/ STRAIGHT MATE
He’s Just A Straight Transvestite! ›› Cross-dressing comedian Eddie Izzard is back, and more lesbian than ever. Now on his Force Majeure world tour, the ballsy Brit tells Matt Myers he’s a Jedi warrior in red lipstick. DNA: Your Sydney show takes place in the Opera House forecourt. Do you have a special appreciation for this town? Eddie Izzard: Oh yes, I’ve played Sydney a
number of times. I was at the Opera House a while back, but now I’m the first comedian to play the forecourt!
You’ve said that Monty Python is one of your greatest influences. But what do you think of the old-school British comedians? I think
that Eric Morecambe and Tommy Cooper were alternative comedians playing in a mainstream society. Spike Milligan I really liked and Frankie Howerd had an offbeat way about him, but a lot of them were too mainstream for me. The Carry On comedians were good at what they did, but the repetition and matron jokes were not my cup of tea. I grew up on Monty Python and they are the gods of comedians. Because of your cross-dressing, people tend to assume that you’re camp, but you’re not, are you? No, I’m a straight transvestite, which
a lot of the gay community still thinks I’m lying about, but why should I lie and take all the insults that come with being a transvestite and not admit that I’m gay – if I were gay? There are bisexual transvestites and gay transvestites who are usually heading towards being transsexuals, which, I think, is a much easier transition. But there are more and more straight transvestites who are transitioning and they become lesbian. So I’m more lesbian. I’m not very camp, my comedy is surreal and I’m quite bloke-y. I was going to be in the army and I loved playing soccer as a kid. But there is just something genetic in me with this, and I’ve just been honest about it. I knew since I was four years old and the feeling has never moved. It’s been about thirty years now since I came out.
Have reactions to transvestism changed, or do you still cop abuse? I could still find abuse if
I went out looking for it, but I do think reactions have changed in a huge way. I’m running for 40 DNA
Mayor of London in 2020 and no one’s batting an eyelid about me being transvestite. I campaigned in the European Elections last May and wore my lipstick and no one commented. That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? And I go around with my nails painted with a European flag on one hand and the British flag on the other and all the journalists take photos and are really cool about it. During the council elections I went around the different boroughs of London and not one person mentioned the transvestism. In fact, they kept repeating this joke that I was wearing red lipstick because it was the Labor Party colours. It’s such a silly joke, but no one mentioned anything else. I just never thought we’d get this far! We’ve certainly come a long way in thirty years. What advice do you have for transvestite or transgender people reading this? Come out,
come out, wherever you are. That’s my advice!
“I campaigned in the European Elections last May and wore my lipstick and no one commented. That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Get out of the closet and get out young. If you’re older, get out old, but whatever age, for fuck’s sake come out. Come out and get in the main towns and cities where people are more chilled about it, but you have to get out. Get a look together and get your confidence up. All people, if you’re in the closet, get the fuck out of the closet! You have to become your own Jedi warrior and you do become your own Jedi warrior. There must be tens of thousands of people who have spent their entire lives in the closet and it’s a very sad and hellish thing. It was really crappy when I first came out, but it got better and better, and there is the website [itgetsbetter.org] where people can read and relay
their coming out stories. Google it, have a look and you’ll become stronger for doing it. In the old films when there was a gay, lesbian or transvestite character, they’d kill themselves within the first thirty minutes. I thought, fuck that! Let’s stay alive and make a difference! And the other thing is to be good at what you do. Come out and be excellent at your job. We’ve got to be good at what we do.
Whether you’re in a suit or in fishnets, there is definitely something very sexy about you. Are you aware of your hotness? [Laughs] Yes,
at times I’m aware that for some people it can be a sexy and positive thing. It’s not quite how I see myself, though. I see myself as quite interesting once I get talking and chirping. I’m quite happy in that space. I’m a completely sexual being and it’s how I’ve driven my life. I always thought of myself as boring and I wanted to be an interesting person, so that’s what I try to do. Do guys ever hit on you? Not guys, but women do, which is fine for me. So you’re not gay, but if you were, who would do it for you? I don’t know how to
answer that question, because, you see, I’d be a lesbian. I’m a male lesbian really, so that’s how I’d have to work it.
Was working on the Ocean’s 12 and 13 movies like being part of a fraternity? I
wouldn’t use the term fraternity, but it definitely became a sort of gang on set, but Brad Pitt had his own circle with George Clooney and Matt would hang out with Don Cheadle and such, and we were all on slightly differently levels as well. But it was a good group feeling and no one played the ego card at all.
You have had some great dramatic roles in your career. Would you consider Shadow Of The Vampire one of the best? Shadow Of
The Vampire and The Cat’s Meow were two of my better early ones which I was happy with, but the later ones seemed to get better and better. The recent episodes I did of Hannibal have had the most reaction of all.
Another great role was in the Bowie-esque Velvet Goldmine. There have been a few comparisons to you and Bowie over the years. Yes, well they did a front cover on the
Eurostar train which had half of Bowie’s face and half of mine, which is a great honour for me. But at one point when I was touring someone told me
that David was doing some of my stand-up and I thought that was great! He does music and I do comedy and drama, but I love the way he reinvents himself and changes the boundaries. Anything that links me to Bowie I’m very happy with! The world was shocked at Robin Williams’ death. As a friend, it must have been very hard for you. What is the most inspiring thing you took from him? I think his freedom on stage
both artistically and professionally. He was so driven on stage and would bounce from one idea to another and I studied him when I was doing stand-up workshops in the north of London. So that’s what I take professionally. Personally, he was a very pleasant and friendly guy and I gave him a video of a film I was doing and he watched it straight away and came back and repeated one line from the show to me. I thought, Oh wow, he just watched it! And he helped me get work in America… but the way in which he went… I still haven’t got used to it.
You have a fan in Prince William, the future king! That must feel pretty special? Yes. Prince
Charles has a good sense of humour and I believe that is something that is genetically passed down, so it appears that Princes William and Harry may have it, too. But I’m not into the monarchy, and I’ve said this a number of times. I don’t think they do enough, but Charles has done a lot with his organic farming and the Prince’s Trust. And William and Harry have been very positive with kids and various charities and you’ll see them, for instance, out playing football with kids in Africa. They just look so relaxed and I think that must come from their mother. It’s a very good legacy from Diana. Speaking of royalty, you voiced the Queen on The Simpsons. How did that come about?
I met Matt Groening and he said, “You must do an episode.” I said I’d love to as I’m a big fan. It was done as a voiced on-the-spot feed where characters would play themselves like, “Eddie Izzard can you do something for us?” But I said I’d rather do a character and ended up playing this English guy and the Queen was also in it. But I haven’t seen that episode. I’ll have to download it! What did you think of the Lego version of your popular Death Star Canteen sketch? I
think it’s great. It’s had about twenty-two million hits and kids re-enact it around the world. In fact, it was two Australian kids who made it, and in my new show, Force Majeure, I do a sequel where Darth Vader meets God in the canteen and has a fight.
What is your advice on making it in the entertainment industry? Determination is more
important than talent. I’ve seen a lot of people fall by the wayside, but if you are determined you can develop a talent within you to make it good. And that also applies to life: business, politics, sport, whatever. Determination is the key.
MORE: Force Majeure hits Sydney on January 28. Eddieizzard.com. Find Matt Myers on Twitter @ MattMyers1964.
“There are more and more straight transvestites who are transitioning and becoming lesbians,” says Eddie.
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