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Liev Schreiber has recalled the “profound moment” that his trans daughter Kai came out to him.
The Ray Donovan actor, 57, shares his 16-year-old daughter and her brother Sasha, 17, with Naomi Watts, 56, who he dated from 2005 to 2016.
Schreiber said that Kai coming out as trans hadn’t felt like “that big of a deal” as she had already “been so feminine” for a significant amount of time.
Speaking to Variety, the actor said: “Kai was always who Kai is. But I suppose the most profound moment was her asking us to change her pronouns. To be honest with you, it didn't feel like that big of a deal to me only because Kai had been so feminine for so long.”
Schreiber announced that Kai, who will join him at an Ali Forney Center fundraiser for homeless LGBTQ youth on Friday night (9 May), is embracing her space in the trans community like never before.
“Kai is such a fighter,” he said. “It’s important that she goes, ‘Hey, I am trans,’ and, ‘Look at me.’”
The actor admitted he has no advice for other parents whose children have come out as trans, stating: “I don’t know the answer for your kid.
“I don’t know what it’s like for you to be a trans dad. I don’t know how you were brought up. I don’t know what religion you encountered or what your spirituality is. And for me to tell you what I think about my kid feels like an overstep.”
He continued: “I guess if I would say anything to someone who’s having trouble with their trans teen or their adolescent trans kid it’s, teenagers are a headache. They’re hard. It doesn’t matter whether they’re trans or not because you’ll come out of this. But a trans teen is going to be a teen. They’re such a pain so much of the time, and Kai is as feisty and outspoken as they come.”
Schreiber’s comments come after he rebuked claims that Kai, who made her runway debut during Paris Fashion Week in March, was a nepo baby.
“I don't have many thoughts for the haters. What if you were a professional actor and your child decided they wanted to do something in this world?” he told TMZ.
“Do they have a choice? It doesn't matter. That's her life and she does what she wants with her life.”
As well as his lead role in the TV crime drama Ray Donovan, Schreiber is a frequent collaborator of Wes Anderson, working with the acclaimed director on Isle of Dogs (2018), The French Dispatch (2021), and Asteroid City (2023).
In 2005, he earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his role as Richard Roma in the David Mamet play Glengarry Glen Ross.
He received three further Tony nominations for the Eric Bogosian play Talk Radio (2007), the Arthur Miller revival A View from the Bridge (2010), and the John Patrick Shanley revival Doubt (2024).
English (US) ·