"I just feel like we have such a powerful platform right now, people are actually listening to what we're saying," Cruz tells PEOPLE Now

Laverne Cox Has Helped Jackie Cruz Understand Her Own Transgender Cousin: 'She's Changed My Way of Thinking'

Orange Is the New Black breakout star Laverne Cox has helped a lot of people by bravely sharing her story – including a fellow cast mate.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE Now, Jackie Cruz, 29, shares how Cox has helped her understand the transgender community in an effort to understand more about her own transgender cousin.

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“I have a family member who is transgender and I didn’t understand a lot,” Cruz admits. “Getting to talk to Laverne, seeing her story on the show, seeing her real story, helped me understand a lot about my cousin.”

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Cox, 32, has been instrumental in educating the public more about the transgender community ever since the show premiered on Netflix. As an activist who plays a transgender character, Cox has helped shine a light on a community that is often discriminated against due to lack of information and exposure.

“I just feel like we have such a powerful platform right now. People are actually listening to what we’re saying,” Cruz says of Cox’s impact. “She’s actually changed my way of thinking.”

“She’s probably changed they way of thinking for a lot of people,” she adds.