Asia Kate Dillon is headed to the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards.Â
The Billions star will open the show and present the award for Best Actor in a Movie.Â
Dillon’s appearance is super important to the inaugural telecast, as the network broke down the gender wall with exclusively no-gendered categories and she is the first gender non-binary identifying actor ever to be cast in a major television series.
“I grew up with MTV. It was the pop culture voice of my generation. MTV continues to be a voice for the culture it represents. I am honored to open the show as a presenter as MTV makes strides once more by doing away with binary acting categories, celebrating television and film in a truly inclusive way,” said Dillon on her presenting role.
Just recently, Asia sent an impassioned letter to the TV Academy, questioning the gender-specific classifications of the acting categories in the Primetime EMMY Awards. “What do the words ‘actor’ and ‘actress’ mean to you regarding the awards?†she asked the Television Academy when they were deciding whether to submit under supporting actor or supporting actress for this year’s Emmy Awards.
With the non-gendered categories, all actors from all screens (including television) will compete for the Golden Popcorn in the same categories.
Hosted by Adam Devine, the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards airs LIVE from The Shrine Auditorium on Sunday, May 7th @ 8PM ET/PT on MTV.