Brian Michael Smith

Brian Michael Smith was born in Ann Arbor, MI. He is an actor known for roles in 9-1-1 Lone Star, Queen Sugar and The L Word: Generation Q. After appearances on TV shows such as NBC's Chicago P.D., HBO's Girls, and Showtime's Homeland, Smith rose to prominence for his ground-breaking performances on television and advocacy for better trans representation in media. His role as Toine Wilkins, a transgender police officer, in Ava DuVernay's Queen Sugar (2017) on OWN launched him into a series of high-profile roles including political strategist Pierce Williams in Showtime's The L Word: Generation Q (2019) and, most notably, firefighter Paul Strickland in Ryan Murphy's 9-1-1 Lone Star (2020). With Lone Star, Smith became the first out Black trans man in a series regular role. Smith studied theatre and film production at Kent State University. Upon graduating, he began teaching and mentoring youth in filmmaking which he continued in New York through Tribeca Film Institute's Tribeca Teache