Quotes from Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman

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

I just never wanted to be in a position where I wouldn't be able to walk down the street holding my partner's hand.

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.

I love my blackness... I love my queerness.

When you're surrounded by a world of constant lies, manipulation, and deceit, that dark energy is bound to seep into you eventually.

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.

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.

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.

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.'

My father is from Jamaica, my mother is from the U.K., but I was adopted as an infant by a really wonderful family in Alberta, Canada. What we refer to as 'Texas of the North.'

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.

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.

I knew that I wanted to primarily play queer characters.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

I am an 'other.' As a queer, biracial man who occupies and embodies many different intersections of 'otherness,' I've spent my entire life seeking reflections of myself in the world around me to connect and relate to.

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.

I think that Linda Perry is such a beautiful example of strong female representation in the industry.

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.

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.

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.