“I think it’s that more and more trans characters [can] be less than perfect and be a–holes and be the villains,” Nicole Maines tells Variety in a new feature. “We can look at them, and be like, ‘They’re just people. They make poor choices. They can be bad people. They can be not nice.'” The “Supergirl” actress made history as TV’s first transgender superhero, “but for the trans rights activist and actor, progress is the chance to play a villain,” the source details.

When Maines first got the gig on The CW show and started playing Nia, she admits to being “really nervous to kind of show her in any way that wasn’t favorable. I was very nervous to show her making poor choices or have her react poorly to something,” she explains. “I needed her to be a success. I needed Dreamer and Nia to be untouchable.”

Maines details her thought process at the time: “The representation is really on the shoulders of just a few. So everything that happens to those characters is reflective of the rest of the trans community,” she offers. “If we’re anything less than perfect, that’s going to reflect poorly on the rest of us.”

Initially, it seems that Maines wanted to portray a character who was beyond reproach, which is more than understandable given Hollywood’s shameful history with trans characters. All too often trans characters have been reduced to a punchline or depicted as abhorrent, inhumane killers, and they’re typically portrayed by cisgender actors. And that’s when they’re represented at all.

It’s only in recent years that we’re beginning to see more trans characters, and Maines is eager for the roles that are available to evolve. “Trans-ness is not a person,” she explains. “A person is not identified by their trans-ness.” In other words, trans characters, like all characters, need layers and nuance.

“Disclosure,” a documentary about transgender depictions in film and TV, drops on Netflix June 19. “Orange Is the New Black” alumna Laverne Cox is featured in the film and serves as exec producer.