LGBT Actors Hollywood | Deon Griffin on Queer Identity on Screen

Meet Deon Griffin

Omaralexis Ochoa: Today I want to introduce you to Deon Griffin. He is a young actor, writer, and director based in Los Angeles with experience in commercial shoots as well as in writing and directing productions of his very own. Born in Michigan, Deon came to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and television but also works as a model having posed for fashion brands like Hollister.

He is a gay man passionate about empowering others in the LGBT community, but also about elevating discussions on the importance of intersectionality in the film industry and the queer community.

Deon thank you so much for joining me.

Deon Griffin: My God, no, thank you for having me on.

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Getting Started & Early Influences

Omaralexis Ochoa: Yeah. So for context, everyone, this has been with a few technical difficulties, a bit of back and forth, but really thankful to have Deon on today. So, how's your day gone?

Deon Griffin: It's going well. I was able to sleep in this morning, which is kind of rare sometimes, um, you know, it was just nice to relax on this mildly depressing day on social media, also known as Valentine's Day.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Valentine's Day, we're spending our time on a podcast interview.

Deon Griffin: Exactly, I mean, make moves.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Yeah, the hustle number stops. So just as some context, you're an actor, a director, a writer, you've undoubtedly touched so many different productions, whether they're your own or productions of others. So the first question I'd want to start with is around acting. Have you always wanted to be an actor?

Deon Griffin: Um, no, actually, it didn't really come into fruition for me until middle school, but my game plan was always tennis as I started when I was three to four years old. My kindergarten had like extracurriculars, you know, when you're a kid, you always do different sports that your parents try to dabble you in. Like I did: tennis, swimming, soccer, baseball, basketball, like everything.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Totally masc.

Deon Griffin: I don't know how good I was. I thought I was good at baseball, but I guess not. I don't know. But tennis was the one that stuck around for me until I stopped playing when I was 18. So I call that retirement. Because I feel like anything over 10 years, you should be able to retire.

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From Tennis to Theater

Omaralexis Ochoa: So you were you were on track to become a tennis star. What what shifted your interest?

Deon Griffin: When I started doing theater. At first, when I was in middle school, it was a little bit more casual. As I was balancing the spring musicals with all the tennis tournaments I was doing at that time, which was always a huge conflict because the biggest tournament of the year in Michigan is always in May. And that determines your eligibility for the Midwest Close, which is played in Indianapolis, which can determine going back to — there's a higher up tournament — and then that determines going to the US Open. That's the biggest tournament of the year. And at first it was a conflict, my dad was just always on Team Tennis. He was not for theater at all.

If I had to miss rehearsal, I had to do that. Like there was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. But it wasn't until my junior year in high school.

The tennis season had just ended in October and my theater director who I was super, super close with in high school, he came up to me literally a day after the season had ended and he's like, “So I have a problem and I think you could fix it." I'm like, "what's up?" And he's just like, “So somebody dropped from the show," which the show for that fall was The Addams Family.

And he was just like, "there's a hole in the show and would you like to be in the show?" And mind you, this is on Wednesday, opening night was that following week on Thursday. So I said yes, because I wasn't about to say no in that situation. And I attended rehearsal that day and literally learned all my choreography in four hours for that show.

So I think with that, was kind of a trusting and a breeding ground for me as a performer and a dedicated student going forward. And that really, I think, enhanced my passion toward everything. And I was just like, wow, like this is something that I definitely need to put myself into, granted the experience coming before that. I was just like, no, this is something that I think is meant to be my career now.

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Writing, Directing, and Creative Preferences

Omaralexis Ochoa: So you were fortunate enough to find that out early on, relatively speaking, to a lot of people that maybe figure things out a little later in their life. So at which point did you decide to also take on writing and directing and do you prefer one or the other over acting?

Deon Griffin: Ooh, I started writing probably my freshman year in high school. It's this TV drama called “Gone." It was inspired to me, because at that time, I always watched TV dramas. At that time, I was deeply inspired by ABC's Desperate Housewives, Freeform, prior to -- ABC Family, Pretty Little Liars.

