Activist-author Chaz Bono says he's
pursuing an “old dream” of acting.
Bono, who turns 44 next month, also
discussed weight loss on Friday's episode of Gwissues with
host Howard Bragman.
“At this point I've lost about 45
pounds and feeling really good about that and just kind of something
that needed to happen,” Bono said, adding that he expects to lose
20 to 40 more pounds.
Bono, who'll appear in an upcoming
episode of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, said he's
revisiting an “old dream.”
“The first thing that I wanted to do
when I was very young was be an actor,” Bono said. “And I went
to the High School of Performing Arts in New York and I was a drama
major. That's really what I wanted to do. Though I really didn't
know it at the time, 'cause I didn't know I was transgender then, I
just thought it was 'cause I was kind of a butch lesbian or
something, I knew that I wouldn't get work and I couldn't play female
roles. I didn't know clearly why, but this was why. So, after
transitioning and getting kind of comfortable with that … I think
[when] I got the work on Secret Life of the American Teen and
Degrassi, both of those went so well and I got such great
feedback from both the directors on that that I decided, 'You know,
I'm going to get back into class and, you know, revisit this kind of
old dream.'”
Bono, who broke up with longtime
girlfriend Jennifer Elia in 2011, added that he doesn't “mind being
single, I've got a lot of great friends and everything.” (The video
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(Related: Chaz
Bono, Jennifer Elia split; call off engagement.)