This above all for Roberta Colindrez: To thine own self be true.

After playing Alison Bechdel’s college girlfriend Joan in the Tony-winning Broadway musical Fun Home, Colindrez returns to the stage in the Public Theater’s new off-Broadway revival of Hamlet, headlined by Star Wars hunk Oscar Isaac.

The Mexican-born actor, who stars as a genderqueer artist in the Amazon streaming series I Love Dick, also breaks down the binary in Hamlet as Rosencrantz, a disloyal pal of the Danish prince who's traditionally played by a man.

Embracing the unconventional casting as part of a much larger theatrical movement, Colindrez explains how The L Word almost kept her from her calling.

Your Rosencrantz looks pretty fly rocking a gold chain, creepers, and Adidas track pants.

Yeah, the costumer was interested in doing a laidback sweatpants Hamlet, but I think she saw the value in Rosencrantz looking sleazier. People who know me well have actually come to the show and asked if those are my own clothes.

This is your first professional Shakespeare production. Were you intimidated?

I was scared at first. I was like, “Wow, I wonder if there’s a reason I haven’t done this before.” But it’s not so scary when you’re with a group of smart actors who are all there to have fun and experiment. I remember doing Shakespeare in seventh grade and being really nerdy about it. I was so excited to speak that cool language, and that nerdy excitement hasn’t gone away.

Along with Keegan-Michael Key as Horatio and Matthew Saldívar as Guildenstern, you’re responsible for the production’s funniest moments. Is it hard to bring laughs to one of Shakespeare’s most tragic tragedies?

Well, they say that people find the most comedy in the darkest of places. If you put Keegan, Matt, and me in something, you’re going to get some humor, so I think Sam Gold, our director, knew what he was doing when he cast us.

Sam also directed Fun Home. How did he pitch Hamlet to you?

I was in Marfa, Texas, finishing up shooting I Love Dick, and Sam just sent me an email saying he had this crazy idea I should play Rosencrantz. I probably responded something like, “Fuck yeah. Duh.”

But Rosencrantz is considered a male character. Why did Sam want you for the role?

He didn’t explain it, and that’s what was so cool. It probably wasn’t until six weeks into rehearsals and previews that gender even came up.

Are you playing Rosencrantz as a dude?

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are spies, so we’re playing spies. Matt and I are playing this ambiguous connection, as if we’re maybe a couple, maybe best friends. They have a partnership, and we didn’t think it was necessary to gender that.

Regardless of gender, your Rosencrantz can definitely hang with the boys. Are there a lot of guys in your own posse?

Growing up, I hung out with my brother a lot. I was the girl who beat up on all the dudes—and got away with it, because they were like, “We can’t hit a girl!”

We’re seeing more and more gender-blind and color-blind casting in New York theater. Why is that important?

Because women and people of color have existed forever. We’ve been the creators of amazing art forever and we have so much to share. And it’s not that we’re finally being allowed; we’re taking the stage, taking charge of our own voices and talents. We’re showing the world that we’re not going anywhere and now we’re going to take over—not in a scary way but in a beautiful, harmonious way.

Devon, your character in I Love Dick, also defies gender classification. There’s a memorable scene in which Devon tells a female sex partner, “Suck my cock.”

Devon’s genderneutrality or genderfluidity is way more important to who Devon is. I’d never try to define it for myself with my terms, because Devon is just fucking Devon—kind of like Prince.

Have you always been an out actor?

No, I was resistant about coming out for a long time. The first time I auditioned for anything in New York City, the casting guy told me, “You’re Shane McCutcheon.” I said, “Who?” He was like, “You don’t watch The L Word?” I was all upset, because I wasn’t out yet and I thought he was assuming things. Fuck him, but he was kind of right.

What made you finally decide to come out professionally?

I was resistant to audition for lesbian roles, because I knew it was a pigeonhole. If you’re a lesbian who plays a lesbian, you’ll be the go-to lesbian forever—that’s it. I had a problem with that. But my manager said, “Do your best to represent these people and don’t play every lesbian character the same, because you know every lesbian isn’t the same person. If you do that, you’ll be doing the world a favor.” That shook my thinking about it.

I’m glad you got shaken before Fun Home.

Even then, I still didn’t want to just play lesbians. But after doing Fun Home, having women tell me they’d never seen someone like themselves on stage before, I was like, “Fuck it. This is my calling.”

Both Fun Home and I Love Dick showcased your raw sexual appeal. Are you comfortable being a lesbian sex symbol?

[Laughs] It’s a little weird, and I sometimes have to laugh when I look in the mirror, but I’m enjoying it. Because it doesn’t really come with any responsibility other than, you know, hanging out with hot chicks.

Hamlet runs through September 3 at the Public Theater in New York. I Love Dick is now streaming on Amazon.