‘Some people just enjoy hating’: Suzy ‘Eddie’ Izzard is pushing for the world to be a better place
By Benjamin Law
Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we’re told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they’re given. This week, he talks to Suzy “Eddie” Izzard. The British comedian and actor, 63, has won two Emmy Awards for her stand-up comedy and is a prolific runner of marathons. She goes by the name “Suzy” but still uses “Eddie” professionally.
Suzy “Eddie” Izzard: “It’s our turn (as trans people) to have a tough time. Remember the marriage-equality debate? Some people just enjoy hating.”
DEATH
Most trans people prefer not to use their “dead name” – the name they were assigned prior to affirming their gender. You still use “Eddie” for work, though. What’s your relationship with your name right now? Well, “Eddie” is also a name that I invented. I’m “Edward John” on my passport, but I thought that sounded … lumpy. “Eddie” is much more fun and cool. Now I have “Suzy”, too, which is a name I would’ve liked to have had when I was 10. I’m going to keep them both going because I’m gender-fluid as well [as being trans]. No one can get anything wrong unless they call me “Arthur” or “Sabrina”.
You experienced profound loss at a very young age, having lost your mum when you were just six. That’s right, and my brother was seven; she didn’t see his eighth birthday. But I try to get very macro on this. Take World War II, or any wars or the things going on now, or how very young mothers used to die in childbirth. I’m lucky to have had six years with Mum; I have to count my blessings that she didn’t just walk out the door.
You seem quite philosophical about it. How do you reflect on how your life has been affected by that early loss? Death came and it was like a sledgehammer. Mum was gone in March of ’68. Then, in January 1970 – almost two years later – I saw a play and one of the actors was getting this great reaction from the audience. And I thought, “I need this.” I think I swapped my mother’s affection for the audience’s. That’s how I think I’ve dealt with it. I have to work for the love – and I think that comes from the death of my mother.
Izzard running in South Africa in tribute to Nelson Mandela in 2016.
You’re an accomplished actor and comedian, you’ve received an honorary doctorate and were once voted one of Britain’s greatest comedians. Can you die happy? Oh, yeah. I’ve sold out L’Olympia – a prestigious venue in central Paris where Edith Piaf, Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie played. To sell that out, performing in French, was just beautiful. I worked my backside off for it and I’m happy. And when I came out [as trans], my dad thought about it for a day and then said, “I’m OK with this. And if your mum was alive, she’d be OK with it, too.” Which is a beautiful thing. I’m very proud of that. It’s like a scout badge. And running marathons has been very good for me, too.
POLITICS
You’ve run for political office twice. For two pre-selections, yeah!
How did you go? There was a bit of transphobia. And you get other pushback, too: “Why aren’t you here, in this constituency, all the time?” Well, I grew up in Sussex, but I went around the world. You can’t just stay in your own town forever because you’ll never get anywhere. But I’m relentless. I’ll keep pushing until I get in.
Why did you want to run for the UK Labour Party? Well, you’ve got to be able to do three things. You’ve got to be able to communicate, and I can communicate. You’ve got to be able to build a vision for the future, and being trans and open shows that I believe there can be a better place. And you’ve got to be brave and curious, not fearful and suspicious. That’s why I perform in French, German and Spanish: I want to do that reach out and say, “Can we make connections rather than break them? What can we learn from you? And what can you learn from us?” Ultimately, I’m a radical moderate. I do radical things with a moderate message.
You’ve alluded to experiencing transphobia. Why do you think trans and gender-diverse people are the subject of so much hate now, especially in the UK? [Sighs] It’s our turn to have a tough time. Remember the marriage-equality debate? People were like, “Well, if men marry men, and women marry women, will cats marry dogs? Where’s it going to end?” That’s gone away now. Everyone calmed down. So now we’re [trans people] going through it. It’ll come out the other end; it has to go to a positive place. I’m just being honest and not affecting anyone. I’m saying, “This is me, I’m presenting myself how I feel and it makes me feel happy and content.” [Shrugs] Some people just enjoy hating.
MONEY
Before showbiz, what did you want to do for a living? I was studying accounting and financial management at university. It was almost the same course as Mick Jagger. He dropped out of the London School of Economics, I dropped out of Sheffield Uni and we both went off in creative directions.
Many people in the arts struggle with financial security. But you have a numbers background. Does that mean you’re actually quite good with money? Yes, but I also take a lot of risks with money. It was a gamble to fund myself to learn how to do gigs in different languages. No one was saying, “That’s the way to go!” When money comes in, I’m constantly putting it into other projects and ideas.
Say I give you $100, and you have an hour to spend it on yourself. What are you buying? Make-up.
Suzy “Eddie” Izzard is performing in Eddie Izzard: The Remix Tour Live in Sydney and Melbourne next year, along with her one-woman production of Hamlet.
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