Omaralexis Ochoa: That's a horrible show, but I love it.

Deon Griffin: Those shows really had a hold on what I wanted to create going forward and I wrote that show probably until I was a senior in high school. Just kept reshifting it, re-writing it, learning more and even when I moved out here, a friend of mind were going to produce a pilot of it. Closed the book that one.

In terms of writing versus directing, I love both of them equally, but sometimes I feel like I can't do both of them at the same time, which is conflicting with the way that the modern TV industry works.

Because most of the time the show runners, exec producers, and writers are all in the same crew. And they do hire directors to come in and out episode by episode. But they make all of the calls. They determine what works, what doesn’t, even in the moment. Especially like if you go to sitcom showings.

It's a weird complex, but for me, I would prefer writing. It's so much more creative to me and I can really establish the foundation of a show or feature. I mainly like writing for TV. But for me, there's just so much more creative ground versus directing. Because directing sometimes there's that gray area of trying to go with writer's intent versus your own creativity, so sometimes that could be a block.

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Acting, Modeling, and Career Development

Omaralexis Ochoa: Gotcha. So you've mentioned a couple of productions already. You mentioned one that you wrote, “Gone," as well as a production of The Addams Family that you were in very early in your career. What are some of your favorite projects to-date that you've either been in or written on or worked on otherwise?

Deon Griffin: So more recently, what is airing for me right now is an ad campaign for Clean and Clear. Besides being in The Addams Family, which is my favorite musical to date that I've been in, the Clean and Clear shoot was very diverse in the sense that it was about me and another girl who are both very ethnically ambiguous.

I've never really been on a shoot or cast in a role that's so celebrated for skin tone, hair type, imperfections. And a lot of that stuff are things that I'm very insecure about as a creator and a performer in the industry. To be celebrated for that and to see myself on their Instagram, it's just very surreal.

Omaralexis Ochoa: It's funny that you mentioned Clean & Clear. I actually work for the parent company of Clean & Clear. I actually sit right near a lot of the people that probably worked on this shoot. A lot of the initiatives that they put out are very oriented around "real beauty" and aspiring towards more of a younger audience. People in tune with loving who they are.

Deon Griffin: Such a small world out here.

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Self-Expression, Brand Work, and Breaking In

Omaralexis Ochoa: Aside from the shoot, that's more in your modeling career, correct? I'm sure many of the lines like blur together in this space. But tell me a bit about your modeling — know you've shot for Clean & Clear as well as Hollister and other things. What do you enjoy most about that?

Deon Griffin: I think it's for me, it's a form of self-expression. In addition with being in images used by Hollister Abercrombie, I also have worked for them — the company in-store — since 2015. And in Michigan at that time, I have always been a very like SoCal kid. Like I knew I was going to move here.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Even then, you were a California boy!

Deon Griffin: Yeah, at heart. And I think I was fortunate enough to actually get recruited into the store because back in the days of Hollister that people tell like horror stories about, right. You were recruited in or sometimes you would apply, get hired in as a model. That was the technical position in-store as well. But I just loved working in store, the vibe just being so social and free, I aligned myself with the brand. And so as I started doing more shoots and when I moved out here, I was able to thoroughly express myself into that type of imagery on my Instagram. And that's essentially like the vibe of my Instagram. It's just a very endless summer, always having fun vibe.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Gotcha. And you mentioned having worked in store and everything. I'm sure that also provided a foundation for you to move out to LA and not struggle financially, which is oftentimes one of those things that people face moving out here to pursue their dreams — struggling to reconcile the day job with the auditions and things like that.

How do you find opportunities for modeling or for acting? Walk me through the process. I myself don't know much about it.

Deon Griffin: Yeah, so, like you had said, I was fortunate enough to be with the company. And as I moved out here, I was able to transfer stores. I was able to maintain my day job. As soon as I moved out here, which was June 2016, I went straight into film school where I started dabbling more into different areas of film versus just performance art, I suppose. And then that August - September, I want to say I started putting myself more out there on platforms like Backstage, LA Casting.

