Actor JJ Bozeman is a Proud Snowflake

Life as a young, gay, Filipino actor in New York has been challenging, but JJ Bozeman is showing the world that he is one to look out for.

In 2018, he made his feature film debut in Jack Tracy’s acclaimed LGBTQ political thriller, Snowflake. A fictional story that depicts the fear of a nation when a Trump-like politician is suddenly thrust into the White House, the film centers around Bozeman’s character Ethan. As this new administration increases nationwide panic, Ethan is forced to choose the best way to protect his friends and the LGBTQ community.

Snowflake is a film that millions can relate to, especially since the 2020 Presidential Election is right around the corner. It began streaming on Vimeo in August.

OUT FRONT had the opportunity to talk more with Bozeman about the film, how playing Ethan hit close to home, his passions for acting and social advocacy, and why he is proud to call himself a snowflake. Hi, JJ! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me. How are you doing during these unprecedented times?
Like everybody else, I am taking it day by day. It is like a new challenge every day. Early on, it was getting over boredom and trying to make sure that I felt stimulated enough, then with more current events going on, it was kind of reacting to the social climate and having a firm stance on the systematic racism and understanding what my role is within the movement to fight racism. Then there is also the current event of the pandemic itself and trying to figure out what precautions I need to take. So much has been going on that boredom hasn’t been part of the problem now. I have no choice but to have my hands full.

Yes, I saw you have been focusing on the Black Lives Matter movement. Have you always been involved with social justice advocacy?
It was something that I thought about. I have been in New York for about five years and I was around for Eric Garner’s death and had exposure to that happening, I had witnessed Black Lives Matter walking down streets for different instances of police violence. After George Floyd was murdered, this was my first time participating in a more direct and active way and also putting a lot of effort into engaging with other people. I have Instagram and Facebook, but my Facebook is a little bit different. I grew up in Georgia, so I am friends with a lot of peers, friends, and family members, and the exposure to different events and perspectives are kind of completely alien to them in some ways. So, Facebook has become a platform for me to talk about a perspective that they are not seeing, and they contribute to me by giving me the perspective that I am not witnessing in Georgia.

I have been pretty active on Facebook as far as like conversing with people that I disagree with and such. Then the marching and everything, it is a rare opportunity within this pandemic. I got laid off and being unemployed is crazily an opportunity to focus on things besides paying the bills. It is also opening my eyes and a lot of people’s eyes to the ways that having a society with a capitalist economy, it really does a good job of distracting us from values and making sure that we put so much attention on capital rather than humanity. My eyes are open to that, and it took all of that for me to find that it is important to be active in more ways than just being on social media. It has been a learning curve.

And have you always had a passion for acting?
Yes. As a kid, I was always very imaginative. I was super quiet, and I spent a lot of time in my head daydreaming. I remember I used to have this weird habit of daydreaming and making facial expressions that are in my head. I would be reacting to things that I was thinking about that weren’t really going on, and someone would ask me what’s wrong [laughs]. Like, nothing. I was just pretending! That has always been a part of the appetite. My brother, he would tease me for being like a jack of all trades too because I was just so curious about everything. I got into poetry, playing guitar, photography, drawing. There was always a moment where I thought that was going to be my thing because I was trying to figure what I wanted to be as a kid. I jumped and skipped around, but acting was consistent. Like, you just get to pretend and tell stories, and that is the coolest thing ever. I decided to put more energy into focusing on that probably around junior year of high school. If this is a thing that happens in the world where people can do this for a long time and make a living, that is a goal for sure. Junior year is when I got serious about it.  I would like to talk about your film Snowflake which began streaming on Vimeo in August. How did you land the role of Ethan?
Jack Tracy, our director and writer, he has been a collaborator of mine for a while before Snowflake came about. I actually met him from auditioning for his web series on backstage.com. He has a web series on YouTube called History, and I auditioned for season two. I remember really wanting the part because his writing is so realistic in a way that is so crucial. He covers topics that are important to put in this kind of format. Like, an entertaining show that has jokes and levity, but also able to address serious things. I didn’t get the part and it was a bit of a bummer, but he did the thing where he’s like, alright, let me stay in contact with you. You hear that all the time in this industry, so you never know whether to take that to heart or with a grain of salt, but it turns out he was serious about it. Thankfully. We stayed in contact and I actually worked behind the scenes on History, and he wrote me into season three. He also wrote Snowflake with me in mind. It was a huge honor, but there was also a part of it that was like super nerve wracking because it’s like, gosh, do not mess this up. It was literally written for you.

