Hamish Downie’s Five Questions With Socks Whitmore
Editor Note: Hamish has another in his series of Five Questions With…
Hamish came up with this idea because he was accumulating too much material for his Famous News Sushi column and asked if he could do these mini-interviews. Why would we say no?
Thank you Hamish for being such a trooper for us. We really appreciate all for your hard work.
Let us know what you think of these interviews in the comments below.
TGG: Could you please introduce yourself and your work to our readers?
SW: Hiya! I’m Socks Whitmore, my pronouns are they/them/theirs, and I’m a nonbinary performer, creative, and storyteller based in Los Angeles passionate about queer/trans narratives, mental health awareness, and accessibility.
TGG: Could you tell us about your role in the film “The Magical Christmas Tree”?
SW: I play Pace, one of the romantic leads and quite possibly the first genderqueer accountant to ever grace the big screen. Pace is just your everyday queer human trying to deal with their boss’s antics, but when he sends them on a mission to find a “magical” tree for the office Christmas party, chaos (and an epic love story?) ensues.
TGG: What did you learn while doing this part?
SW: This role challenged me to let go of my tendency towards drama and playing things seriously, and to have a little more fun! This is almost certainly the funniest, dare I say silliest material I’ve worked with as an actor—this movie wants you to laugh, and to pull that off, I had to embrace the absurdity of some of my character’s choices. (Please bring more than a bag of chips and an axe when you go hiking, y’all!) The trick was abiding by my director, Scott Hillman’s mantra for comedy: “Faster and stupider.”
Also, getting to play a nonbinary character in a T4T/queer relationship onscreen was super affirming! My costar Ky (who plays the other romantic lead, Buddy) was fantastic to work with, and I felt super comfortable collaborating with them on my first ever on-screen kiss. There’s still a long ways to go with educating film crews and audiences alike about nonbinaryness and creating safe, positive spaces for queer people, but I’m optimistic that content like this movie is a step in the right direction. Casual representation of trans/nonbinary characters (where their identity isn’t the primary plot point) is essential!
TGG: I saw you are also in musical theater! What’s your favorite musical (that you’ve done, or would like to do)?
SW: I actually write musical theater in addition to performing it, so I’m very tempted to say my favorite musical is the one I’ve been developing since 2020: a one act queer show called “Back to One” about a trans man, his sister, and the clash of their relationships to his Shirley Temple-esque childhood self. Working on that show as a writer, producer, and actor with an all trans cast and crew back in January 2020 was a magical experience cut unfortunately short by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In general, I love new musical theater more than anything—outside of shows that I’ve written myself, I adored being in the OG cast of Michael Shapiro’s “The Bully Problem” at the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival, a wholesome family-friendly show in which I played the bully intern turned nerd ally Charley.
TGG: How can we best support you (where can we watch your film, follow you on social media)?
SW: You can watch The Magical Christmas Tree on Amazon Prime, Vimeo, and Tubi —we’d love it if you left a review or a comment after you watch to keep it alive and thriving on all those platforms! You can also follow my personal adventures in professional overachievement @SocksWhitmore everywhere, or visit my website https://sockswhitmore.com.
