“When I did Rocky,” says Laverne Cox, referring to the 2016 televised remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, “Kenny Ortega, the director, treated me like any of his divas. He insisted that I should not carry my bags. Word for word, he said, ‘Laverne? You should never carry your bags.’” We’re sitting in a quiet alcove of the historic Stonewall Inn on a weekday afternoon, the muffled sounds of the Top 40 playing as the first few patrons of the day mill about on the other side of the venue. She continues, “‘You’re the star.’ That’s what Kenny told me. I remember thinking, I can’t get used to this.”
And in fact, the actress did arrive at Stonewall earlier that day — in full glam, ready to hop in front of the lens — lugging a large rolling suitcase behind her that would definitely exceed the carry-on limit, measuring somewhere between the size of a mini-fridge and a regular one. “The people in my building always think I’m taking a trip somewhere, but I’m just going to my storage unit or I’m going to a photo shoot or I’m going to an event,” she says. “You never know what you’re going to need.” Today’s haul includes makeup, shoes, and her own lighting, “just in case.”
