“The world is changing”: Billy Porter and Eva Reign on trans rom-com Anything’s Possible
Anything’s Possible star Eva Reign hopes the romantic comedy will inspire Black trans women around the world to pursue the life they deserve.
The Billy Porter-directed coming-of-age film, which launched 22 July on Prime Video, shows the “joy, tenderness, and pain of young love” as Reign’s character Kelsa, a trans high schooler, embarks on a relationship with fellow student Khal (Abubakr Ali).
Also starring Tony Award-winning actress and Girls5Eva star Renée Elise Goldberry as Kelsa’s mother, the trailblazing story of Anything’s Possible and its authentic casting is proof that “the world is changing,” according to Reign. “When I was in middle school and trying to figure out who I was, I was trying to find the language that wasn’t super popular at the time, especially where I was growing up in Missouri,” the rising star tells GAY TIMES. “I was always trying to find some sort of mirror of self, whether that was in the physical world or through fiction and media. “Now, we have a movie like Anything’s Possible where a Black trans girl figuring out who she is can watch this cute movie and think, ‘That’s me.
I can find love. I can have a career. I can have friends. I can have a loving family. I can just be myself.’” While Reign anticipates that viewers will perceive the romantic comedy as “corny”, she stresses that it’s “very true to life” and “what’s possible”, adding: “I just hope that everyone out there who needs it can find it and feel seen and heard.” Anything’s Possible marks the directorial debut of Porter, who is best known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Pray Tell on FX’s acclaimed drama Pose.
