Annie Wallace thinks trans actors should play trans characters "if at all possible", but admitted it "depends on the content".
Annie Wallace
The 'Hollyoaks' actress - who became the first-ever transgender person to play a regular transgender character in a leading UK soap when she landed the role as Sally St. Claire in 2015 - has admitted casting directors used to have "quite a hard job" of finding trans people for roles, but she believes that has now changed.
When asked if she thinks trans actors should always play trans characters, she said: "I would say, if at all possible.
"Yes, it should be possible for that to happen now. There are trans actors coming through the training schools and everything, whereas before we were a very small minority of people and the casting directors had quite a hard job finding trans people."
However, Annie admitted it also depends on the content of the production.
The 56-year-old star believes it was "entirely valid" for Eddie Redmayne to portray Einar Wegener/ Lili Elbe in 2015 motion picture 'The Danish Girl', because for most of the movie he played male painter Einar, who later transitioned into Lili, one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery
She said: "So, as it stands it depends on the content.
"Take 'The Danish Girl', the film starring Eddie Redmayne.
"Most of that film was about the character of Einar and his self-discovery of who he was as the film went on.
"And for most of that film Eddie played Einar.
"I would say, in that situation, casting a non-trans person is entirely valid."
But Annie believes if the 2005 movie 'Transamerica' - which starred Felicity Huffman as Sabrina Claire "Bree" Osbourne, who was formerly Stanley Schupak - was remade nowadays the lead role should go to a trans woman.
Speaking on 'Loose Women', she added: "If they made that today I think they would need to be looking for a trans woman, purely because of the way it is culturally now.
"It's kind of an accepted thing."