It’s been almost three decades since Sandra Bernhard made a huge splash portraying the character of Nancy Barlett Thomas, a queer woman, on the ‘90s sitcom, Roseanne. Bernhard had already created an indelible impression with her much-lauded role in Martin Scorsese’s film The King Of Comedy, not to mention her one-woman shows I’m Your Woman and Without You, I’m Nothing, but the ability of television to reach huge audiences made her impact on the mainstream all the greater. Since then, the actress has become a TV and film mainstay, but her most recent role has proven to be perhaps her most personal yet. Bernhard stars in the hugely popular and culturally game-changing Pose asNurse Judy, a HIV activist and member of ACT UP. The series orbits around the New York ballroom scene in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, but also depicts the struggle during those times for equal rights for the beleaguered trans and gay communities.
The world has changed dramatically since then, and for Bernhard, who has always been a strong advocate for LGBT+ rights, it’s been “amazing” to portray those times in queer history.
“Having been on the ground when it was all happening - the AIDS crisis - in the trenches with friends, some of whom I lost during that time, and performing in New York City and being part of the ACT UP movement, it’s been an incredible experience portraying that time on screen in Pose.