They Said a Trans Scream Queen Would Never Happen

Timothy Waldron wanted to be a scream queen. The problem? People in the film industry kept telling her it wasn’t going to happen.

She had other plans. Timothy joins Corey for a funny, candid and occasionally very bloody conversation about carving out her own place in indie horror as a trans actress. She talks about discovering horror as a kid, her obsession with Sarah Michelle Gellar in I Know What You Did Last Summer and why Helen Shivers helped teach her to be a fighter.

Timothy also gets into the pressure she faced to adopt a more traditionally feminine stage name and why she refused. Her name is Timothy Waldron. She knows exactly who she is, and Hollywood doesn’t get to rename her.

The conversation goes from there to working with Horror Heals alum Debbie Rochon, learning acting on the job, trans representation in horror, her love of practical effects and why she tells directors not to hold back when it’s time to kill her character. No off-camera death, please. Timothy wants the blood, the prosthetics and the whole damn thing.

She also explains why every scream she gives on camera is real and where all that emotion comes from. Naturally, Corey has to put that scream to the test.

Timothy also previews Slaughter at Camp Swinelake, The Yellow Balloon: Curse of Vincent Farrow and La Suicida.

And there’s one more reason Corey is excited about this episode: it’s his birthday episode. Huge thanks to Timothy for creating some killer social media content to help Horror Heals celebrate and spread the word.

Follow Timothy on Instagram: @timothywaldronofficial

If you enjoy Horror Heals, give Corey a cheap birthday present and share this episode with another horror fan.

Thank you for listening to Horror Heals. 

Share the show with someone who loves horror and someone who needs a little healing.

If you want to support our guests, check the show notes for links to their work, conventions, and fundraising pages.

You can also listen to our sister podcast Family Twist, a show about DNA surprises, identity, and the families we find along the way.

Horror Heals is produced by Mosaic Multimedia LLC.

Is horror good for mental wellness? Of corpse it is.

Transcript

Corey 0:00

Hello everyone, it's Cory. Welcome to Horror Heels. I'm especially thrilled about this one because it happens to be my birthday episode, and I get to spend it with a Scream Queen. Timothy Walburn is an actress and lifelong horror fan who knew what she wanted to do long before Hollywood knew what to do with her. She wanted to be a trans screen queen. Directors told her it wasn't gonna happen. People told her she should change her name because Timothy wasn't feminine. Well, Timothy's answer to all of that was pretty simple. Just watch me. We talk about growing up obsessed with Sarah Michelle Geller and I Know What You Did Last Summer, refusing to change her name, learning the business without the benefit of acting school, and the support she received from our friend and former Horror Heels guest, Debbie Roshan. We also talk about why Timothy loves getting covered in fake blood and getting killed on camera. Why she never wants a director to go easy on one of her characters and the very real stuff she puts into every screen. And yes, I give her the screen for us, and it's a good one. I also want to thank Timothy for the awesome videos and social media content she made to help promote this episode. She went above and beyond for us, and I really appreciate it. So happy birthday to me, and let's talk horror with Timothy Waldron. Hey Timothy, welcome to the Horror Heels Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Thank you for having thrilled that you're here.

Corey 1:20

I've had the opportunity over the years as an entertainment journalist to interview quite a few legendary horror film actors, and I love asking them how they feel about being called a screen queen. When you hear the term or think about the term scream queen, like what immediately comes to mind?

SPEAKER_01 1:36

I think of the term screen queen. I think of a powerful woman. Whether she's cooking ass or getting her ass cooked, she is sexy, she was terrified, she was strong. Just the ultimate embodiment of femininity is what I think of when I think of the scream queen.

Corey 1:55

Awesome. And when did you first come into your head that you thought, you know, I could be a scream queen?

SPEAKER_01 2:00

So when I first came to the conclusion, it was be when I was a little boy before I was a woman. I grew up watching I Know What You Did Last Summer. So I love Sarah Michelle Gallery. I was obsessed with her clone Holland Shivers. And everything about her in that role how was relatable to me. How she was having a like this double life of being a pageant girl and then she did something bad and then having to come to terms with stuff. Um fought to the end, just to get bested. I think that's what made me love it so much was really Sarah Michelle Gallo. Come giving me permission to be a fighter. And even if you lose, you know, how about the fight? So well, I would say Sarah Michelle Gellow was responsible for me wanting to be a screen queen for sure.

