Visible: Out on Television. Now, pursuing a career in Hollywood, Maines will continue to use her space for activism and shine a spotlight on the strides made toward acceptance. 

To celebrate the final season of Supergirl, Maines took some time to chat with OFM about the importance of Dreamer, being a trans voice on camera and behind-the-scenes, what led her to acting, and how one can get involved with activism. 

The second half of Supergirl Season Six just premiered. Without revealing too much, what’s in store for viewers?
It gets crazy really quick. We are finally going to see sort of what Nyxly is up to, which I am excited about. There is a lot of stuff between Nyxly and Nia. I always like to be involved in the big, bad stories, and Nia is very much involved with this one. We also see a glimpse of Isabel, Nia’s mom, who we have not seen since Season Four. If you thought Nia was going to catch a break, she is not, and the poor girl needs one! It just would not be Nia Nal if she could have two damn seconds to catch her breath. 

Nia Nal/Dreamer is the first transgender superhero to be on television. How groundbreaking is this?
I never thought I was going to see it, and I definitely never thought I was going to be that superhero. Nia and Dreamer, I am so endlessly passionate about them, their story, and the potential that I see for them in the D.C. universe. Honestly, even her transness aside, what I get so excited about with Nia and Dreamer is that they are really cool. She is not trans just for the sake of being trans. There is so much more to her character than that. 

In terms of representation, that is what I have been wanting to see for so long. I wanted to see trans people portrayed as who we are. Three-dimensional characters with faults, strengths, and struggles that are not just centered around going to the bathroom. She is so, I cannot think of a better word than ‘cool.’ Her powers, her backstory, and we have gotten to see her grow so much. Going into Season Six, we are going to see her continue to grow. Every episode, she is getting stronger. When you look at Season Four, you’ve got Supergirl at full power. Dreamer is not. Dreamer is just getting started. The further we go into this show, the more we are starting to see this snowball of, wait, she is the moment! 

And how meaningful has this role personally been to you?
The fact that I get to be a part of the trans superhero is so exciting for me. It is a complete dream come true, and I have been like a kid in a candy store for the past three years. Not only do I get to participate in this groundbreaking representation, help give this character back to my community, and give us the superhero that we’ve never had, but I get to do it all myself. It’s insane. Really, the only kind of downside of it is that I have to sit on information for so long. I’ll know all this cool shit and I want to talk to people about it because I know how passionate people are about Dreamer. I know how excited they get about her because I am the exact same way, but I can’t tell anybody. I am very much in that position right now. There is a lot of stuff that I want to tell people, but I can’t. 

Unfortunately, this is the last season of Supergirl. What have you enjoyed the most about being a part of this show, and do you have any memorable behind-the-scenes moments?
The cast and crew are just some of the nicest people that I have gotten to work with. This is my first major recurring role on a show. I came onto the show not knowing anything. I was completely green, and the patience that everyone had with me is legendary. Getting to do this with them and getting to be a part of this cast and ensemble was such an honor. I am going to miss it a lot.

Several fans and parents have reached out saying what a huge inspiration you are. How does it feel to know that in some ways, you are an actual superhero?
I cannot do flips, and I can barely make a fist, but I am honored. It is very sweet, and I am not a person who really knows what to do with compliments. Especially compliments like that. However, it is nice to know that people are aware of the monumentality of this character. It is nice that people appreciate how important she is and getting to talk with fans, parents, and kids about this has been fulfilling. I will go to conventions or something, and people will come up to me in tears. They are like, ‘I never thought I’d see myself as a superhero.’ Like, I didn’t either. I know how major this character is, and we are all so enthusiastic about her. It has lit a fire in me where I really want to keep her going. 

Were you a fan of nerd culture even before being cast on the show?
Oh, yes! I am still not as avid of a comic book reader, as I feel like I should be, and most of my comic book knowledge comes from deep-diving on the internet, but I have always loved superheroes and nerd culture. Being a trans girl growing up in the middle of nowhere, anything that was happening in different worlds and universes, I was always very interested in that. I love anything nerdy and geeky.

Do you belong to any fandoms?
Yes! Absolutely Star Wars and Disney. I feel like I am not supposed to say this, but Marvel. Sorry, D.C., but I like those movies! I love D.C. too! I was all about Arrow in high school. 

The episode “Reality Bytes” focused on the topic of violence against trans women. What was like to be part of that process, and was that episode emotionally challenging?
It was not so much emotionally challenging as much as it was, like, the pressure is on. There was so much to cover and so much to talk about, and I was kind of the resident trans person in the writers’ room for this episode, but I don’t know everything. 

So, the hard part was trying to figure out what absolutely needed to make it into that episode. For “Reality Bytes,” there were a couple things that I was like, “Regardless of what story you want to tell, these are the points that need to make it into this episode. I do not care what else you cut. These points need to be in it,” and one of them was Yvette having recognition for her own situation. 

I did not want her to just be like, “How did this happen?” She knows that she is a Black, trans woman living in the city, and she knows that there are some risks involved with going on that date. That’s why she asks Nia to come with her in the first place. We travel in packs for safety, but it clearly does not always work out. So, I wanted Yvette to be aware of her own situations. She is not an idiot. 

When we started talking about the rates of trans violence and trans mortality rates, I wanted that number to be accurate at the time of filming. I was like, “Just Google it before the scene.” People need to know what is actually going on, and it’s not some made-up thing we are doing for a superhero show. This is a real issue that a lot of trans women face, again, mostly trans women of color. I really wanted to drive that point home and make sure that people knew what was going on. 

You were already well-known for your activism work. How did acting come about? Have you always wanted to pursue a Hollywood career?
Acting was something I always loved to do because I always loved to play dress-up as a kid. It was that one time when my parents were not quite on board yet that I was able to wear clothes and portray characters that I identified with. My parents couldn’t say anything about it because it was just pretend. It was always a happy place for me and something that I loved. 