Nothing really came back besides like some small Indies and stuff on Backstage, but it wasn't really anything substantial at that time where it would pay me enough So I still kept shopping myself around trying to find a way how I can package myself. Then an agent, whom I'm still repped by— reached out to me through LA Casting. They looked at my profile, my resume, headshots, etc. and they called me in for a meeting. I went in and they offered me representation on the spot. So, I guess I'm one of the more easier stories in a sense, but I'm very grateful to have been with that same agency since 2016, commercially. So I get most of my breakdowns through her, my current agent and she submits me for both print, ad, and commercial. Now I have a talent manager who submits me directly for TV, film, theater.

Most of my jobs and bookings have all come through them and things that they spend their time submitting me for.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Got it. So through your time working with this agency, what are some of the more interesting people that you've gotten to work with? Anybody that I might know?

Deon Griffin: I'm trying to think. Okay. My first commercial that I booked was a Samsung Galaxy commercial that was for the Emmys. There's this indie band — I don't know, I don't know who they are -- but I knew they were someone, which is the common like LA thing. I really wish I knew their names, but we were at completely different locations. But I know there was somebody in that commercial. But in terms of things that I've been cast in, there's no one notable, but as a first ad I have been fortunate enough to work with people such as Richard Lawson, who's a major acting coach in Los Angeles.

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LA Lifestyle

Omaralexis Ochoa: Yeah, no worries. I know that working in the film space in Los Angeles, oftentimes if you don't work with the more notable talent, you just run into them. What was your first LA celebrity spotting?

Deon Griffin: That I like flipped out about?

Omaralexis Ochoa: Yeah, I feel like everyone that comes to LA has like a Hollywood moment where they run into someone just in the wild.

Deon Griffin: So there's two: Back in fall 2016, I was at the Pink Mall and Kylie Jenner walked past me. And then two, I was walking out of Ralph's near where I live and Tina Knowles, Beyonce's mom, is literally in her Range Rover and like driving in front of me. And that's probably like the two where.

Bause I immediately knew it. I was just like — look to the right. I was just like, let me make sure this car isn't going to hit me. I looked at it like that, and there were a lot of things running through my head in that moment. I was just like, do I perform for her? What do I do? I was like, I need to meet my mother Beyonce. Like, those are the two, most definitely, that I've been like, wow. Okay.

Omaralexis Ochoa: The only celebrity sightings that I've had since coming to LA — and I'm sure there's more, just drawing blanks — but the first sighting that I had out in the wild was at a photo gallery in Hollywood. It was an artist, his name's Luke Fontana. He photographs a lot of celebrities. So I go to go to one of his galleries and obviously he shoots all these celebrities and he's very close friends with them. It was a little bit of a star-studded event. I got to get in and I saw Keegan Allen, if you're familiar wth him, he's from Pretty Little Liars.

And at that time I was just binging Pretty Little Liars and watching the entire show. So I'm like, "oh shit, like that's Toby right there." That was kinda fun. As well as one of the members of Pentatonix — the blond one was there. And I didn't actually know who he was until my friend who I was with pointed him out and whispered in my ear, "oh, that's that person." And I'm like, "oh cool."

And then I guess the most notable person that I got to not run into, but sort of share the same space with, was Adam Lambert. He made an appearance very briefly. So yeah, it's always fun when you just run into random celebrities, but you gotta keep it cool, especially if you're living in LA.

Deon Griffin: To like play it cool, especially if you're at the same event as them. Yeah. And it's just like, I don't know if I should say anything.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Yeah, like should I mingle? Like do I mention that they're famous? Because they already know that they're famous.

Deon Griffin: Yeah, like I was at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards on the floor and in my row was the Fuller House cast. Behind me was The Fosters and in front of me was Shadowhunters. So I was heavily conflicted in that moment. I was just like, I don't know if I should talk to anyone. I mean, but I did. Did you watch The Fosters? The two main moms, Sherri Saum and the other mom — they sat right behind me. Sherri Saum is the sweetest person that I've ever talked to, and yes, that gives me faith for humanity, honestly.

