Spotlight: Scott Turner Schofield
Photographed by Olivia Hemaratanatorn.
1. Name?
Scott Turner Schofield.
2. Where are you from?
“The South.” I grew up in Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia. I call Atlanta home.
3. Where do you currently live?
Hollywood.
4. What was your first performance, and how was it like?
My first professional acting gig was an original, solo performance called “Underground Transit.” I took the audience on a ride through my exploration of gender identity as I came to understand what I knew about the topic was not a phase, but, in fact, was a reality I could live fully. I set up the audience as if everyone were on a subway train. I was someone who comes on, asks people to listen, and to help. It was raw and urgent, but also fun. The text was spoken in poems, with several costume changes done as drag numbers. I premiered it at Charis, the feminist bookstore in Atlanta, to a standing room only crowd. I then I toured the show for almost a decade around the U.S. and Europe. This was all before transgender stories were of interest to the mainstream, but the power of the piece really drew people in. I wish I could still perform it because it’s still relevant, maybe now than ever. However, my physical transition makes me not the right actor for my own story, now.
Photographed by Olivia Hemaratanatorn.
5. You are the first openly transgender man to receive an Emmy nomination for your work in “Studio City.” Tell us your thoughts and feelings about this.
Obviously, it is an honor to be chosen by my peers as having done work worthy of their praise. Because so many people, over the years, have told me that I’m “just a diversity hire”, I started to doubt my own abilities. So, this is real affirmation, and that feels great. What feels even better is that, for the first time, a transgender man is receiving recognition for acting in the Emmy Awards—Daytime or Primetime. There are several of us doing great work on screens right now, and I am elated that the spotlight is finally helping Hollywood see not just me. but all of us.
6. Tell us about your role in “Studio City.”
Studio City is a show about Sam, an aging soap opera actor. It follows him on set and in life between takes. I play Max, a transgender actor, Dr. Brantley, who costars with Sam n the soap opera. When we meet Max, he’s sharing with a transgender support group about being openly trans and a visible actor. He’s been through a lot to get there, and he’s grappling with the responsibility he feels to be visible, on behalf of his community, to help others while living his dream. His story reminds Sam of the power that being visible and having a platform has. This inspires him in his own life.
7. What is your favorite aspect of playing Max?
There’s a lot, obviously, that I bring personally to the role. Max’s story is similar to my own, so I can really enrich his life with my own, which is very satisfying acting. But, honestly, what I love the most is playing a soap opera doctor. That intense seriousness, the melodrama of it! It is so much fun. I like having fun, too, not just being serious and groundbreaking all the time.
8. Why did you want to be involved in this production?
Sean Kanan and I met on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, and he has been a true ally and friend since then. He cares about LGBTQ issues in a real way, to the point that he shares his resources and platforms to support them, when he doesn’t have to, and a lot of people don’t. That’s the kind of person, and work, that I want to give my time to.
Photographed by Olivia Hemaratanatorn.
9. Please give us some insight on your upcoming project “Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps.”
“Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps” was my third live solo performance, and we turned into a film that premiered at Tribeca; it will be available next year. I wanted to tell a full trans story, not just talk about transition. As a result, I created 127 different stories, starting at the story of my conception, telling stories about what I’ve learned about what being a man means during my whole life, and ending at wondering what will happen when I die.
In the live performance, the audience calls out numbers, between 1-127, and I’d tell maybe 6-8 stories in a night, so it’s a different show every time. For the film, we did a “best of” anthology, and there is companion content: text you can read and a podcast you can listen to. All the stories get told in their most authentic voice, and you can “choose your own adventure” as you travel through them. I’m excited to bring this epic work out into the world.
10. What are you most proud of, and why?
This is a tough question to answer. As a trans person, I’ve been told my whole life that I’m less-than a man, even less than human. Pride has been hard to come by. However, people look at my life and say I’m so brave, that I’ve accomplished so much. It seems I should be proud! I don’t know how to be proud of just surviving.
I have worked hard to survive. I’ve struggled with depression and self-hatred that come from dealing with the world’s bias against me because I am transgender. When I look back at all the time I spent trying to make my world a place I could just live in—from doing therapy and other ways of taking care of myself, to becoming an advocate and teaching others how to create a more welcoming and inclusive world for trans people. I am proud that I took action, that I bet on myself, and helped others. It is paying off for me now.
Photographed by Olivia Hemaratanatorn.
11. Not only are you an actor, but you are also a published writer, producer, and consultant. Which of these areas fulfills you the most?
Acting is my dream job. It’s the work that is endlessly compelling to me, and I feel most alive when I do it. I’m grateful for all of the skills I have developed while I waited for the world to allow me to be an actor. They’re all ways of telling stories in Hollywood, and they all help me be a better actor. Consulting is a skill I have developed because I knew I would have to help change the way the world looks at trans people if I ever wanted to get on screen. The dream is to become one of those renaissance actors who produces, writes, and has the power to tell their story to the world. I am well on my way to fulfilling that dream.
12. Do you have any actors with whom you would like to work in the future?
I could think of many names, but individuals come and go. I want to work with the best storytellers in the world, who are creating work that brings ridiculous joy and powerful empathy to the world.
13. With your experience in theatre, what was your favorite performance?
In 2018, I played the lead in a new play, “A Kind of Weather”, by Sylvan Oswald, at the Kirk Douglas in Los Angeles. I think it is a masterpiece of transgender literature. The play is deeply intelligent, fun to perform, and really playful with ideas. It lets a trans character be a messy human loving people and making mistakes. I worked closely with Sam Anderson, whom I have loved since LA BAMBA and LOST, and who is a great leader in L.A. theater. Jasika Nicole played my love interest, and I really fell in love with what a fierce, creative human she is. Rodney To is an actor I look up to and loved having conflict with onstage. I was starstruck by Sandra Tsing Loh from her NPR work, and she reduced me to tears with her performance. It was just a totally ideal experience. I wish we could run it again.
14. Do you have anyone in particular who inspires you?
Very truly, that’s my wife, Terra Naomi. She’s a fantastic singer-songwriter with a voice that is out of this world. She was the first musician to have a viral hit on YouTube that got her a record deal. She’s played Wembley Stadium and toured the world. Being a woman in the music industry, she’s had to fight really hard against discrimination, and has had so many disappointments, career-wise. Still, she just keeps going, working, and putting herself out there. She sets a high bar for me every day.
Photographed by Olivia Hemaratanatorn.
15. What do you hope to see in Hollywood of the future?
More diversity because it means more stories told more authentically and more creatively.
16. What advice do you have for aspiring transgender actors?
First, know your history. There are so many of us who have worked so hard to make a space for you, going way back. Which means, you get much more of the privilege of “just being an actor,” now—so use it! Practice and hone your craft, get really good at it. Show everybody what the fight to hire transgender actors is really about. We are amazing storytellers bringing untapped creativity and power to screens. I wouldn’t tell you to do anything I’m not doing myself, every day.
17. What are some of your hobbies when you’re not working?
I am really into relaxing. I just love to be with friends, hang out by the pool, play with my dog. I work hard, so I relax deep.
18. Tell us something about yourself that no one knows.
I am really an open book! Read my book, you’ll see …
19. What is your motto in life?
Every time I feel anxious about taking a risk, especially when I know that it will make a good story regardless of the outcome, I just say FUCK IT. It’s taken me everywhere I never knew I needed to go in life.
20. Instagram?
@turnerschofield
Article by Alison Hernon, Editor-In-Chief, PhotoBook Magazine.
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