Darryl Stephens Talks QPoC Representation In Hollywood

Darryl Stephens might not be a household name to mainstream America, but he’s been a familiar face to the LGBTQ community, particularly LGBTQ people of color, for over two decades. The groundbreaking series “Noah’s Arc,” which premiered on LOGO in 2005 and in which he portrayed the central and title character, a gay black man working as a screenwriter in Los Angeles and navigating love and life with his three best friends, has become an iconic moment of Black and Latinx LGBTQ representation. As a twenty-one year old gay man fresh out of college when it premiered, the series, which ran for two seasons and spawned a feature film, was the LGBTQ version of “Sex and the City” for myself and my guy friends. We’d have our whole crew over each week to watch the latest episode, titillated and delighted by the show’s openness regarding sexuality, HIV/AIDS, same sex marriage and parenting, and homophobia, to name a few of the issues the series addressed. A show featuring Black and Latinx gay men living unapologetic, open, and honest lives seemed revolutionary at that time and there really hasn’t been anything like in the twenty years since. I was honored to be able to pose some questions to a truly iconic and pioneering artist. 

Interview Chris Cali | Photo Deter Brown . Eric Raptosh

You began your career in late 1990s/early 2000s with roles on MTV’s “Undressed” and “That’s Life.” How did you navigate being a gay Black man trying to break into Hollywood at that time? Were you encouraged to keep your sexual identity under wraps for the sake of your burgeoning career? 

There was definitely a prevailing sense in Hollywood back then that any actor who wanted a real career needed to keep quiet about any homosexual leanings. I was probably more comfortable with the subject matter than most actors at that point because I had been doing queer theater for years in San Francisco. When I got to LA, I was eager to work and I wasn’t particularly worried about whether the work required me to “spill the tea,” so to speak. I just wanted to act!

Now, there’s always been this catch 22 in the business where casting directors are reluctant to call you in to read for something if you don’t already have work under your belt. So for a while, the only things on my resumé were titles like, “The Joy of Gay Sex,” and “Napoleon: The Camp Drag Disco Musical Extravaganza.” I figured there wasn’t really any point to trying to hide that stuff, but I did have an agent suggest that I come up with abridged versions of the titles that didn’t make the gay elements so obvious.

Those first few TV gigs you mentioned had me playing a clean cut, straight black kid. But my first film role was in a very gay movie called “Circuit,” (Taimak from “The Last Dragon” was also up for the role) so at the time, it seemed like I might be able to do both. That’s not exactly what ended up happening, though.

When you first began working on “Noah’s Arc,” did you have any sense of the impact the show would go on to have for the LGBTQ community, particularly LGBTQ people of color? How did working on that series affect the trajectory of your career? 

There’s really no way to predict how a show will land with audiences. We were excited about bringing something that felt fresh and authentic to queer people of color and we certainly hoped “the kids” would enjoy it. However, the initial responses weren’t all positive and for a while, we weren’t sure people would actually get what we were doing. Three episodes into the first season, though, fans started to get a lot more vocal. The big surprise for me was how many black women were into the show. You’d be hard pressed to find a more loyal and dedicated fan base than the sisters who love “Noah’s Arc.” Straight, lesbian, or otherwise, black women have been incredible about standing up and representing for what they believe in. And twitter recently connected me with a group of young, straight white dudes who were rooming together at Rutgers and got into the show while it was streaming on Netflix. Millennials… It’s been great to see all the different types of people who have been touched by the show. But the most gratifying part has definitely been hearing from the young people, the queer kids of color who didn’t believe they could fall in love or have a group of supportive, loving friends until they saw us on TV. Media representation really can change lives.

With respect to my career trajectory, most people who are familiar with my work were first introduced to me on that show. People still contact me to tell me how much the show and the Noah character meant to them. So that role was pretty definitive in the eyes of many…

Television, network or cable, hasn’t seen a show like “Noah’s Arc” before or since. Do you think that LGBTQ representation has become more conservative as it has become more mainstream? And do you think it’s easier or more difficult now for young openly LGBTQ artists trying to navigate a career in entertainment?    