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Seeing Yourself On Screen

Omaralexis Ochoa: That's awesome. Definitely need to do some more celebrity spotting. On the topic of spotting people, do you ever find it weird to spot yourself in an ad or on a poster or something?

Deon Griffin: Yeah, 100%. It hasn't really set in recently for me until Clean & Clear. But seeing myself in the Honda Pilot commercial as well as for the Samsung Galaxy commercials that are currently out — it didn't feel like a thorough accomplishment. I guess that's why I'm maybe not giving myself the praise and valuing my work in that way.

Whenever I see it, it does shock me. Because with the Clean & Clear thing, I didn't know when it was airing at all — same thing with the other two. I was just scrolling through my Instagram and I was like, wait a minute. And I think for me, that was a pivotal moment in my career to start loving more of my work and seeing myself, because I'm like, this isn't going anywhere. I'm in this for the long haul.

Within pilot season and episodic this past fall, I've been in for some really fantastic shows. My work has grown. I've grown a lot as a person. My tapes have gotten so much better. There are two tapes now where me and my management have agreed these are my best tapes yet. I'm able to watch them and be moved by my own performances — not in a narcissistic way — but by understanding what's working for me versus trying to be something that I'm not.

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The Harsh Reality of Casting

Omaralexis Ochoa: Do you ever find it difficult to navigate the industry — whether it's film, auditions, or modeling — being an intersectional person yourself, a gay person of color?

Deon Griffin: Yeah, it is hard. Obviously, I don't go in for straight roles. I mean, I don't mind, but once you hear me speak, it's not really believable. I tend to go in for characters where their sexuality is either not clarified, or they are homosexual, bisexual, or under the umbrella term queer.

Omaralexis Ochoa: So sidebar — is that something that gets clarified in a character breakdown? Like, this character is gay, straight, etc.?

Deon Griffin: Well, actually, it's really funny because they'll clarify if they're gay, but they won't clarify if they're straight. I mean, that's usually just how it is. It will be in the breakdown, especially if it entails same sex situations — that's something that they've been there and nudity. I'll be like, “Hi, my name is Deon Griffin. I'm read by so-and-so. And yes, I'm OK with same-sex situations and blah, blah.” But yeah, that's something that will appear in the breakdown in terms of their sexuality. Usually, they'll keep it all ethnicities. However, when I usually go into the room, it'll be either people that are light-skinned like me or just diverse people.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Gotcha. And you said that's not usually clarified, it's usually all ethnicities, correct?

Deon Griffin: Yeah, they usually will say all ethnicities unless it has to be specific.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Like if it's something historical or...

Deon Griffin: Yeah, I'm recently like my team was getting me in for a show that is predominantly black. So in the breakdown, it says like African American or they'll list like I I'm just classified as ethnically ambiguous. am whatever they want me to be on the day. Like I've been called in for like half Japanese half black, Native American, Hispanic, Hispanic, Afro Latino.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Would you say a lot of the decision making is based on how you look and how they perceive you?

Deon Griffin: Yeah, that's honestly how it goes down sometimes. It's so strict, especially in the commercial industry. It can come down to literally a look, a shade. For the Honda commercial, we were an interracial family. And the casting was pretty spot on. I looked halfway between who played my mom, and she was Latina, and a guy that was black, from England.

And so, all the kids -- me and my sister in the commercial — she was also lightskin like me and we looked very similar. So casting was really on spot with that. but yeah, it's really weird sometimes.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Yeah, no, I would imagine. I definitely don't know how it would feel going into what is — for all intents and purposes — a job opportunity, having it be really based on how you look versus what you can do. Ultimately, acting is one of those very unique industries in that you can be an incredible actor, but if you are not a truthful representation of say historical figure, you cannot play that role.

Deon Griffin: Yeah, the role just isn't for you. And it can really turn you against your own self. Sometimes at the end of the day, if you really get into your head about it — and that's something that I had to stop years ago because it would degrade me in my own self-esteem. It's just all subjective.