I interviewed Jack last year about History. He is a great guy, and it is awesome that he wrote this film with you in mind. This was your first leading role?
It is, yes, and my first feature film. I haven’t had a small part in a feature yet either.

How has Snowflake been received by audiences?
During the festival circuit, I went to Philly for qFLIX and I went to the Big Apple Film Festival, and watching it with audiences there was super exciting. Also, incredibly nerve wracking [laughs]. Like most performers, watching yourself is like not fine at all, but listening to people talk about it, it was such a reward. Even if someone has a negative reaction, I am glad there is still a reaction because it is just about the conversation. The whole film is about difficult conversations, so it makes sense for people to be provoked by it, whether it is in a comfortable or uncomfortable way. I have had some friends watch it, and they are super celebratory of me, so it has been so much fun. I actually got recognized on the street for the first time a couple months ago which was bizarre. People are also reaching out to me on Instagram saying that they saw the film. I am still digesting it all, and I am super grateful. Nothing awful has happened and everyone has been saying it is an exciting film. Of course, that is also a testament to Jack’s writing.Snowflake is 100 percent relatable because it tells the story of what’s going on today in America. Ethan’s worst nightmare is elected president. What was going through your mind when Trump was elected?
I was working at a Japanese restaurant in the East Village the night of the election, and I remember being with other servers and checking our phones for updates and seeing certain states turn red and blue. We were getting ready to close up when people just started walking around kind of in a daze. Like, is this really happening? There’s another red state and another red state. People were starting to panic, and even talking about it now gives me the chills to think about because if you were in the city for that election, it was the most eerie experience I have ever had in my life. The deafening silence on a packed subway train. Everyone was in their own heads mourning. People crying and not even 100 percent knowing what’s going on with them, but just feeling a collective mourning and anxiety for what was happening. Shooting the scene of Ethan’s reaction was difficult because I wanted to get it right. It was an important moment I lived through myself. I completely related to it. I remember going out with my roommates and just taking a walk to clear our heads. We didn’t know what the hell was going to happen.

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I dread to even ask this, but what do you think will happen to this country if we by chance get four more years of him?
That is a good question because it’s warranted. As much as we like to pretend that it is totally impossible, we thought it was impossible the first time around. Almost everyone I was conversing with in New York City thought this was a joke. We never anticipated that it was even possible for him to get elected, and I think it is naïve to have that feeling again. He has been able to take people that have felt disenfranchised by liberal cities or whatever narrative is being used to divide us. He has really been able to hone in on his audience and make people feel secure in what he has to say about things, and that is worth paying attention to.

The other point, whether it is racism, misogyny, or whatever you want to subscribe to Donald Trump as representing, it all existed in America before him, and a lot of what’s happened has cultivated a space that got him to have this presidency. Whether or not he gets elected, there are still the root issues that have precedents in this country that still need to be addressed. If he is reelected, it will be another experience warranted for mourning. The fact that we have had four years of witnessing how much pain can come from an election, I feel like it will double over. I am already anticipating having such a severe reaction to it. I guess I am basically preparing for the worst because we cannot be surprised or act naïve anymore.

