Дэниел Си: Жизнь, творчество и путь к самоопределению

American filmmaker, actor, and musician

Daniel Sea (born July 26, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor and musician. They rose to prominence through their role as Max Sweeney on Showtime's drama series The L Word. Sea (he/they) is a trans non binary actor, musician and artist who has worked in film, theater, TV, and the fine arts. They played the first recurring transmasculine role on television, appearing from 2006 2009 as Max in Showtime's The L Word. In 2022, they reprised the role as Max for the current iteration of the L Word: Generation Q. They acted in films such as John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus, and Barbara Albert's film .

Daniel grew up in Malibu, California, raised by hippie parents. When their father came out as gay, their mom was understanding and accepting. In an article in LA Times Sea noted that when they left LA for the Bay Area, as many queer and trans people did in the pre internet early ‘90s "[they] found a community in punk that helped [them] become a working artist at the age of 19, touring internationally with an East Bay punk band the Gr’ups, and organizing with both the Gilman Street and Q TIP, Queers Together in Punkness, collectives." Sea traveled all over Europe and Asia. They hitchhiked through Turkey, did some street theatre, and performed as a fire juggler with a traveling circus in Poland. As a punk rocker, Sea and their band often performed in drag. At one point in their world travels, they lived in India for eight months as a man. They had always been gender non conforming in some way or another, being called a "tomboy" or "weird" as a child. Since moving more fully into the punk scene, Daniel was given the freedom to experiment and come to a greater understanding on their gender. In 2006, they said about their sexuality:

But I don't believe that gender is just binary, and I never have, so that's what pulls me to sometimes politically identify as a [dyke], because I'm a feminist, and I feel like women are still so oppressed. I don't feel like we've come that far. But I also feel like there are people all along the spectrum, so in that sense, I feel like I would be more bisexual or just, you know, open ended. In a May 2021 interview with Drew Gregory, Daniel expanded upon their journey with gender. They talk about the beginnings of the language for non binary identities and how they had to navigate that while playing a trans character, Max Sweeney, in the TV series The L Word. Sea later clarified their identity as trans, non binary, gender expansive, and queer. They have also added the pronouns he/they to their bio on Instagram.

After Sea returned from Europe, they moved to New York City and decided to re enter the acting world, giving an audition tape to a friend who worked on The L Word'''s writing staff. Sea then got a call at their restaurant job in New York and was asked to fly to Los Angeles for an audition. Besides The L Word, Sea's filmography also includes the films Shortbus'' (2006)

In their most recent work as a conceptual artist Sea works through language, music and memoir in a practice that is expansive, crossing several mediums. In 2018 Sea co created a decolonial theater piece with Marissa Lôbo and Jota Mombaça collaborating with Brazilian artists Ani Gonzala, Juliana Dos Santos and Indigenous leader Sônia Guajajara. Sea is co writer, producer and songwriter on“La La La Little Shows”, a decolonial children’s sci fi series, which includes animation, music performance, narrative storytelling and interviews with artists. This show centers BIPOC and Queer characters and artists.