Trans ‘13 Reasons Why’ actor on film she wrote: Watch as ‘act of protest’

Atlanta native Tommy Dorfman made a name for herself in 2017 portraying a gay high school magazine editor in the Netflix hit “13 Reasons Why.”

But for three years, she focused her energies primarily on writing, directing and producing her first movie, “I Wish You All the Best,” a drama about a nonbinary high school junior, which hits theaters in limited release Thursday.

She adapted the 2019 bestselling book of the same name by Mason Deaver. “I was sent the book to potentially act in a movie, but I was too old,” said Dorfman, who is 33. “I’m trans and from the South. I had never seen a book about a nonbinary teen written with so much care and compassion. I ultimately felt uniquely qualified to tell this story.”

The movie follows Ben DeBacker (Corey Fogelmanis of “Girl Meets World” fame), who gets booted from their parents’ home after revealing they are nonbinary. They move in with their sister, Hannah (Alexandra Daddario), who is also estranged from their conservative parents.

The film is a sweet, gentle, empathetic portrayal of a teen trying to figure out life in a world fraught with misunderstanding and discrimination.

“It was less about the messaging for me in the film but offering a human perspective of a singular trans experience,” Dorfman said. “How different generations and different walks of life engage with a nonbinary kid in their neighborhood.”

“I Wish You All the Best” was shot in Los Angeles and North Carolina, where the story is fictionally set. “I grew up going up to Holden Beach in Wilmington as a kid on family reunions,” she said. “It felt really nostalgic to go back.”

Tommy Dorfman, 33, grew up in Atlanta and attended The Paideia School, where she said they allowed her to tap her creative talents in multiple ways. (Courtesy of Grayson Vaughan)

Dorfman debuted the movie in the spring of 2024 at South by Southwest, where she was relieved to experience a warm, positive reaction from the audience.

Debuting the film in theaters nine months into the second Trump administration feels right, she said.

“I think it has an opportunity to be more impactful now than it would have a year ago,” Dorfman said. “And it’s an experience that hasn’t been talked about enough in media, both in fiction and nonfiction. I hope it gives people some hope or different ways to approach something that may feel uncomfortable or scary or something they don’t understand.”

Tommy Dorfman grew up in Atlanta and left public school to attend The Paideia School, largely because she was being bullied in public school when she still identified as a boy. (Courtesy of Caroline Tompkins)

One of her key mentors over the years has been Lena Dunham of “Girls” fame. She even provided Dorfman a cabin in Connecticut to write the screenplay.

When an actor dropped out at the last second, she offered the role of Ben’s quirkily supportive art teacher to Dunham, who was fortunately available.

“She’s not an actor you can miscast,” Dorfman said. “She’s so adaptable. Very few actors can balance heart and comedy, levity and depth within a single line.”

Atlanta actor Tommy Dorfman got her first big role portraying gay high school magazine editor Ryan in the Netflix hit “13 Reasons Why.” (Courtesy of Netflix)

Though Dorfman is known most for acting, she fashions herself as a multidisciplinarian.

“I’ve always had a hard time focusing creatively,” she said. “I loved ballet but also loved fashion and drawing. I loved swimming and diving, all the normal kid stuff. I was into musical theater and directed productions in high school. I wrote a lot.”

When she was a teen and still identified as a boy, she said she was bullied so badly in public school, her parents placed her in The Paideia School, a private school known for nurturing its students’ creative side. (Her father, Larry, helps run Roots, a real estate investment trust that allows renters to invest in the properties they rent.)

“At Paideia, I felt like I could do various things and succeed,” she said. “They offered me a lot of freedom of expression. I could explore stuff. They were really tuned in to us individually. They made a lot of arrangements while I was dancing with the Atlanta Ballet for all my childhood and spending half my days in rehearsal. I spent 12-15 years of my life doing that.”

Dorfman said the movie gave her a chance to “reimagine my high school experience if I had the tools Ben had. In some ways, my parents were incredible parents because I got to stay under their roof. But there were other cultural components that were very challenging.”