Modern Family casts 8-year-old transgender child actor for new episode

Hit television comedy series Modern Family has cast transgender child actor Jackson Millarker in an upcoming episode.

Millarker, 8, is set to appear this week on the show as a friend of Lily’s called Tom, reported Deadline.

This is Jackson Millarker. He's 8 years old, from Atlanta, and just happens to be transgender. He plays Lily's friend Tom in this week's Modern Family and he's wonderful. One of the many reasons I love being a part of this show. ❤️🎬💯

A photo posted by Ryan Case (@film114) on Sep 26, 2016 at 11:00am PDT

Lily is the daughter of same-sex couple Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). The episode will focus on the theme of acceptance.

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“Cam and Mitchell have always felt they were the most open, non-judgmental and supportive parents. However, when they overhear Lily insulting her new friend, they have to take a quick look in the mirror before they teach her a lesson about acceptance,” the synopsis read.

The episode will be called A Stereotypical Day. The director also posted a picture of Millarker on set.

Modern Family is not the first major show to feature transgender actors, with Orange Is the New Black and Nashville both proving groundbreaking.

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