When you're surrounded by a world of constant lies, manipulation, and deceit, that dark energy is bound to seep into you eventually.
I feel like people are so eager and willing to accept the concept of females being bisexual and having it be a very natural thing, but as soon as a male proclaims himself as bisexual, we automatically dismiss it and say, 'No, he's just gay.'
I had examples from a very young age of gay actors or personalities coming out in late '90s and early 2000s who faced a lot of backlash and didn't have a lot of support and risked ruining their careers.
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.
Sometimes in order for change to be made in a positive fashion, we must force ourselves to look unblinkingly at painful realities and reevaluate.
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.
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.
It really is systematic oppression that is so deeply ingrained into the very fabric of American society... Shedding a light on it, in whatever way possible, is the only way to create change.
The very nature of 'UnREAL' is that we are provocative, uncensored, and brutally tactless.
I'm the type of person who far prefers a vacation filled with trips to museums and art galleries, shopping and exploring vintage flea markets, people-watching at cafes, and discovering delicious restaurants as opposed to lounging on a beach for days on end.
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.
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.
I knew that I wanted to primarily play queer characters.
You know, in this industry, being an openly queer actor or entertainer, you can play the game your way, or you can play it the industry's way. And I decided to play it my way. I played it the industry's way far too long.
As an actor, it was important to me to play gay characters because, growing up, it was something I never really saw done on television and in film, and I was questioning why there weren't more people like me.