--You also appeared in the Jamie Babbit film, “Itty Bitty Titty Committee”. How did that happen?

It began after Angela Robinson introduced me to Power Up. Angela was a director for The L Word before she became producer actually. She brought me over to meet Jamie at this one Power Up event and Jamie said she was interested in me for a movie, so I went and auditioned.

--In your view, what kind of director is Jamie?

She’s a lot of fun to work with. She gets what she wants, but in this really fun way. There’s a lot of laughing on the set but she’s really fast. On Itty Bitty I felt like she was really community minded. I never got the impression that she was distant or superior because of her role as director. We all made the scene together, and that’s how I like to work. She took care of everybody, and we all took care of each other because we really felt like we were a part of it. I think that Jamie makes that atmosphere happen by including people.

--I’ve heard that from a lot of people. By the way, in the film, it was hot where you hooked up with Shuli, the straight feminist. The audience loved it during the screening at the Tokyo International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

That was exciting (laughs), and the story was fun.

--Your character in Itty Bitty was a queer woman hooking up with a straight girl, and in The L Word your character is involved with gay men. Do you get the feeling that today you are cast in more roles opposite straight girls and gay men than gay women? If so, why do you think?

My character in Itty Bitty, Calvin, is meant to be the “Brad Pitt” and I think her allure would definitely work on straight girls. But, then again, in this world, a lot of straight girls aren’t so straight (laughs).

--True (laughs). Just as Billy kind of fell in love with you at first sight in Season 3, it seems that you have a certain popularity with gay men no matter where you are. Why do you think they are so keen on you?

Well, it’s been that way all my life, really. I have a real rapport with gay men. My dad is gay and I grew up around gay men. My dad’s boyfriend came to live with us actually, so we had a big family living together.

--Really? What was it like living with your father and his boyfriend? How did you perceive it all?

I just saw love. When you’re a kid like that, it doesn’t have to seem so strange. It didn’t for me. I just saw love.

--Did you realize that they were a couple?

Yes, they were very affectionate. Everything was fine, so it didn’t seem weird to me at all. It was only when I got older that I realized that’s not what other people do. But you don’t know that when you’re so young. You don’t know that it’s weird your mom and your dad and his boyfriend all live together. My dad would go to work and my mom and his boyfriend would take care of us. You know? They’d play guitar together and they’d cook, they’d clean.

--What was the relationship between your parents like? Were they a couple in the beginning?

Yes. They were very in love. It’s just that my dad came out to my mom. He said, “Look, something’s going on”, and she said, “Well, let’s explore this. Let’s go to West Hollywood.” And they came here for a gay club to see what it’s like. They came together and my dad met this guy Manuel who was from San Sebastian, in Spain. They fell in love and that’s how it all began.

--What did everybody else think, like their parents?

Everybody knew what was happening the whole time, even my grandparents. It was a little strange for them, but this was the hippie era, you know, they were going to try to make it work. The idea was, “This does not mean that we can’t be a family.”

I think from a feminist perspective that my mother didn’t have the same rights, was a bit of an issue, but they definitely gave it a go. So, I don’t know how much of this ties in with me at the present but I definitely click with gay guys. It’s almost like they see me like a gay guy sometimes. I wonder (laughs).

--Have you ever been attracted to a gay man?

Sure.

--Would you date a gay man?

Date? Maybe not, but the attraction can definitely be there.

--Do you think it could ever happen in the future?

Sure, of course. Culturally, I guess I like to identify as a lesbian but, in my opinion, everyone is bisexual and nobody fits in these gendered rules. I never have. So if I meet someone that I love, I don’t care what gender they are. Being with a guy would mean that we would have to be consider carefully some aspects of male-female relations to avoid the dynamics of patriarchy. That would be a challenge, so it would probably be less likely to happen. But, I don’t see a problem with that. At the same time, mostly I just like girls! 　

--Have you ever dated a boy?

Yes. When I was sixteen and I moved away from my home, I lived together with my boyfriend, who was twenty, for two years.

--At the time did you feel that there may have been something different about you?

No, but once I was with a girl I was like, “Oh, that’s way easier!” It was more “me,” I guess.