Meet Marval Rex

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marval Rex. 

Hi Marval, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I am a Catalan-American actor, artist, writer, and filmmaker. I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in the 90s, at a time when identity politics and critical theory was relegated to universities and not disseminated as it is today with social media. What I mean to say about this, is that my understanding of myself as outside of a gender binary system, and as a deeply anti-capitalistic person, was un-speakable at the time: there were no words for who I was and what my being means for the collective and for a future beyond capitalism. Now there are words– I have found them! I identify as a guerilla ontologist, “Starman” astrologer, and creature (I identify as a verb, a becoming, and as a syzygy). Socially, I am considered transmasculine and queer. These identifiers are always transforming with time. As an astrologer, I honor the past, mine the present, and certainly desire for an expansive, radical future! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I identified as trans and medically transitioned before “trans” was socially trending. This was like the dark ages of trans existence (not that it is perfect today, and not that it was easier for my elders–it wasn’t). I certainly thought I would lose all my friends and even family. I have been blessed beyond measure to have the community that I do. As an actor, I am still understanding how to navigate Hollywood and the casting process as a non-cisgender man. People still don’t know that trans men exist! We do, and we have gifts to give to the collective! 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
After landing my first lead role in a film in January of 2020, I have dedicated myself full-time to acting, writing, and directing for film. You can find me on Discovery+’s new show Book of Queer, a sketch comedy history show where I play real-life trans cowboy Harry Allen, a man of the Menaissance, and President Grover Cleveland. I also just finished up a rom-com feature, All Kinds of Love, which debuted at the opening night of Frameline 2022 and will play at Outfest shortly! I have more films in post-production (where I am either acting or producing). I am writing/developing multiple trans-centric properties, including a new feature-length film titled the New Marilyn Club, a sexy neo-noir drama about a transmasculine hustler who is thrust into the heart of a political scandal when caught romancing a powerful politician’s wife. I am having so much fun writing that! I was also accepted into Sundance’s Catalyst Application and will hear back from them as well as Outfest’s Screenwriting Lab and Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative by early fall 2022. On the art side, I am curating art shows and comedy shows in Los Angeles, including SYZYGY, a trans-centric gallery show featuring talented Los Angeles artists across the trans spectrum. In 2023, I will debut a comedy night for transmasculine folks, titled: “The Politically Incorrect Transgender Man Meat Show”. 

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Slowing down is necessary. Your relationships in life are fundamental mirrors for your growth and evolution, and thus are sacred. And timing… timing is beyond the ego narrative of when or how things should happen. God is real. Community is God. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/MARVALAREX
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marvalarex/

Image Credits
Adam Henderschott
SJ Lee