Hulu's brand new Dying for Sex series puts up-and-coming star Esco Jouley into the spotlight as fans look to learn more about the newcomer.
Dying for Sex centers on Michelle Williams' Molly Kochan, a woman diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer as her life is put in serious danger. Before her expected death, she ends her 13-year marriage and sets out to explore herself and her sexuality, hoping to learn more about herself in the process.
The eight-episode series debuted on Hulu on April 4.
Biography Details on Actor Esco Jouley (Filmography, Gender Identity & More)
Esco Jouley's Journey With Gender Identity
Esco Jouley uses they/them pronouns and has described themselves as nonbinary and trans. They discussed part of that discovery with American Theater in June 2023 while in a production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival.
They looked back on unintentionally quitting singing after going on low-dose testosterone, which they expected to change their voice as they transitioned in 2019.
"Because I got on low-dose T (testosterone), and it changed who I was, but at the same time didn’t really change my voice so much. My voice never really dropped, but it was definitely in this new arena. That was like 2019, and then the pandemic happened. I thought, I guess I’m not doing musicals anymore. Before, I was a workhorse, I was in vocal lessons, I was in dance class. And then everything just stopped..."
Jouley struggled with bringing up the difficulties of the transition, being nervous about sharing the details of that decision while reflecting on having "to do so much more work than the average person:"
"Sometimes you don’t know how to bring up the difficulties that you’re having, because they’re not the norm. I did not feel comfortable to go to the director and be like, 'You know, I’ve, I’ve been on low-dose T…' It was just such a re-coming out. You’re coming out of a door all the time as a colored person and a trans person in this business; they don’t know how to deal with us. And sometimes they don’t even try. So we secretly have to do so much more work than the average person nowadays. I might be wrong about that. I might be speaking out of turn."
For reference, low-dose testosterone is common for adults assigned female at birth who identify as nonbinary.
Jouley's Role in Dying for Sex & Past Projects
In Dying for Sex, Jouley portrays a character named Sonya (she/her), a palliative care social worker assigned to Michelle Williams' Molly for her case. Sonya comes to Molly having freshly graduated from graduate school, sharing her enthusiasm with Molly as she helps push her forward on her sexual adventures.
Jouley's previous credits include State of the Union, Blindspotting, and High Maintenance.
Outside of the small screen, Jouley is also an accomplished Broadway performer. Some of their credits on the stage include As You Like It, Runaways, Galatea, and Beowulf.
Esco Jouley’s Passion for Habitat: Home - NYC
Outside of acting, Jouley has shown a passion over the years for Habitat: Home, with whom they work in New York City.
In an interview with the organization, they expressed excitement to join the team due to it being "a group of artists...coming together" to share their work with others as they hope to be an inspiration:
"I am excited to participate in Habitat: Home – NYC because it is a group of artists (who don’t know each other) all coming together to share art that will inspire adults and children."
As part of a project they recently worked on, they looked at the idea of labels — specifically the way people label themselves or label others:
"We are currently working on trying to find out what labels we actually put upon ourselves, decided that we want, or want to explore verse what labels others forcefully or unknowingly put on us."
Speaking on the motivation for this piece, Jouley looked at questions like "Who am I?" and "How do I want to identify?" and addressed the idea of everybody having a choice to answer those questions however they want:
"What motivates both me and my partner are the questions we have been asking ourselves. Who am? How do I want to identify? Throughout many of our lives we sometimes don’t ask ourselves that question. Whether it be because of the way we grew up or being scared. The idea we want to get across is that you have a choice, you can be and identify however you want."
Esco Jouley Praised State of the Union Co-Stars
During press rounds for their work on State of the Union (via Advocate), Jouley shared their appreciation and love for co-stars Patricia Clarkson and Brendan Gleeson.
Calling it "an honor and a special moment" to work with actors, they looked back on the way the three of them "created characters that reflect real human experiences."
They also pointed out a specific line that read, "people are driven demented by ambiguity," noting the way it offered an interesting view on how people are motivated to do something different:
"It was an honor and a special moment in time to work with Patricia and Brendan, and we created characters that reflect real human experiences. I was a part of a team where we all knew these characters had different perspectives and we ultimately felt like everyone wanted to tell the most honest story. With Nick Hornby, it's all about the words. One of my favorite lines from the show is that 'people are driven demented by ambiguity.' It's such a great line because it offers a very interesting view on the way it affects people to stand outside of what might be considered 'normal.'"
How to Follow Esco Jouley Online
Those looking to keep up with Esco Jouley on social media can do so on their Instagram page (@escojouley).
Dying for Sex is now streaming on Hulu.