Corey 2:50

Awesome. That's great. So obviously, you know, we're living in let's just call them interesting times right now, and the word trans comes up so much in daily media and stuff, and usually in negative connotations. So how do you feel about what's happening right now in the country and how it relates to trans people?

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Well, we never want to speak for, of course, I can't speak for every trans person. It is very interesting. I think it's just another testament or staying true to oneself. Just remember, like, even if you go back to the biblical days, remember Jesus stood alone, so trans people can stand alone, Gio. We're in control of the narrative in reality. Like in your reality, you're in control. And I'm trying to remind myself that like yes, there's tons of people who probably hate that I exist, but I never let that affect the way I live. I kind of like living oblivious because I know that I'm in charge of how my life is and you know, happiness. And unfortunately, there's always gonna be negative people, but gosh, it's such that's such a good question because I feel like it's almost like something that I live oblivious to. Almost as if I was like not trans sometimes. Sometimes I'll have to just live in that mindset, this is your life, just be you because you know you're not for everyone. But it definitely is tragical, I will tell you that, because it definitely travels from the real world into Hollywood, if you will, into the horror world. A lot of unfair things, a lot of effective things. But I just try to remind myself to roll with the punches on or to remember how strong I am onto this. Kind of remind myself there's a reason on the screen, curling. I can take monsters head on all day every day. That's what I do for a living.

Corey 4:40

Well, uh, you know, on this podcast, we really like to showcase queer voices because we feel like in horror, even though things are starting to change and we're starting to see some amazing things in mainstream horror, you know, there aren't enough queer voices out there. And you know, Kendall I've been together for 21 years, and and horror is one of the things that we bonded over immediately, but I think because we've always had that sort of outsider sense, you know, and I think we've always related to like the the outsider characters. So it it was very exciting that you agreed to come on because a trans scream queen is like, yes, that's what we need in 2026 for sure.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

Yeah, it's definitely that was like my problem too, you know, because I mean growing up, like there was trans characters before, but they're played by like cisgender people, you know, like the legendary Tim Curry and Rocky Horror Picture Show. Or but they were played by a cisgender woman and a cisgender male. It always bothered me that I didn't see a a trans screen queen represented ever. And that's another thing that just kind of made me have that push of I don't know why there's no one, but I know I'm gonna be one of the first, and I'm gonna kick down every door that's in front of me. And you know, when I first came into the industry, I was I guess you can say I don't want to say boy, but kind of laughed at by a lot of directors I would reach out to when I would tell them, like, hey, I'm an actress, a trans actress, and I really want to become a schoon coon. And I just remember them always like either ignoring my messages, or some of them would respond and be like, you know, it's just it's never gonna happen. It's just not a part of horror's funeral. So sometimes on camera, I'm forced to be hyper eminent, hyper sexual because it's the only narrative that can pass in the horror radar. Like at least for now. It's the only thing that's like okay to pass in the horror radar, but you know, never wanting me to be too soft because of who I own, unfortunately. But I just really forgot these directors telling me like it's never gonna happen. And I just said two words, watch me. Uh so my career is a love letter to all the dolls, but also a big fat new letter to the industry.

Corey 7:11

I also read that there's been some pushback from filmmakers about you not wanting to change your name, not having a a feminine first name. Can you talk a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_01 7:22

So the problem was when I first got my role, one of my first horror roles, a movie actually came out. It got canceled for other reasons. But one of the main directors was like, Holy, we wanna put you in this movie, but we really think you need to get a stage name. Because Timothy Walden is gonna confuse a lot of people. It's it's just so different. And we think that you really need to live up to this like dull exterior that you have going on. And I was like, wait, I I dress like a Barbie doll every day in my life. Why does my name have to reflect that? And they just kind of reassure me like this would be good for your girl. So I told them, no way, I'm not doing wrong. And then I only went to get my head shots done. And the person doing my hub shots is like, why is your name Timothy Waldorin? And I was like, Well, because that's what my name is, man. You know, and I I I to me it makes sense, and then I never realized how much it irks people that I don't change up. But the reason that I don't change my name is because I'm not trying to ever hide who I am. I'm proud of who I am, and I earned my fucking name, and I owe it to the little boy that grew up with me in my skill and in my childhood. I owe it to him to honor him, but still be the woman that I am today. And I refuse to let Hollywood bully me into children because a name doesn't make you a woman. You know, what I embody and what I do, that's what a woman would do. A powerful woman would say, No, this is me, fuck you. So I should do the same. And I hope that I respond with you. And there's nothing wrong with the the women who change their name to Monster Zendo, I think that's amazing. If it helps you, that's it's all about confidence. Do what you want. But for me, I take my power back with letting people know I know who I am, and I know that you know who I am. And as long as we see eye to eye, you don't have to love me. I just want to be understood. You know?