Just to put this out there too, elections where both of our candidates are not really exemplary of everyone’s favorite, even if you say that you are picking between two evils, this is just so obvious for a lot of us. He does not need another four years, but we still need to be having conversations with people and putting it out there in a human way rather than this stuff with data and numbers. Conversing with people about how it has affected us personally and what the experiences have been, we need to remember the humanity of all this. It is hard to communicate though because it is hard to listen to people who really want to disagree. If the argument starts before you even begin talking, then it is really hard to cross that bridge and reach people, but it is worth trying.

Were you raised in a liberal or conservative family?
My family is actually mixed, which is exciting for me. I feel like I have gained a lot of dynamic perspective because of it. My dad is a southern military guy who was in the Navy, and that is how he met my mom. My mom is Filipino, she is an immigrant from the Philippines. They met when he was stationed there, then they moved to Japan because he got orders there and that is where I was born. After I was born, he retired, and we moved to the States. My mom, being Filipino, immigrating, and coming from a very large family, she has a pretty liberal perspective. My dad, he is more fiscally conservative, and oftentimes, our household was kind of about not talking about politics because it can be considered impolite and that is kind of a quality of the south. That confrontation is a sign that you are doing things wrong.

However, I completely give my dad credit for not fulfilling that stereotype too because he is available to talk about things, but it just took a little bit of chipping and pestering. He has kind of impressed me more and more throughout the years. He has voted both ways throughout his voting career, but I think identifies as an Independent. No one is a stereotype. No one fulfills every checkbox of what it means to be the south or from somewhere else. For instance, when I came out of the closet when I was 15, I was totally nervous because I imagined him being a part of that southern conservative, but he was just so incredible. He has an understanding of humanity that its perspectives do provide so much of what we consider to be comfortable and uncomfortable.

So, it gives me compassion to people who are on the other side of the fence too. Like, whenever someone disagrees with me, I do not think it is because they inherently believe that I don’t deserve happiness or that I deserve to be condemned in whatever way. I think it is sometimes just a lack of exposure and ignorance, and it’s a little bit easier of a pill to swallow whenever you remember people are just working with what they have. It helps me be lighter and more compassionate about that stuff. I credit my dad helping me learn a lot of that.Why should one watch Snowflake before the election?
Snowflake is just an abundant reminder of how emotional and intellectual reactions to this election are going to cause division, arguments, and fights. It is not going to be pretty. I don’t think it will be all sunshine and rainbows for either way. It is naïve to hope for that. There are so many things to discuss with Snowflake, and there are some things we have disagreed about in this country that aren’t even touched in the film. The film touches on so much, but it definitely would wake anyone up watching it to take what is going on seriously because it doesn’t really hold back on how severe those moments are.

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You are proud to be a snowflake.
Totally! Of course, I try to be open minded and diplomatic, and using language is so important. I definitely curate how I talk to someone whether I know that they agree with me or not. If they don’t, I try to be sensitive to people because it is important to connect on an open level that both people feel safe to express themselves. Not even in a manipulative way, but it is important for me to be able to listen to people that I disagree with. The word “snowflake,” it has its own connotations, and everyone is going to hear something different whenever they hear that word or think of something different.

Would you ever run for public office?
That is something that has never seriously crossed my mind. However, I will say, attending protests, it is so incredibly inspiring. Activists have such eloquence, and they are inspiring these crowds to get active. Of course, for the rest of my life, I will strive to be a part of positive change for people, and I feel like acting is this creative outlet for myself and it is an opportunity for that. Running for office, it just depends on if I think it is the most efficient way for me to contribute.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects you would like to mention or plug?
At the moment, since everything has kind of slowed down, there is not a lot I can speak on. Like an exercise in acting, I got with some friends and decided to recreate an interview that already exists. It was like an acting exercise I haven’t done yet, and I put that online in October. It was like a fun passion project, kind of like an actor boot camp thing. I wanted to challenge myself. It is this recreated interview where I play serial killer Richard Ramirez.

To stay-up-to-date with Bozeman, follow him on Instagram or visit his official website. Snowflake is available to stream on Vimeo.

Photos Courtesy of Kenneth Morton, Krys Fox & Lauren Toub Griffiths