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. Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Read Quote
People often ask me why I choose to primarily play queer characters, and my answer is that as a queer man, I choose to align myself with projects in which I can be of service for a purpose greater than myself: to be for an audience of queer people of color, something I didn’t have the privilege of seeing as a young man. Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Read Quote
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. Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Read Quote
I’m grateful to the creative allies behind ‘UnReal’ who are willing to stand behind disenfranchised communities of people worldwide and help to tell their stories. Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Read Quote
I watched some shows like ‘The Simple Life’ and ‘The Anna Nicole Smith Show,’ but I hadn’t really watched ‘The Bachelor’ until I was cast on ‘UnReal.’ Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Read Quote
Coming of age as a young queer man of color, it was a rarity to see any reflections of myself portrayed in mainstream media. Turning on the television or going to the movies was an escape into the imagination, yet it did not allow me a place of true connection to what I was viewing on the screen in front of me. Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Read Quote
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. Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Read Quote
Every fan interaction I have when someone tells me they can look to their television screens and see themselves reflected in me is a dream come true. Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Read Quote
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. Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Read Quote
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. Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Read Quote