Corey 9:36

That's a beautiful answer. I love that. What kind of feedback have you gotten from some of the other legendary screen queens out there? I know that you and W. Roshan worked on a movie together.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

W oh my followers. I love W. Roshan. She was the first Oju screen queen that showed me genuine love, both in front of the camera and behind the camera, especially behind camera. You know, I've worked with quite a few big people. A lot of the components are just outly nice, and some of them are very nice on camera and not in behind the scenes. And you know, uh a lot of other s experienced screen queens have kind of given me some shots in my time because I don't come from a traditional acting background. I didn't get to go to a performing arts high school. I didn't get to go to college to study acting, I didn't get to take classes. I grew up poor, you know. And so as much as I could respect people who got their proper acting training and did it the right way by paper, in the same breath, I had to come into the industry with no knowledge and I had to have everything on the go. I didn't get to go to school and train with the other actors. I had to learn while I was on set. And Debbie Russon, like her spirit and presence on set, just kind of was like, You're kicking ass, calm down, be you. As long as you're happy with your performance and you're being good behind the camera and in front of the camera, that's what really matters. And to be, you know, embraced by Debbie Russan, this is a woman that's done like 600 horror movies. This woman is the bees knees when it comes to horror. But to have someone like her just kind of give me my flowers before I even deserved them was something I will never forget. And it was just inspiring because a lot of the times I would just be like telling her how much I love her, how much of thorn of I was with her. Or Debbie, she just she let me fan girl out while I'm sad on just such a beautiful human being inside and out. She was. Gabby Baumstar is a black performer in the horror world. If you ever get the chance to interview, that bitch is Fawn Wild. She does a lot of movies with Debbie, Tiro. She actually was in Debbie's film Model Hunger. So click the ass, I'm telling you.

Corey 12:07

I will check it out. Yeah, for sure. Debbie was a guest on the show. She is definitely a force of nature, and she's a great advocate for the horror community in general, and it's great that she speaks out about everybody because that's one of the things I think we really appreciate about the horror community is that for I would say 99.9% of the time, it's like it's all inclusive. It's so accepting going to a horror convention. And I hope you get the opportunity to be a guest at horror conventions because I think you'll just have the time of your life. People are so wonderful, and you're gonna see everything from a three-month-old infant dressed as pennywise from it to a 95-year-old grandma in a wheelchair who's so excited to meet you.

