Entertainment Weekly - February 24 - March 3, 2017

20 EW.COM FEBRUARY 24/MARCH 3, 2017

MY CAUSE

Baby2Baby, a Los
Angeles-based non-
profit that supplies
children from low-
income households
with necessities like
diapers and clothing.
In 2016, Baby2Baby
distributed 11.8 million
items to children
across the country.

WHY I GOT INVOLVED

“I’ve been working with
Baby2Baby since it was
just a tiny grassroots
thing with a couple of
moms pulling stuff out
of their garages and
saying, ‘Gosh, we have
so much, and so many
people have so little,’”
says theModern Family
actress and Baby2Baby
board member. “Then
[Norah Weinstein and
Kelly Sawyer Patricof]

took over about five

years ago and turned

it into, in the best way,

an absolute jugger-

naut.... To me, it

was just a no-brainer.

There are so many

wonderful opportuni-

ties to give back, but

this was so concrete.

I plan on being with

them for years—that’s

the kind of commit-

ment I like to make

to any organization.”

MY TIME WITH

THE KIDS

“Kelly and Norah

started this Baby2Baby

[holiday] party, and it’s

grown each year. You

‘adopt’ a family ahead

of time and shop for

them.... You always get

to meet the families,

and you give them

Julie Bowen

these big bags of

gifts that are just for

them, and the kids’

eyes are popping out

of their heads.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Baby2Baby, which

also counts Jessica

Alba, Drew Barrymore,

and Kate Hudson

among its ambassa-

dors, needs volun-

teers, donations

of goods and funds,

and hosts for charity

drives (check out

baby2baby.org for

more details). “It’s

a scary time for many

people in America,

let’s face it,” says

Bowen. “I think that

if we all dig a little

deeper and we all

give back a little more,

we’re going to be okay.”

—C. Molly Smith

BREAKING

BILLIONS’

BOYS’ CLUB

Nonbinary actorAsia Kate Dillonis about to give the alpha

males of the Showtime series (returning Feb. 19,

10 p.m.) a run for their money.BY JAMES HIBBERD



Damian

Lewis and

Asia Kate

Dillon on

Billions

If you were to

guess which TV

series would be

one of the first to intro-

duce a gender-nonbinary

character—i.e., someone

who doesn’t identify

within the traditional

male-female frame-

work—Showtime’s

Billions probably

wouldn’t jump to mind.

Yet the high-finance

drama starring Damian

Lewis and Paul Giamatti

will do just that with

new character Taylor

(Asia Kate Dillon). An

intern at Axe Capital,

Taylor is a disruptive

stock-picking savant

who will make viewers

wonder how the show’s

main power players will

react to them. (“Them”

and “they” are Taylor’s—

and Dillon’s—preferred

pronouns.)

Producers didn’t spe-

cifically seek a nonbinary

individual for the role

and auditioned actors

from across the gender

spectrum. It simply came

down to talent. Says co-

creator David Levien,

“When Asia came in,

they were perfect.” The

role represents a big

break for the 32-year-old

(who is nonbinary

gender identifying) after

a minor part onOrange

Is the New Black. “I feel

very proud to represent

something on television

that hasn’t been repre-

sented before,” says

Dillon. “I know it would

have meant a lot to me,

as a younger person

especially.”

Expect Taylor and

Axelrod (Lewis) to form

an unlikely partnership

as the billionaire looks to

exploit Taylor’s talents

(which include playing a

mean game of poker).

Notes Dillon, “Ulti-

mately Taylor, regardless

of being nonbinary, does

fit into that world.”

STARS SHARE THEIR

PERSONAL STORIES ABOUT

GIVING BACK

BOWEN: STEFANIE KEENAN; DILLON: ZACK DEZON/GETTY IMAGES;

BILLIONS

: JEFF NEUMANN/SHOWTIME