Brian Michael Smith is an American actor and openly transgender man who has helped create greater visibility for Black trans men on television.
Through roles in series including Queen Sugar, The L Word: Generation Q, and 9-1-1: Lone Star, Smith has built a career that combines acting talent with meaningful representation.
His role as firefighter Paul Strickland on 9-1-1: Lone Star became particularly historic. Smith became the first out Black transgender man cast as a series regular on broadcast television.
Finding His Place as an Actor
Smith developed an interest in performing long before becoming widely known on television.
As his career progressed, he appeared in television series including Girls, Blue Bloods, Chicago P.D., and Queen Sugar.
His appearance on Queen Sugar became an important moment in his public journey. Smith played Toine Wilkins, a transgender police officer, and publicly discussed his own identity as a transgender man.
Rather than allowing other people to define his story, Smith became increasingly open about who he was.
Creating More Authentic Representation
Smith's experience gave him a perspective that became valuable when portraying transgender characters.
For many years, transgender men were rarely visible in mainstream television. When trans characters did appear, their stories were often focused almost entirely on transition or trauma.
Smith wanted something broader.
He wanted transgender characters to be allowed to have careers, friendships, relationships, ambitions, humor, and ordinary everyday experiences.
That philosophy became especially visible when he joined 9-1-1: Lone Star.
Making History With 9-1-1: Lone Star
Smith was cast as firefighter Paul Strickland in the Fox drama 9-1-1: Lone Star.
Paul is a transgender man, but being transgender is not the only thing that defines him.
He is also a firefighter, friend, colleague, brother, and member of the show's emergency-response team.
The casting made television history. GLAAD documented Smith as broadcast television's first Black transgender man to be cast as a series regular.
That milestone gave audiences something that had rarely been available on mainstream television: a Black transgender man appearing regularly as one of the heroes.
Helping Shape His Character
Smith has also helped make Paul's portrayal more authentic.
In an interview with The Advocate, he described discussing scenes and dialogue with the show's creative team when something did not feel realistic to the experience of a transgender man.
The writers listened and made changes.
Smith appreciated that 9-1-1: Lone Star allowed Paul to simply live his life while still making room for stories connected to his transgender experience.
That balance is important.
Authentic representation does not require pretending that someone's transgender identity does not exist. It means allowing that identity to be one part of a complete human being.
Visibility for Black Trans Men
Smith's visibility is especially significant because transgender men have historically received less representation in mainstream television.
Black transgender men have been even less visible.
Smith's presence challenges that absence.
Millions of television viewers have been able to watch a transgender man portrayed not as a joke or a temporary storyline, but as a capable firefighter who returns week after week as part of the main cast.
GLAAD has recognized the importance of Smith's work and described him as a groundbreaking Black transgender actor in television.
Proudly Living and Working as Himself
Brian Michael Smith did not have to separate his identity from his acting career.
Instead, he has used his experience to help television tell transgender stories with greater authenticity.
His career also demonstrates why representation behind the character matters.
When transgender actors participate in telling transgender stories, they can bring knowledge and experiences that help make those characters feel like real people rather than stereotypes.
Smith has become one of the public figures helping make that change possible.
Why Brian Michael Smith's Story Matters
Brian Michael Smith's achievement is bigger than being the first.
Every groundbreaking performer helps make it easier for the next person to enter the room without having to prove that someone like them belongs there.
Smith has helped audiences see a Black transgender man as an actor, firefighter character, colleague, friend, romantic partner, and hero.
For transgender men who grew up rarely seeing themselves represented on television, that visibility can carry enormous meaning.
Brian Michael Smith is proudly part of that change, showing the world that transgender men belong not only in transgender stories, but everywhere stories are being told.