Chaz Bono has made waves in both acting and activism, but the child of Cher and Sonny Bono has always wanted to be on screen. "I started off wanting to be an actor when I was young. I went to a performing arts high school but I became aware before I graduated that I really didn't understand how to play female parts," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2020. "I didn't know why, but I got cast as a male character in something and it was the first time I ever felt really good, like I knew what I was doing."
He went on to star in the 2016 film "Dirty" and also landed roles on "American Horror Story: Roanoke" and "American Horror Story: Cult."
"I've kind of gravitated towards playing really character-y parts like Lot," he said in 2016, referencing his eerie role in "American Horror Story: Roanoke" in an interview with Fanfest. "Not that I can't do the other stuff, it's just kind of what I prefer. I do really enjoy playing bad guys. I don't know why; it's just more fun."
In 2016, Bono said that he'd also rather stay away from playing trans characters. "At this point in my career, I've made a choice not to play any transgender characters because I just don't want to get pigeonholed in that," he said. But in 2020, he appeared as trans man Joey Funkhouser in "Curb Your Enthusiasm" in 2020. The experience, he told The Hollywood Reporter, was "uncomfortable" due to the episode's subject matter, "though I really enjoyed the process because I loved working with those guys, and it was really fun to do something that was completely different like improv." Overall, "it was a weird experience."
Bono has also had a unique trajectory towards acting because he was an activist from a young age, appearing in the 2011 documentary "Becoming Chaz," which followed his transition. For now, though, "I just want to act," he said.
In 2021, he appeared in the film "Reboot Camp," a mockumentary about two brothers who create a fake self-help group. Up next, Bono will be starring in the action-horror feature "The Bell Keeper," which does not yet have a release date but "should be a scary good time for all," per Bono's Twitter.
