The reaction from San Diego Comic-Con when your role was announced in July was extremely positive. Have you heard about any detractors?

Of course there are always negative reactions to everything that anybody does. At Comic-Con, I was just so blown away. Having the entire room applauding and cheering for a trans superhero — that was really, really inspiring for me. As far as negative stuff goes, I do see a lot of folks, and especially a lot of parents, talking about “I’m not going to allow my child to watch this show anymore. I’m not going to let my young daughter watch ‘Supergirl.’” That’s so sad to me. We have a female-driven show in a male-dominated genre, and you’re not going to let your daughter watch this empowering show because it has a trans character? I think what a lot of folks are afraid of is that we’re trying to cram some sort of agenda down their throats. And that’s not the case. It’s not preachy at all. Nia is presented as a very real person with real problems. And her story arc is outside of her gender, outside of her transness. I just hope people who are kind of anxious or cautious about this will give it a chance.

Why do you think it’s important for young viewers to see a character like yours on television?

This season of “Supergirl” is very reflective of the climate that we’re living in right now. It is using the lens of a superhero show to talk about real world issues. I think kids need to watch “Supergirl” for Nia, because there are more and more trans people coming out younger and younger. I think it is necessary to educate folks on trans issues and to make them aware of trans identities and normalize it, because it is normal. But when you’re shielded from something and it’s actively censored, it takes a negative connotation. If people are more educated and they’re more aware of these issues and more familiar, they won’t feel so foreign.