32-year-old Jack Haven had one very specific fear: that coming out as trans would mean the end of their career. The actor became known for their roles in Atypical, I Saw the TV Glow, and Adolescence, Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.
They had identified as nonbinary since 2019, but deep down they knew that label also served as a refuge. Everything changed when they starred in I Saw the TV Glow in 2024, directed by Jane Schoenbrun, a role that forced them to look at themself head-on. “All of this helped me say: ‘Yes, I am trans.’ I think I was afraid to say it before, because I was still clinging to the idea that I needed to be able to play girls”, they said in an interview.
Today, that film has earned them nominations for the Gotham Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the Dorian Film Awards. But the real prize, Haven said, was something else: “I am excited to give myself the gift of being an out trans person”.