At that time, I was trying to figure out what my identity was and roles became more gendered, it was a little bit more challenging for me to stay with the acting. When I got to high school and college, I was more involved in athletics then I was in acting. I’ve been acting since I was a child doing church plays and stuff like that. Tell us a bit about your acting career thus far. I started training professionally about six years ago, really learning the craft and being really dedicated to making a profession out of my desire to act, and I feel like this is one of the first roles that is really hitting my interests as an artist and as a person. I’ve had really good experiences with my career so far. Do you consider this your big debut?īrian Michael Smith: In a lot of ways I do. NBC Out contributor and transgender advocate Tiq Milan had a chance to chat with Smith about his budding acting career, his coming out and being a model of possibility. Many transgender actors in Hollywood have been pushing for trans folks to also be cast in non-trans roles, and Smith sets the example that they can do just that - and do it well. Smith has appeared on 'Girls,' 'Blue Bloods,' 'Law and Order' and in a Toyota commercial as cisgender (non-transgender) male characters. Actor Brian Michael Smith, who appeared on a recent episode of 'Queen Sugar,' has come out as transgender. Actor Brian Michael Smith, who used this character as his vehicle to come out as transgender, has been acting professionally for the last five years and hadn’t disclosed his gender identity until this moment. On Wednesday, viewers of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) show got to watch the debut of Toine Wilkins, a transgender police officer and high school friend of the show's principle character, Ralph Angel. She brings complex characters and nuanced stories to all her projects and is willing to push us to think bigger about the diversity of the black experience in America. Ava DuVernay’s show ' Queen Sugar' has been critically acclaimed as one of the best dramas on TV.

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