Michael D. Cohen may be best known for playing Schwoz Schwartz in the Nickelodeon series Henry Danger, which he currently reprises in the hit spinoff Danger Force, but outside of his work on the small screen, he is a passionate trans experience advocate.
In 2019, the actor collaborated with GLAAD on a piece for Time Magazine, where he openly discussed his identity. Cohen admits that he felt he was assigned the wrong gender at birth and decided to embrace his male identity, which aligned with his core being and essence.
Naturally, he was worried that his trans experience may hinder his career ambitions, but fortunately, that did not seem to be the case.
Cohen has partnered with Nickelodeon for the Michael D. Cohen Trans Youth Acting Challenge, which gave transgender and nonbinary kids an opportunity to showcase their acting talent and audition for the network’s casting team, and he has demonstrated his talent behind the camera by directing five episodes of Danger Force, including “Manlee Men,” which he co-wrote. The episode received a GLAAD Media Award nomination in the “Outstanding Kids & Family Programming” category.
Instinct caught up with Cohen to talk more about his career and advocacy, as well as embracing his truth and creating opportunities for young actors and writers of the trans experience. Check out the full video interview below.
Michael D. Cohen…
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