'Modern Family' To Feature Transgender Child Actor as Lily's Friend in Upcoming Episode

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Popular ABC sitcom Modern Family will feature an openly transgender child actor on Wednesday night’s episode.


Variety
reports that the episode, titled “A Stereotypical Day,” will see Cam and Mitchell’s daughter, Lily, invite her transgender friend, Tom, over for a play date.

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Tom will be played by 8-year-old transgender actor Jackson Millarker, who hails from the suburb of Clarkston, Georgia, just outside Atlanta.

“This is Jackson Millarker,” wrote the episode’s director, Ryan Case, on Instagram. “He’s 8 years old, from Atlanta, and just happens to be transgender. He plays Lily’s friend Tom in this week’s Modern Family and he’s wonderful. One of the many reasons I love being a part of this show.”

Jackson’s mother Stacey recently set up a GoFundMe page in the hopes of sourcing donations to fund her son’s career. Looks like her efforts have paid off!

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The sitcom is the latest in an increasing number of series featuring transgender characters, including Transparent’s Maura Pfefferman, played by Jeffrey Tambor, and Laverne Cox’s role as Cameron in the upcoming legal drama Doubt.

“I’m so excited,” Cox told ET in May.

See the Orange Is the New Black star reveal her diet secrets in the video below.