‘The L Word’ Star Is Embodying the Onscreen Representation He Needed Growing Up

The following Career Dispatch essay was written by Leo Sheng, who stars on “The L Word: Generation Q.” 

Acting was never in my five-year plan, or even my 10-year plan. I don’t think I ever really let myself dream that big, perhaps because I never saw anyone like myself onscreen. There were moments here and there, but there was never anybody like me—my whole self—onscreen when I was growing up. 

I was adopted from Hunan, China, when I was six months old. My moms raised me in Ypsilanti, Michigan, just outside of Ann Arbor. We’re mainly known for a water tower that’s a rather, um, unorthodox shape. This is where I grew up. It’s where I went to school until I was 18, where I had my first crush, where I got more scrapes and bruises than I could count from competing against the boys during recess. I had friends and a community there. But even among those people, there were times when I felt like an outsider—because I was. I think we all are in a way, simply by virtue of being individual humans with our own unique experiences. 

Fast-forward a bit to college. I was still in Michigan, but in Ann Arbor, far enough from home to experience more of myself but close enough to have breakfast with my moms on weekends. I spent three years as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan and one year as a master’s student. My studies were expansive: creative writing, film, and sociology. I wrote and directed two short films with my best friend; both were shown at the theater downtown during the annual student film festival. It was my first taste of creating storytelling for the screen.

After I graduated in 2017 and before I started my master’s program, I managed to snag my first onscreen role in an independent film called “Adam.” A casting director reached out to me on Instagram, saying they were looking for trans people to play trans characters. Oh, wait, did I forget to mention that I’m trans? Well, on we go. 

Before I knew it, I was flying to New York City for a callback. That same week, I postponed grad school and prepared to film there for the next six weeks.  

After that, I went back to school. I thought that was the extent of my film career. Then “Adam” went to Sundance, and so did I, and that’s where I met my manager. A few months later, she sent me the breakdown for Micah Lee on the upcoming revival of “The L Word” on Showtime. I auditioned without any expectation of getting a callback. But then, I did.

The last few years have been a blur. I dropped out of school, moved to Los Angeles (initially temporarily), filmed the first season of “The L Word: Generation Q,” found out we got renewed, entered a pandemic, and eventually filmed the second season. Somehow, after all of that, I’m still here, telling stories I’m immensely proud of about experiences that are inherently queer, trans, and Asian. I am playing someone onscreen whom I could’ve really used when I was younger, living a reality that wasn’t possible just a few years ago. I have to say it again, mostly because I still can’t believe it: A queer, Chinese trans man is a series regular on a network show.

I’m not quite sure what will happen next or where my career will take me. But you know what? I think I’ll let myself dream a little bigger now.