Thea
You've seen it in the movies, and you've heard it on the street
Craving the affection, your blood is full of heat
They don't listen to your reasons, as original as sin
Deny all that you feel and they will bring you home again
- Melissa Etheridge, Silent Legacy
Her increasingly opinionated and insightful commentaries started gaining traction, and after one was highlighted on a much bigger channel and went viral, Thealogical blew up overnight. Suddenly Thea had a platform, which provided her part of the income to pay for schooling at the London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), as her unsupportive family offered no help. Her education led to vastly improved short films; she started to earn a reputation in the indie scene for her highly personal and relatable stories about corruption and the environment.
The WB deal turned out to be a mistake. Thea was unprepared for the hard realities of Hollywood. She struggled under the weight of producer interference, diva actors frustrated with a novice director, tight deadlines...to say nothing of a rabid fan-base ready to tear her apart if she ruined the live-action adaptation of Captain Planet with her "artsy-fartsy" style. It was too much and she walked away from the project after four months of filming.
Though the studio cited the typical "creative differences", Thea has been surprisingly transparent in interviews and on social media, even about her own failings. She wasn't out to throw producers under the bus, but neither does she pull punches. Despite this, she ruffled plenty of feathers and hurt her ability to work for the larger studios for a while. Her honesty and balanced critiques were divisive, some seeing them as distasteful or unprofessional, other finding them refreshing and insightful. Either way, she was creating buzz and keeping her name relevant...and eyes on her for her next film project.
- Social Media Presence: Thea has been a very active vlogger since she was a teenager, and very open about her life and opinions. She has grown up with YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and the rest, and is well-versed in leveraging them to her advantage in self-promotion and getting her message out there.
- Celebrity: While not necessarily the most famous face — except as "that girl from GONE" — her name has worldwide recognition, particular among movie fans, especially the indie crowd.
- Publicly Transgender: Thea has never hidden that she is a transgender woman, frequently talking about trans issues online through her own experiences. It has earned her both public support and personal attacks, but she weathers the latter with grace, at least outwardly.
- Activism: Thea feels strongly about a lot of issues and has a lot to say about them. While she primarily fights for these issues with her voice and her art, she will also sometimes show up at rallies and marches, do canvasing, attend sit-ins, etc. Her social media has more than a few videos of her getting into the face of some government official or corporate suit demanding answers for their actions or inaction. With her current celebrity status, Thea feels (and has openly stated) she has a responsibility to use her platform to shine a light on injustices still perpetrated against trans people and the broader LGBTQ+ community, as well as highlighting other trans and queer people who are making a positive impact on the world.
- Addison – He's an interesting guy. I still don't quite know what to make of him, but the glimpses I've had into his mind tell me he's someone who values intellectualism, and that's a plus in my book.
- Brandon – Brandon is...Brandon. Okay, he's a complete nob. But somehow, he's the kind of nob you actually want on your side.
- Edge – Billi was the first real friend I made in L.A. They were probably not to everyone's taste, but I found them charming. We had only really just begun to know each other, yet I miss them profoundly.
- Silas – Not at all what I expected. Silas comes across so posh...and he is. But I think his demeanor is something he chooses to wear like a cloak...or even armor. Beneath it is a man of principle and compassion. He has his faults, but he has already proven he is willing to have his biases challenged without being immediately dismissive like so many of his contemporaries.
| Played by | Tuppence Middleton |
| Concept | Idealistic Filmmaker |
| Nature | Visionary |
| Demeanor | Contrary |
| Full Name | Thea Olivia Cole |
| Pronouns | she / her |
| Date of Birth | March 22, 1996 |
| Age | 26 |
| Height | 5'7" |
| Charisma | 🔴🔴🔴🔴⚫️ |
| Wits | 🔴🔴🔴🔴⚫️ |
| Expression | 🔴🔴🔴⚫️⚫️ |
| Leadership | 🔴🔴🔴🔴⚫️ |
| Media | 🔴🔴⚫️⚫️⚫️ |
| Fame | 🔴🔴🔴🔴⚫️ |
| Merits: | Socially Networked |
| Flaws: | Cultural Other (Transgender) |
All Thea's works are produced under her production company, Asunder Films.
Feature Films
- GONE (2020) – A contemplative mystery with hints of supernatural undertones about an environmental activist (Cole) whose life is slowly being erased, set against a backdrop of a disappearing forest.
- Captain Planet (Unreleased) – A live-action adaptation of the beloved children's animated series, starring Channing Tatum in the titular role. She famously left the project after four months of filming. While Warner Bros. has tried to bring on several other directors, the project has fallen into development hell and is currently expected never to see the light of day.
- Untitled Green Architecture Project – Little is known yet about Thea's current film project, which is still in the research and writing stage, other than that it has something to do with green architecture and urban environmentalism. There are rumors that it has some sort of science fiction and/or horror elements to it.
Notable Short Films
- The Sound of Cold (2017) – Newlyweds Jessica and Maisie (Cole) are trapped at a motel when a freak snowstorm hits a rural village in Northern England. While waiting for the roads to be cleared they are forced to confront the ugliness of homophobia, climate change denial, and even their own prejudices.
- Little Stars (2018) – A young British woman with Lakota ancestry feels disconnected from the lands and culture she descended from. A Jewish teacher introduces her to his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, whose stories about forced relocation and suffering at the hands of her own government echo the voices of the woman's own ancestors.
- Thea took some backlash for this one for "cultural appropriation". Defenders pointed out that the story was inspired by the life of the lead actress. Despite the controversy (or perhaps because of it), this film is her most watched online and is generally considered her best short film. Notably, it is also one of the only short films Cole herself did not act in.
- The Choking Game (2018) – A documentary, hosted by Cole, about environmental threats in the U.K. (particularly industrial pollution) and parliamentary inaction in sufficiently regulating industries to change things.
