Brandon Kyle Goodman — A nonbinary voice for “Big Mouth,” “Dear White People,” and Netflix’s upcoming “Boomerang” series
When Brandon Kyle Goodman appeared in the Netflix series “Big Mouth,” he wasn’t the first nonbinary voice. The show’s narrator, the teenaged John (played by Jordan Peele), speaks with a hand-drawn style that often features one hand in the mirror, tilted to the side, an erasure of a male body part. The series is consistently described by its fans as “an injection of the necessary message” to show young people their lives are, in part, their responsibility to themselves.
Brandon is going about making that life with nonbinary visibility, but not without the challenge of standing out in an otherwise male dominated field of celebrity voices. After his introduction to audiences on “Big Mouth,” Brandon said that he felt that he was now “functioning as myself” but that “being nonbinary and queer is definitely a challenge.”
Brandon’s voice-acting credits include the Netflix series “Dear White People,” which he said was “the most rewarding role” and “the most fun to do,” and Netflix’s upcoming reboot of the 1988 movie “Boomerang,” which he called “a very different character for me to play.”
In part, his representation as nonbinary on the show prompted the Netflix’s Roberta Scrivner, a member of the trans and queer rights advocacy group, GLSEN: The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, to comment, “Trans actors should be able to showcase their authentic selves, without limitations imposed upon them by managers and casting directors. This isn’t only vital for trans actors and our dreams to come true, but also for girls in ‘Big Mouth.’”
But Brandon is certainly not the only nonbinary voice. On the Netflix series “Sense8,” he voiced 16 characters and his close friend, Matt, is with him in these roles. The two live in San Francisco and are part of the Unspecified Order, an order that represent, in a metaphor for the state of things, the quest for gender freedom. Brandon said Matt’s particular skill has allowed them to “go far.”
For more on Brandon and Matt’s nonbinary visibility, visit their #TinntSeries: https://t.co/vXsYGtLqrP — PBS White Space (@tpbsm) December 14, 2018