‘Henry Danger’ Actor Reveals He’s Transgender, Transitioned 20 Years Ago
Actor Michael D. Cohen, who plays Schwoz Schwartz on Nickelodeon’s live-action sitcom Henry Danger and on The Adventures of Kid Danger, said in an interview that he transitioned from female to male 20 years ago.
Cohen told Time that he was “misgendered at birth” and is coming out to advocate for a community he perceives as under fire in its struggle for civil rights.
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The 43-year-old Cohen doesn’t like the word “transgender” as a self-description. He said he finds something missing in the word. His “core being” has always been male, he said.
“In my experience, I was born male,” Cohen said. “What my body said about it was irrelevant. 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.”
The Canadian actor began to transition in his early 20s. He had been living outwardly as a female, even obtaining a few female acting roles, but then started transitioning in 2000, even as his acting career took off with roles on the TV shows Moville Mysteries, Eastwick and Talking Friends.
In 2014, he landed the role of Schwoz Schwartz on Henry Danger. He did not reveal his identity at that time but said that recent politics no longer allowed him that privilege.
“This crazy backlash and oppression of rights is happening right in front of me,” Cohen said. “I can’t stay silent. 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.
“These are my people. I belong to this group,” he added.
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