Me and a friend of mine were both in for the show called Deputy that's coming out soon. And we both didn't book. And the reason that they didn't book him is because he already looked too similar to the guy that would be playing the friend in a sense. And so they can't have the same thing in that. And like last year, I was also in for High School Musical, the series that's on Disney Plus right now for Sebastian, and it was between me and I want to say two to three other guys and super happy for the kid that booked it. I didn’t. I haven't watched the show thoroughly but I think it was just also a matter of diversity reasons in terms of that casting. That's just my conclusion. That's honestly what it can come down to at the end of the day — and then it's just, you can't really beat yourself up about it.

For me, it's easing in the sense too. At the end of the day, I did everything that I could in that room. And if they don't want to book me, that's on them. I already know there's another project for me out there, so I can just wipe my hands clean and move on. If at the end of the day, if it's just coming down to a look, there's nothing that I can do about that. So I've just kind of found that freeing ease in that.

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Intersectionality & LGBT Identity

Omaralexis Ochoa: We've talked about your intersectionality and how that comes into play in the room. I kind of want to expand a little bit on you being a gay person in the film industry. Do you ever get to work on any projects or do any sort of work that more directly benefits the gay community?

Deon Griffin: The last project that I worked on that completely went through was called From Zero to I Love You, who has Richard Lawson. And then the guy that stars in it is Daryl Stevens. I don't know if you know him?

Omaralexis Ochoa: No, I'm not familiar with him.

Deon Griffin: Okay, he's been in a bunch of like LGBTQ films and fantastic guy, fantastic actor. And that film in its essence is — the character that Daryl Stevens plays -- lives in Philadelphia and he has a history of getting involved with married men and his parents want him to start settling down. But instead he finds a man, Jack, who is white, who is 15 years into a perfect marriage that has, he already has two kids in that marriage.

Working on that film, it gave me hope in a way for what the future can hold. This is a film that I honestly wish I could have seen maybe 10 years ago, 5 years ago? To know that things can work out relationship-wise for us.

And then after that, in its beginning stages, Trick 2, the sequel to the original Trick movie directed by Jim Fall. And in that movie, it's Tori Spelling, Miss Cocoa Peru — who's a fabulous drag queen -- and then Christian Campbell.

Both of those in combination, I think are so forward to me in giving my contribution back to the LGBTQ community and just trying to bring so many stories to life.

I can't wait for the day that I'm able to play a role where I might be able to move somebody in terms of giving them the representation that they deserve.

Whether it be black, mixed, anything on that side of the spectrum and gay and the whole queer community. Like I want to be able to give someone what I wish I would have been given.

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Closing Thoughts

Omaralexis Ochoa: Very well said. Thank you. Those were all the questions I had for you, but is there anything that you want to impart to the audience? Some last words?

Deon Griffin: I think if we take things one day at a time, it'll help us live more in the moment versus getting so caught up in projects to come and things that we have to get done. And after I've started practicing gratitude and just really coming back to what I'm grateful for and just listing three things, it just brings me back to such a grounded space.

And that's the only thing that I would hope for somebody that's really going through something. It's just really, to look at your purpose and your reasons for being here. And I think there's so much to explore in that space.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Yeah, I think that's a fantastic piece of advice, especially for people who are in your same industry, looking for different opportunities and sort of struggling to find something that either represents them or is something that they're able to pursue and do well in. (Barring everything else that you mentioned about how the industry operates.) Sometimes it's really just down to a look can really start to feel a little bit hopeless. Having that type of gratitude and focusing on your purpose, I think is a very good way to put it.

So you mentioned "three things,” as one last question: What are your three things that you look to as reasons for your being here?

Deon Griffin: My best friends, they always come for to me — that's my family. Family doesn't always have to be blood. First my best friends, then I always go through my family, which I'm super grateful for. I would not be able to live the life that I do in Los Angeles without my support from them. And then my team — my management, my agency, and anyone else that has supported me in any aspect of my career i. I’m super thankful for them and those are the three that I always go through.

Omaralexis Ochoa: Awesome. Well, thank you, Deon. was excellent having you on the show. I'm very, very thankful to have you on.

Deon Griffin: Thank you. Thank you so much.

Inside Hollywood Careers: Deon Griffin on Acting, Identity, and Ambition

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