The LGBT Sentinel had the pleasure of being able to interview the amazing actor and writer
Jake Graf.
LGBT Sentinel: Your films, Brace and other shorts have led to you becoming an important voice in the LGBT Community, can you take us back and tell us a little bit about yourself?
Jake Graf: I grew up in London, knowing from a very young age that I was different. As soon as I could speak I told my parents that I was a boy, but trans wasn't even really a 'thing' back then and so for most of my formative years I struggled with the weight of feeling that I was 'in the wrong body'. I became a big part of the lesbian scene for nearly a decade, working as a club promoter and in the bars, still very much aware that something was wrong. It wasn't until I spent a wonderful year living in New York in my mid twenties that I first met another trans man and finally realised that I could live a happy, normal life even though I was transgender.
Post transition my life has literally turned around: I have gone from working in dead end jobs in bars to writing, acting and directing films, I am lucky enough to work as an ambassador for several LGBT and trans charities, and I often get the chance to speak at events on a vast array of trans related issues! The contrast is staggering and I'm just thankful that I have a loving and supportive family and friends who have stood by my side throughout.
LGBT Sentinel: Brace is a personal story, was it hard for you to tell that story?
Jake Graf: Brace was pretty much my way of working through what was happening in my life at
the time. I was at the start of my transition and just learning to adjust to my 'new' identity and my somewhat altered place in society. Almost overnight my sexuality shifted rather markedly (apparently a side effect of testosterone!) and I found myself attracted to men for the first time in my life! I had a girlfriend whom I loved very much, but was no longer attracted to physically, and my whole identity was thrown into doubt. Writing 'Brace' was very cathartic and I have had literally hundreds of transguys write to me saying that the same thing happened to them, and that the film was the first time that they had ever seen themselves on screen. Much as it was a bit scary laying myself bare, it was certainly worth it!
