Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman

“The more queer characters I play over my years of working as an actor, and the more I see other young artists stepping up with the same intention I have, to make space for the voices of a generation of people who may not fit the status-quo, the more it inspires me to keep going.”

“It's so important to recognize that there have been fabulous queer artists all throughout our history.”

“I never really felt like I quite fit in. Other boys were playing sports and into hunting and stereotypically masculine activities. I was always more attracted to the arts. I loved to dance, I loved to sing, and I always knew I would be an actor. I don't really know why.”

“It's important to be able to have representation for black queer women, because I feel like there's not much representation for them in the mainstream.”

“Each time I turn on my own television screen and see reflections of myself in other courageous young LGBTQ-identifying actors and artists, I know that the dream is expanding. That would not be possible without LGBTQ Pride. Celebrate yourself, and the world will catch up.”

“I love my blackness... I love my queerness.”

“Sometimes in order for change to be made in a positive fashion, we must force ourselves to look unblinkingly at painful realities and reevaluate.”

“A couple of my favorite podcasts are 'Still Processing' from 'The New York Times,' Oprah's 'Super Soul Conversations,' RuPaul's 'What's the Tee?'”

“'UnREAL' has always been provocative and bitingly honest, which makes the show what it is.”

“The history of slavery in this country has affected not only how black people see themselves, but how white people see black people as well, and the roles they're meant to play... I'm aware of it, as a person of color.”

“From the most remote of villages to the largest metropolitan cities, we, as a species, have the same internal need to be seen, heard, and validated. It is the most human of traits that I have witnessed and experienced the world over.”

“At 16 years old, I was signed to my very first modeling agency. That was my first real introduction to the entertainment industry. It really opened my eyes to a world that was available to me.”

“So many of my friends and family will go to Palm Springs as their weekend getaway destination, but when I need a break from Los Angeles, I'll head to Joshua Tree instead. There's something so magical about the energy of the Mojave Desert.”

“You can put an extra coat of paint on a jalopy, but it's still a jalopy.”

“I am a flea market junkie! Every city I go to, I'll be sure to look up when and where the biggest and best markets are nearby.”

“I feel like, for so many years in the industry, LGBT-identifying actors were told to play small or water themselves down or 'butch it up,' whether you're a male and you're only going out for straight characters because gay characters aren't being written, or you're a woman and you're told to 'femme it up' to play the leading lady role.”

“The entertainment industry is a microcosm of the real world. To be 'othered' within the industry is a reflection of where we have been cast in the outside world, existing in the margins of society for decades witnessing cisgendered, heterosexual whiteness as the clearly defined default to which we must cater.”