Before Johnny Sibilly was an out-and-proud star of game-changing LGBTQ+ shows like “Pose,” “Hacks,” and the “Queer as Folk” reboot, he was an actor in a class, trying to find his voice and place in the entertainment industry.
In this LGBTQ-focused course — called Act Out, in New York City, where he met now-prominent trans actors like Laverne Cox, Trace Lysette, and Jamie Clayton — his coach asked him to alternate playing Lucy and Ricky Ricardo with a Bronx accent.
The result was “very John Leguizamo vibes,” Sibilly recalls. His coach was blown away. “Why don’t you put that out into the world instead of all these masc-for-masc selfies that you’re taking?” he said, as recounted by Sibilly in present day. “What do you mean?” Sibilly asked.