I think what’s actually happened is that most of what is considered “niche” television has been relegated to streaming sites. Networks are dependent on advertisers who expect anything they put their money behind to appeal to the widest possible audience. So what’s happened since “Will & Grace” went off the air is that LGBTQ characters have been sprinkled into more mainstream shows. Shonda Rhimes has been sort of a trailblazer in the ways her shows work queer characters into stories in ways that ultimately normalizes us, which is a different approach but effective, I think. “Noah’s Arc” depicted a world that was almost exclusively gay and exclusively black. That world managed to affirm and uplift a specific population and entertain others who were open to spending time in that world, but from a marketing and advertising standpoint (in a cis-het white supremacist culture), it might not have been realistic as a long-term prospect. That said, if you go to YouTube right now, you’ll find web series like “About Him” and “The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo” as great examples of how young LGBTQ artists are creating their own content. It could be argued that they’re in a better position to tell real stories because they’re not beholden to advertisers who are squeamish about the subject matter and insisting they soften language or content. The revolution may not be televised, but it will be streaming…

I think being openly gay is still easier for cis white men in entertainment. Big surprise. But I predict more trans and non-gender binary folks of color will be making an impact as the culture adapts to our developing consciousness.

You’ve been politically active over the last couple of years. What do you think the current state of politics means for LGBTQ representation in media? Do you think LGBTQ folks working in entertainment have any responsibility to use their platform to address social or political causes? 

I’m hesitant to tell other people what their responsibilities are, because hopefully, everyone is doing what they believe they can do with what they have. That’s why I don’t believe in outing people. Everyone should feel allowed to work stuff like that out at their own pace. That said, I think artists who have the means and the inclination should feel emboldened by this political climate to be as radical and honest and loud as possible. The world seems to be trying to move us backwards and we can’t allow that to happen. We cannot disappear again simply because they’re feeling like their bigoted views have been normalized by the people who have seized the White House. We should also be diligent and deliberate about building intersectional coalitions right now. We need white people to be speaking up against xenophobia, and men to be speaking up for women’s right to choose, and queer folks to be speaking out against police brutality, et cetera. Women, people of color, queer people, poor people, disabled people, religious minorities… we’re all fighting for our lives right now. And the sooner we recognize that we only outnumber them WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER, the sooner we will be able to take our country back. They’ve been working hard to keep us fighting with each other. If we keep falling for their tired old divide and conquer trick, they will win.

In addition to acting you’re also a writer and have dabbled in music. Do you have any current projects on the horizon? 

Yeah, I’ve written a pop-musical called Hipster Sweatshop with my friends Kyle and Kurtis. We’re doing our first fully staged run (without scripts in hand) this August in Hollywood. It’s sort of a millennial “Rent” with some radio-friendly pop songs and a beautiful, racially diverse and inclusive cast. We’ll also be launching a Kickstarter campaign soon to help us shoot a short film version of the piece later this summer. I’ll keep you in the loop on that when it goes live.

I also have a couple little things I’m supposed to be shooting that I’ll talk to you about once they’re ready to be seen. I’ve been in Hollywood too long to be running my mouth about things that I’m not producing that may never actually see the light of day, you feel me?

But people can find a few of my old tracks, just stuff I did on Garageband a few years back, at darrylstephens.com/music. Don’t expect any hot producers or featured rappers. It’s all very personal and it’s all me. I’m not really a singer or a music producer, I just see writing songs as another facet of my storytelling…

You currently live in Los Angeles. Any places, parties or scenes you love to frequent?

I don’t really “frequent” anywhere these days. I try to switch it up just to keep myself interested and engaged. I’ve been here twenty years, boo. Sometimes it feels like I’ve already seen and done everything. What’s on HBO Go tonight?

Are there any rising LGBTQ actors you’re keeping your eyes on? Who would get your Tenz? 

Oh wow. Let’s see… Sampson McCormick is a young comic who has been busting his ass for years and I think he’s about to be huge. Brian Jordan Alvarez is writing, producing, and starring in his own stuff and it’s all hilarious. I think he’s already in the process of making his hit web series into a big TV show. I keep running into Laith Ashley, Isis King, and Arisce Wanzer at Hollywood events and I feel like they’re all on the verge of something huge. These are just five people I’ve run into in the last week. Hollywood is packed with kids who are busting their asses to make their mark. And I applaud them all!

Follow Darryl @DarrylStephens on Instagram