Sunday, July 16, 2017

'Queen Sugar' Actor Comes Out As Trans Masculine

The critically acclaimed Ava DuVernay produced show Queen Sugar on OWN, debuted on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) on September 6 for a thirteen episode run and was renewed for a second season that started on June 20.

The show is garnering an ever increasing audience with its diverse and complex characters, is based on the 2014 debut novel of the same name by Natalie Baczile, and tells the story of a woman who unexpectedly inherits a struggling Louisiana sugar cane farm.

Queen Sugar was nominated for five NAACP Image Awards, and won the Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing In A Dramatic Series one.

One of the characters on this show, Antoine 'Toine' Wilkins, recently debuted as the high school friend of major character Ralph Angel Bordelon, played by Kofi Siriboe.

Ralph protected Toine from the bullies during their high school days, and Toine feels a sense of loyalty to him as a result.  We'll see how this plays out during the rest of the Queen Sugar season two.

Brian Michael Actor, Actor Brian Michael
Toine is a trans masculine cop, and you know I and a whole lot of trans people inside and outside of Hollywood have complained about cis actors playing trans roles.

Interestingly enough, Brian Michael Smith, the actor who plays Toine, has recently come out as trans masculine.   Tiq Milan interviews him here.  

Smith has been performing since childhood, but acting professionally for five years.   He has played cisgender roles prior to this announcement.  He was also in this Toyota commercial featuring Eli Manning.  He's also appeared on the shows Detour, Girls, Blue Bloods and Law and Order : SVU

Smith is hoping not only to bring more authentic trans characters to life on screen and stage, he also wants to play a wide variety of trans and cisgender roles.

Have another show I need to watch and support when I have time to do so.

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