Leo Sheng: Hi, I'm Leo Sheng from 'The L Word: Generation Q' and
Leo Sheng: you're watching Speed Date with Xtra Magazine.
Question: When was the first time that you really felt yourself
Question: represented in the media as an Asian-American
Question: and as a trans man?
Leo Sheng: I think the first time I saw someone with my identity
Leo Sheng: on screen or knew,n was aware of that was Ian Alexander on
Leo Sheng: The OA.
Clip: (Singing) She dreams in colours, she dreams in red. Can't find a better man.
Leo Sheng: Chella Man had also booked DC Titans.
Leo Sheng: Just like the fact that there is an Asian
Leo Sheng: transmasculine person, genderqueer person, I believe is
Leo Sheng: the language Chella uses, that was really
Leo Sheng: big.
Question: Being cast to play the trans male character of Micah Lee
Question: in 'The L Word: Generation Q', did you feel a certain
Question: responsibility to reframe how trans characters
Question: are portrayed today?
Leo Sheng: You know, there's a team of writers for a reason, and
Leo Sheng: there's a group of people who make all these decisions
Leo Sheng: around the character being made and like, there's
Leo Sheng: communication with you. And like, I've talked to the
Leo Sheng: writers a lot, and so they write around my voice
Leo Sheng: to make it feel a little bit more realistic.
Leo Sheng: And even with all of these like open lines of
Leo Sheng: communication, there is for sure still pressure.
Leo Sheng: I mean, adding on to the layer being like an Asian-American
Leo Sheng: trans man, like that does come
Leo Sheng: with a sense of responsibility and obligation
Leo Sheng: to doing the best that I can.
Leo Sheng: And I think that it took me a long time to realize, and I'm
Leo Sheng: still working on this, that it's OK if it's not perfect.
Leo Sheng: Inevitably, it cannot tell every story and that
Leo Sheng: has to be acknowledged.
Leo Sheng: And I think that's what we're trying to do.
Leo Sheng: We're not trying to tell every story.
Leo Sheng: We're trying to tell one story, and people can resonate
Leo Sheng: with it, and it has to be OK that it's not representative
Leo Sheng: of the entire community. But I do see why people would see
Leo Sheng: that because it's a huge show.
Leo Sheng: It's a huge legacy.
Question: What kind of changes do you want to see in the media
Question: industry, both in storytelling, in front of the camera
Question: and behind the scenes in production?
Leo Sheng: One of the conversations that we've been having as a
Leo Sheng: community, I think, is like,
Leo Sheng: it's important and it's great to hire trans talent and
Leo Sheng: it can't stop there. Like the representation can't only be
Leo Sheng: in front of the screen. Like, I really want to see more
Leo Sheng: trans, queer, nonbinary people hired in production,
Leo Sheng: as department heads, as producers and at
Leo Sheng: like literally every facet of the industry.
Question: Who are some of your favorite trans characters in
Question: television and film?
Leo Sheng: I'm biased. I think Brian Michael Smith in
Leo Sheng: 'Lone Star' is great.
Leo Sheng: I think that we get to see
Leo Sheng: that... as a show that I think...
Leo Sheng: that is a universe in where like we see, like trans
Leo Sheng: people are really in every facet of society.
Leo Sheng: First responders.
Clip: How'd you know he was the arsonist? He had a gun.
Clip: Got lucky.
Leo Sheng: I always want to give a shout out to 'POSE.' I think that
Leo Sheng: show has absolutely revolutionized the way that media,
Leo Sheng: particularly television, on a television
Leo Sheng: level, like serial television, goes about telling trans
Leo Sheng: stories or stories of trans people.
Clip: Balls are a gathering of people who are not welcome to
Clip: gather anywhere else.
Leo Sheng: I mean, that show just in the casting, hired like
Leo Sheng: all the trans characters, are played by trans women,
Leo Sheng: and in particular, Black and Brown trans women
Leo Sheng: who get to be at the forefront of this story.
Question: What was it like working with acting legends like Jennifer
Question: Beals and like Jillian Mercado as your new love interest
Question: in Season 2 of Gen Q?
Leo Sheng: Jillian is so fun.
Leo Sheng: I was always trying to make her laugh right before, like
Leo Sheng: before they'd yell action, so we'd be a little more
Leo Sheng: relaxed. But she'd just get annoyed with me.
Clip: I got to tell you something, but you got to not freak out.
Clip: OK. Well I slept with a woman.
Clip: Sorry, sorry.
Leo Sheng: People have basically told me, you know, I wasn't, I
Leo Sheng: haven't been classically trained as an actor.
Leo Sheng: I didn't go to acting school. And people are like, "You
Leo Sheng: kind of went through a master class, being on a television
Leo Sheng: series and also acting with like Jennifer Beals
Leo Sheng: and Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey and all these amazing,
Leo Sheng: amazing actors." And it feels like that in a
Leo Sheng: way, like I'm starting to kind of finally believe it.
Leo Sheng: The therapy scene you mentioned, too, is incredible.
Leo Sheng: I mean, Rosie O'Donnell and Laurel Holloman and you know,
Leo Sheng: Jordan Hull, who plays Angie, absolutely killed
Leo Sheng: that scene. And when it wasn't on me, I
Leo Sheng: was just, I really was just taking it in, and I was just
Leo Sheng: watching like, Oh, wow, oh wow.
Leo Sheng: So it was incredible.
Question: You've gotten to work with so many amazing people through
Question: 'The L Word.' Who would you love to collaborate with
Question: next?
Leo Sheng: I'm a huge fan of Emma Thompson.
Leo Sheng: That would be cool.
Leo Sheng: I'd also really love to work with Sandra Oh some day.
Clip: I'm going to find the thing you care about
Clip: and I'm going to kill it.
Clip: What advice would you give to your teenage self?
Leo Sheng: Teenage Leo had no idea what was gonna happen in his
Leo Sheng: life. 25-year-old Leo still has no idea what's going to
Leo Sheng: happen, but I do think
Leo Sheng: I would want him to keep on the path that he's on.
Leo Sheng: Thanks for watching Speed Date.
Leo Sheng: You can catch me on Instagram @ileosheng or Twitter.
Leo Sheng: And stay tuned for a few fun surprises in the next few
Leo Sheng: months!