SPEAKER_01 12:43

I would love to see that because it sounds beautiful. And you're right, horror is definitely like there's no fans like horror fans. Horror fans are the best people in the world. You know, whether you think you did a good job or not, they will remember you and they will tell you their opinion on you. I'd love not they will let you know how they feel. Horror was kind of something I found on my own when I was older. Because like no one in my family watched horror films. I come from like a conservative Italian family. So like horror felt like a dirty little secret of mine that I found. And I loved, and you know why I think when as a kid, I loved the makeup effects. I love the makeup effects, and I also watched it for the pretty women. I'll be honest. It's not that I was like wanting to be with these women, but I was inspired by these women. I wanted to grow up to be these women. I just something about horror, about especially the slasher general in particular, a group of people that represent real entities of real life, right? Because it was who are supposed to imitate what's happening in the real world and real people. So you know, you have your mean characters, you have your happy characters. It just reminded me so much of like being in high school, you know, being with the bullies, the tour leaders, and people having to work together that would never work together. Just the reminder that sometimes the monsters felt like reality. You know, deep down the salt, they don't deserve what's happening on set or in the film. And so I think just really the fighting spirit of it all, the artistic vision of creativity that I seen, something was just so captivating of like seeing these group of people that look like they would never hang out in a million years come together to make a film. It just I don't know. It's something about that pick-off order that I always loved. And my characters I would always root for to make to the end, they would never live. My favorite characters never lived, always died. So it's kind of ironic that that's been my career because I've never lived in a horror film. I love it. One of my favorite parts of being a school queen is the death scenes and being covered on the prosthetics and stuff, because I always felt like I had to work harder on the good looks to an extent. So when being doused in blood and screening, I don't have to worry about if I look attractive alone. I can be false to the wall, bats and insane. I can be ugly for those moments. And that's what I love about the makeup. Something about that fake blood, I'm telling you, I'm like a monster. Once it touches my body, I become a new bitch. I love it. I love lookouts and gore. I always tell directors, like, don't hold back because that's been one of the things that a lot of directors are fearful of. Because me being a dog, you know, they're like, I don't want it to come across as like a hate crime. But I was like, hey, that's exactly why I want this to be brutal. I want it to hit the audience. I want them to see, yeah, she didn't make it, but she didn't get special treatment. I don't ever want special treatment. I don't want my character to get these beneficial rules. No, I want my character as a bitch, I want her to be a ruthless bitch. When my character is doing butcher, I want her to be butchered. I don't want the camera to cut away, you know, because a few times directors were like, we're thinking about killing you off camera. I'm like, oh hell no. We owe it to the audience for this beat to be covered. So to answer your question, I love it. I love the Gothic road.

Corey 16:33

That's great. That's great. Have you sort of fantasized is there a way that you would really love to see yourself die on screen?

SPEAKER_01 16:39

I really, really want to do a water movie because one of my hidden talents is I'm an excellent swimmer. Like a very excellent swimmer. I swim very deep in the lotion. So I have wanted to do a movie that incorporates water, some type of swimming. I don't know if it would be a shark feature. I don't know what it would be. But definitely another also, I would love a dramatic note to my queen, Sam Michelle Garrett. I would love a perfect talent short chasing, where I could actually kick a little ass and then get it. Because usually I'm getting my ass picked.

Corey 17:14

When you decided like you want to go the scream queen route, did you think about like, well, what should my scream sound like? What it do I do you have a signature scream?

SPEAKER_01 17:22

It is very distinctive because I always try to be camp with the scream, but have real life grabbles. Every time I've ever screamed in a movie, no matter how silly the film was, no matter how silly the writing was, I want the world to know that every time you hear Timothy Waldrin scream in a horror movie, it is a real scream. I scream for everything that I've ever felt in my life. The feeling like an oddball, the things I've been through, the people I've lost, I put it all on the screen. My character might be ditzy and crazy in some films, but every time you hear my character scream, that's the Timothy Waldman scream. It's the screen for my life.

Corey 18:03

Well, I don't want you to ruin your voice for us today, but would if you could indulge me, can I sort of set a scene for you? Let's say your character is out on one of these floating wooden decks on the lake and your way out. So it would take a little bit of w of of effort to get back to the to the dock, and all of a sudden this brutish thing just pops up on the deck and has razors for fingers. What is your result? Love it. Love it. Thank you for that. That's amazing. So fun. So fun. Yeah. What are your what do your friends and family think about this? You're out of, you know, you're a doll by day and a screen green on the screen, covered in blood and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

I think they're proud of me following my dream. Uh, but it's definitely a profession that's hard for my family, who's not necessarily horror fans at all. They kind of don't get it. Um, so they have to love move separate. I don't think my family is ever gonna go see any of my newbies. Um, my sister, my little sister definitely would. My little sister loves that I'm a scream queen. She thinks it's awesome. My mother is supportive, like my mom, who's actually been on one of the horror, one of my own sets before with me. Um, so that was really cool. Like she doesn't watch those release, but she goes, Mer, you're my daughter. I love you. If it makes you happy, I'm happy. But I think for Mother, especially, you know, the type of movies that I do, it's usually very scandalous. Um I'm in the indie industry, so my I tend to do more raunchy films. Um you know, I don't think my uncles want to see their Tron Lee's showing her boobies on camera. I don't think they're very fond of so they know because I love my life out loud, but um, people will tell them, you know, that a few times I go like my friend was like, I heard the news is uh uh horror film I'll puss in a pops on the weirdest position.

