We were lucky to catch up with Morgan Sullivan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Morgan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

As a transgender actor beginning my career in 2013, there weren’t many opportunities for me. Some trans roles were being written, but a lot of them felt reductive and didn’t reflect my own lived experience. I knew that if I was able to show casting directors the work I was capable of doing outside of these roles, then I might have a chance to work on roles that felt like a better fit.

I decided to write and produce my own short film and write a role for myself as the lead. I went to college for acting, but had zero experience in screenwriting or filmmaking. I taught myself about screenwriting and wrote a 6 page script about a T4T (trans for trans) couple in a happy, healthy, loving relationship, something I hadn’t seen represented before, but was based off of my own relationship.

I hired an unprecedented all-trans cast and crew for the project, which meant that every crew member during production and post-production was in the community. Working on that project was such a special experience and showed me the possibilities for collaboration within the trans film community and the reel material from that project directly led to me booking a lead romantic role in a short film that went to Sundance and SXSW.

After seeking trans film community in other spaces and finding a lack of spaces for us, I founded the Trans Film Collective in 2022, which is a space for community-based support and encouragement for trans filmmakers and actors as we pursue our goals in the industry.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi, my name is Morgan Sullivan and I am an actor, filmmaker and transgender advocate, working on film projects addressing topics affecting the LGBTQI+ community and partnering companies to provide educational trans film screenings and speak on the importance of trans representation in media.

My interest in performing began in elementary school doing school plays, and at 6 years old I was already asking my mom how many times I’d been on stage. I began doing community theatre and followed my passion to a Theatre Performance major at Marymount Manhattan College. I’ve been auditioning and creating my own work ever since!

I am the proud founder of the Trans Film Collective, a NYC-based collective founded in 2022 focused on building community-based connection, support and encouragement among trans filmmakers and trans film actors. We offer mixers, skillshare workshops, developmental readings and screenings, writers retreats, coffee shop co-working sessions and more and have collaborated with organizations including: NewFest, Millennium Film Workshop, The Bush Films, Queer Voices Film Fest, Trans Celebration Weekend, ARRI and Baby Teeth Film Festival.

I am also an active member of Room Tone, a group founded by Alison Pill, creating practical solutions for equitable work experiences in the entertainment industry for people of all backgrounds, partnering with organizations including SAG-AFTRA and the Costume Designers Guild. As a speaker, I’ve collaborated with companies including: New York Life Insurance, Costume Designers Guild, NYC Health + Hospitals, CitiBank, SAG-AFTRA, LaMaMa Experimental Theatre Club, LiveRamp, and more.

I’ve worked on television projects, including Dickinson, HBO’s I Know This Much Is True, Broad City and Dead Ringers, as well as starring in Matthew Puccini’s Sundance-selected film, Dirty, for which I won a Special Recognition in Acting award from SXSW. I most recently starred in the feature film Something You Should Know About Me (with co-star EJ Marcus) directed by Andy Fidoten and also served as a creative producer on the project, which is in post-production and slated for a 2026 premiere.

As a filmmaker, I wrote, produced, and starred in Here With You, a romantic T4T short film directed by Noah Schamus that was produced with an unprecedented entirely trans cast and crew. Here With You screened at festivals including Frameline, Outfest, Newfest and Inside Out: Toronto and was included in GLAAD’s Trans Stories/Creators To Watch. My most recent short film Going Away (directorial debut, co-directed with Noah Schamus) premiered at Newfest and screened at festivals including TRANSlations Seattle Trans Film Festival and The Bush Films. I am currently in pre-production for my third short film, a psychological thriller based off of three different historical trans men, which I wrote, am co-directing with Andy Fidoten, and will be starring in.

I believe that accurate and thoughtful representation is key in order for the trans community to thrive, and I’m excited to continue creating work that centers trans narratives.

More information: www.morgan-sullivan.com

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a filmmaker and actor is collaborating with the rest of the crew and creative team and seeing everyone bring their talents and skills together to bring a script to life. I am also a very social person, so the energy I get from interacting with everyone fuels me through my days on set.

I love that filmmaking is such a team effort and you can see the relationships and hard work that everyone’s put into a project in the final cut. Community is so important to me and collaborating with other queer and trans creatives to tell our own stories is such a special and rewarding experience.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Support and encouragement can go such a long way in helping artists and creatives on their journeys. Feeling like you have loved ones and people in your community who believe in you can be the difference between a new project or art piece being brought into the world or never being created.

Outside of financial backing for our projects, which is so necessary and vital, there are many other ways to support: maybe you have a connection to a great location that can be used for filming, performance, pop-up gallery or screening, maybe you know a restaurant that would be able to provide food for a film crew for the day, or maybe you have an hour to read a script that your nephew is working on and can provide encouragement and feedback. All of these small acts of kindness help artists feel less alone and encourage us to keep going and creating important art that the world needs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.morgan-sullivan.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgansullivan._/?hl=en