DEVERY JACOBS
“Growing up on my [reservation], there hadn’t been many people who were like me who I knew to be out. I just hadn’t seen that representation in my own life, let alone on screen,” actor and filmmaker Devery Jacobs told NBC News last year. “More recently, being out and seeing the need and demand, understanding how thoroughly it could have benefited my life had I seen somebody like myself on-screen, just reinforced how important it was to be open about myself and to fight for queer Natives onscreen.” Since her breakout role in the 2013 film Rhymes for Young Ghouls, which earned her a Canadian Screen Awards nomination for best actress, the queer member of the Mohawk Nation has played recurring roles on iconic TV series Good Omens and Reservation Dogs. Sam Black Crow, Jacobs’ character on Good Omens, was one of the first major television characters to identify as Two-Spirit— something Jacobs not only took seriously, but suggested to the show’s creators. “I mentioned how in many Indigenous communities, Two-Spirit people were actually considered closer to the creator,” Jacobs told NBC News. “On a show about gods, faith, and the proximity of people, I had brought it up…and they all loved it and decided to make that part of the character.” Next up for Jacobs: a role on the Disney+ Marvel series Echo.