It has been heartbreaking to see so many anti-trans bills pop up these last few years. What is the best way for one to get involved and take a stand?
Heartbreaking, but not surprising. Honestly, the easiest thing that everybody can do, but surprisingly, no one does, is just hit that retweet button. Just get the word out. I don’t care what your content is, I don’t care what you post on your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram accounts, I don’t care if it does not really fit your theme, just hit the retweet button. Just hit the share button. It is going to take you two seconds, and then maybe somebody else will learn about it who did not know what was going on. 

Donate if you can, help if you can, but retweeting and sharing is free, easy, and takes two seconds. Everyone can do it. Just share it. That is the hardest thing. When I was trying to get the word out about these bills, I was like, I’m not getting any response. I was posting all about it, and people just could not be bothered to share it. Like, you guys, we really need to get the word out and people really need to know what’s happening. So, just hit the share button. Just do it.

If you could have one superpower in real life, what would it be?
The Accio spell from Harry Potter, being able to summon things. I am such an airhead, scatterbrain. I am peak bimbo energy. The amount of time that I spend just looking for things is absurd. Just the other day, I ran to the gas station because I wanted a Vitamin Water, and while I was walking home, my phone died. It was like a five-minute walk, so no problem, but I guess at some point walking home, I lost my keys. I dropped my keys somewhere. Honestly, if just finding keys was my superpower, that would also be acceptable. 

If Dreamer could team up with any superhero from any universe, who would you love for it to be?
Nightwing. One, I think their suits would be really cool together. He’s got the black and blue and she’s got the silver and blue, so they would look so cool standing next to each other. I also think their energies would play well off each other, and I kind of want to see her take on more of a detective role. 

Honestly, even Batman because he is so stoic, dark, and brooding. I feel like she would ride up on a pink razor scooter, and he would be like, who is this person? She’s like, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize we were still doing the dark and brooding superhero thing.” That is so Nolan universe, come on. 

You got to write a comic book story featuring Dreamer for D.C. Pride and truly got to craft her storylines. Can you talk more about that, and how was the comic received?
It has been received very, very well. I loved writing that, and I had so much fun. They really gave me pretty much free reign to do whatever I wanted with her. Some of the criticisms were that it didn’t take place in the comic book universe. 

It was still set in the Arrowverse, and I think that was more of an editing issue. I also had the location stamp in National City instead of Midvale City. In the comics, Supergirl was in Midvale, and she is in National City in the show, so that was something that I mixed up. An oversight error, which was a little frustrating because I had every intention for this to be Dreamer’s introduction into the main DC continuity. 

I was really trying to set this in the comic book universe, and no one has picked up on my Lady Shiva reference yet, but it’s in there. I tried to sprinkle in a lot of Easter eggs and references to bigger DC continuity things. A lot of people’s favorite line in it is, ‘What in gay hell?,’ which is my To Wong Foo reference. 

You think we will definitely see more of Dreamer in the future?
Yes. I am very confident. In one way or another. 

How has Supergirl helped you evolve as an actress and artist?
I came into the show not really knowing anything and not being a professional actor at that point. I had done one episode of Royal Pains and the film Bit, so I did not have a lot of experience. So, I went from having no experience to trying to keep up with Jesse Rath, Katie McGrath, and David freaking Harwood. Literal legends, and I’m like, hi! I’m new! I don’t know what I’m doing. You guys are all really professional, really good, really polished, and really talented, and I do not know what the hell I am doing. I feel like I have learned more on this set than I ever learned in any acting course or class that I ever took. I feel like that is also true for anything. When you are on the job, there are some things you just learn on the job that you are not going to learn in the classroom.

Just getting to watch them work and talk with them about their processes, it has been very informative. Because I have such a tendency to overthink things and circle the drain, some of the best acting advice I ever got was from David Ajala during my first season. I was struggling and didn’t know how Nia would say or deliver this line, he said, ‘whatever way you say that line is how Nia would say it.’ There are over a million ways you can say these lines. There’s a million ways you can give a performance. None of them are inherently wrong, and none of them are inherently right, which I think has been the hardest lesson for me to learn on Supergirl. 

I love when there is a right answer. That is what I liked about math in high school. Like, there’s a right answer. I know if I’m wrong, and I know if I’m right. That is not the case in acting. I am constantly consumed by, am I doing this right? Am I doing this well? Bad? I do not know. I feel like I cannot get a straight answer out of anybody, especially myself.

What more do you hope to accomplish with your platform as an artist and an activist?
I just want to keep doing cool shit [laughs]. I feel like, in terms of representation, the next step is going to be these characters just being trans. It will not be a big deal, and it won’t need to be the headline in every article they are in. They can just be trans. I feel like we reach a point of diminishing returns after a certain point when that is the center of what we are talking about with these characters. That is working against our message. We are saying, look, we are more than just trans. We are three-dimensional characters, and that is what we are trying to portray, but then when every article is headlined, trans this or trans that, it is contradictory. We need to talk about these characters like we talk about everybody else. 

If the character does something cool, talk about that, then we can talk about the transness in the article, but that does not need to be the headline. In 2021, going on 2022, it is not news anymore. Trans people exist, trans characters exist, and I don’t know why everyone is so surprised about that. So, I would like to keep doing cool stuff and help get trans people and characters into spaces where we have not previously had access to. Even if I am playing a cis character, the fact that I am a trans person playing a cis woman is doing a lot in terms of representation. 

Connect with Maines by following her on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. New episodes of Supergirl air each Tuesday on The CW.

Photos provided by Nicole Maines