Hollyoaks star Tylan Grant comes out as non-binary: ‘It’s my biggest achievement’
Tylan Grant at the British Soap Awards 2018 at the Hackney Empire in London, England. (Mike Marsland/WireImage)
The actor who plays Brooke Hathaway in British soap opera Hollyoaks has announced his name is Tylan Grant and says coming out as non-binary is his “biggest achievement”.
Grant, 19, who is autistic and plays Hollyoaks‘ first full-time character with autism, came out as non-binary in December 2020.
He said at the time: “Coming out to people has been probably the biggest achievement, coming out as non-binary, that’s probably been one of the biggest transitions in my life and also the biggest achievement.”
Grant’s character, Hathaway, is the adopted teenage child of the Osborne family, who first appeared on Hollyoaks in July 2018. Hathaway is the first full-time cast member with autism.
Grant was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in 2009, when they were seven. They are an ambassador the the National Autistic Society, using their platform to speak out about the lack of representation and awareness of autism in the media.
In an interview with the National Autistic Society about being a Black autistic person and a member of the queer community, Grant said he’s always wanted to be an actor.
“I’ve always wanted to act, it’s always been my dream,” Grant said. “I think that as a child I used to watch a lot of Robin Williams films and I was just so inspired by him and I looked up to him so much.”
They also said that they use their experience to help them play Hathaway on Hollyoaks: “Brooke and I both have very similar experiences day to day with things that you’ve probably seen on screen. If you watched my first opening scene in Hollyoaks it’s the experiences of life going on around me – the loud noises, the chatter, the cars, the exhaust pipes – it’s something that I actually go through every day.
“It’s something that I do experience and other people experience.”
Grant’s parents are Carrie and David Grant, the vocal coaches from Fame Academy. The pair made a cameo in a Hollyoaks episode last year as prospective parents for Grant’s baby, as part of a storyline that saw Grant pregnant but not keeping the baby.
The Channel 4 soap has two non-binary actors, Tylan Grant and fellow Hollyoaks star Ki Griffin, a non-binary and intersex actor who plays a non-binary character.
Griffin, 21, made their first appearance on Hollyoaks in July 2020 as Ripley Lennox, a newcomer who is a friend of Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins). They joined the main cast the following month, with Hollyoaks announcing the news on Twitter, writing: “If you haven’t already, please give a very warm welcome to Ki Griffin (they/them, she/her, or he/him) who plays Ripley Lennox!”
