Nickelodeon actor comes out as transgender: 'I can't stay silent'

Updated

Actor Michael D. Cohen, who plays the lovable genius Schwoz Schwartz in the hit Nickelodeon series “Henry Danger” said he transitioned from female to male nearly twenty years ago.

The 43-year-old actor spoke to Time about his decision to open up about his gender identity.

“I was misgendered at birth,” the Cohensaid. “I identify as male, and I am proud that I have had a transgender experience — a transgender journey.”

He had already shared the revelation with his colleagues on the set, and now he felt the need to come out publicly, worried about the current political climate in the nation.

“This crazy backlash and oppression of rights is happening right in front of me. I can’t stay silent,” Cohen says. “The level of — let’s be polite — misunderstanding around trans issues is so profound and so destructive. When you disempower one population, you disempower everybody."

The Canadian-born actor grew up watching “The Carol Burnett Show," and loved how television could unite people who enjoyed watching it, “regardless of whatever else is happening in that family unit.” His love turned into his life-long career, but he got his start in the business doing voice-overs and behind-the-scenes work.

“I think I loved acting so much,” he says, “that I didn’t want to do it as a woman.” He did, however, and played female roles until he transitioned in 2000.

Related: A transgender teen’s journey to transition

“In my experience, I was born male. What my body said about it was irrelevant,” Cohen says. “No matter how hard I tried, it was not up for negotiation. Believe me, it would have been so convenient if I was actually a woman.”

Chris Nowak, the showrunner for Henry Danger, told Time that nothing has changed in the set. People still see him as “Just a guy who’s real good at his job,” he told Time.

Jace Norman, who gets top billing in the show, said that the news “didn’t change anything about the high level of respect and admiration I have for the guy." He added, “it’s in the best interest of the entire world to have every type of person represented on TV.”

Before the Canadian-born actor got his part as a regular in Nickelodeon’s most watched show, he had smaller parts in shows such as “Modern Family,” “The Mindy Project,” and “My Name is Earl.”

Advertisement