The Amazing Graf: His Life, His Work (continued)…

LGBT Sentinel: Is homophobia different in America and the UK? What's been your experience?

Jake Graf: I'm lucky in that by and large, I have escaped the sharper edge of homophobia, although like most LGBT folk, I have experienced verbal taunts and abuse, but that much I can take.

I think that in the UK there is more of a culture of tolerance, and more legal protection against things like racial hatred or homophobia, but whilst that's great in theory, a lot still happens beyond the reach of the law, sadly. I think the common misconception is that homophobia is the reserve of the smaller towns and suburbs, away from the safety of the big cities, but hate crime happens in London's gay epicentre, Soho, much as it happens on The Castro in San Francisco. There will always be people that are scared of us, and want to hurt us, but I do believe that minds are slowly opening and will continue to do so until queer folk are no longer seen as a threat, and are allowed to simply love who they want to love, and be who they need to be.

LGBT Sentinel: How has visibility towards transgender actors changed in recent years?

Jake Graf: I think visibility has changed only in that before we just weren't on screen full stop, and now we are starting to be seen in mainstream feature films, award winning series and chat shows. The change has been astounding and seemingly overnight! Previously, trans characters(and never played by trans actors!) were the butt of the joke, the 'freak' in the tale, or the victim of a horrific crime, with more often than not the implication that the character's fate was 'deserved' as punishment for having dared to challenge nature. Now we have the inimitable Laverne Cox as a lead in a highly regarded series, the stunning cast of 'Transparent' winning various awards and over here in the UK trans actors starting to appear in tea time soap operas. Times are definitely changing!