Corey 20:09

Is there anything that you know for sure that we could look forward to this year that we might be able to see?

SPEAKER_01 20:15

Yes, I know for sure three horror films that will be coming out back to back. Um Slaughter at Swine Lake, which is a Turner entertainment release. That's with W Sean as well. I know that's coming out this year. I know it's gonna hook the in the film festival circuit first. There's also going to be The Yellow Balloon, Curse of Vincent Viral. Um, that one's a really fun one. That one's for sure coming out this year. I just spoke to Jason, one of the producers on whoso it's coming out this year, and also La Suite, written by Sean Sean C. Phillips. He told me though it's looking out like October.

Corey 20:58

Very cool. Very cool. That's exciting. So Timothy, yeah, but loving trauma since I was a little kid. So Timothy, the the last question that we always ask on the podcast is who is your favorite final person? And we like to say final person instead of final girl in a horror movie because we'd like to be all-inclusive here.

SPEAKER_01 21:18

That's a hard one. Because, like I said, my characters are always the girls that die. But a final girl has any of my favorite girls ever Alex and made it to the end of the movie. Let's see. I mean, classically, I want to say Neve Campbell, Sidney Prescott. I love that character so much. I think she's literally the best parts of every final girl horror history. I think she brings pieces of like Light Moon, pieces of Halloween, Friday the 13th. She's just like this ultimate final girl. Um, but I also love Julie James on I don't eat last summer because she didn't really have to get down and dirty with the killer that much. And I love that she kind of had everybody doing her daily work. But I think to say, I would definitely say move Campbell. Um, just because this is one scream queen that I never get tired of. I never go, oh God, they're making another scream. I'm always like, I she better be in on.

Corey 22:25

No, those that's a great answer. Really, that's wonderful. Excellent. Well, thank you so much for coming on.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

You are so welcome. I never forget people. You know, my career is just starting out. So I keep a mental note of the people who gave me the thumbs down and the people who gave me a thumbs up. Um, you guys are you know, people who gave me a thumbs up, and I will never forget that. And I hope Monday could recur in some kind of way to you guys. I hope I can give back to you guys, Monday, somehow. Thank you.

Corey 22:54

No, I think you were already doing that just by being a guest on the show. Like, we want to get all these unique voices out there. I'm envisioning really fantastic things for you. Very cool. Well, Timothy, thank you so much. And just sending out all the good vibes for in some bigger roles in the future, and maybe you'll get to live to the end of a movie one day.

SPEAKER_01 23:11

Well, fingers crossed. With a lot of producers we gotta go through.

Corey 23:17

Thank you again to Timothy. I love that she wants the full horror experience. Don't protect her character. Don't kill her off camera. Cover her in nasty blood, give her the big death scene, and let her scream her head off. But there's obviously more going on behind those screens. Timothy talked about putting everything into them. Being doubted, feeling like an oddball, losing people, and dealing with the crap she's encountered along the way. Suddenly that scream I asked her to do became a little more interesting. I also have a lot of respect for her decision to keep the name Timothy. It's her name, she earned it. End of story. Keep an eye out for Timothy and Slaughter at Camp Swine Lake with Debbie Rushan, a new trauma movie coming this year, along with the Yellow Balloon, Curse of Vincent Pharaoh, Las Suicida, and whatever comes next. Hopefully, somebody eventually lets the poor woman survive in one of these movies. And Timothy, thank you again for all the social media love. The videos you made for this episode were fantastic, and you make my job of promoting this show a hell of a lot easier this week. You can follow Timothy on Instagram at Timothy WalderOfficial, and I will post that in the show notes. And because it's my birthday, I'm going to shamelessly ask for one present. Share this episode or any episode. Share horror heels. Tell one horror fan about us. That helps this little show more than you probably realize. Thanks for spending part of my birthday with me. Kendall and I will talk to you next time on Horror Heels. And remember, when someone asks, is horror good for mental wellness? You tell them, of course it is. The Horror Heels Podcast is produced and presented by Mosaic Multimedia.