Don’t forget to check out video from J Harrison Ghee’s cover shoot HERE!
Stands out.
On or off-stage.
At first you may attribute this to their
stature, or perhaps their fashion sense,
or maybe even their posture of confident
poise. But for the first non-binary actor to
win a Tony for a leading role, the impetus
of this striking presence comes from within:
their intentionality.
“I live life with the intention and purpose, but most importantly, with love. So, this is a part of who God created me to be, to use these gifts I was given to be effective in the world.”
Catching up with the Tony Award winner, we discussed what lights them up as they meet the world, and the first thing we noticed was their remarkable sense of self. This is a being who knows where they come from (and who shaped them), where they are going (and what they hope to leave behind), but also what they must bring to the present moment, every day.
From a very young age, J Harrison started watching those around them and learning how people perform in everyday situations of life. “Growing up in a church—my dad’s a minister in North Carolina—I watched a lot of people play roles all of my life. I’m always such a sponge, taking notes and watching humans be humans.” That intel gathering was compounded by their active imagination. “My brother is seven years older than me, so I spent a lot of time by myself, entertaining myself and passing time, so my imagination runs wild.” Together, these things catalyzed a quick study of creative expression.
J Harrison’s insatiable hunger for the arts was ever present and certainly didn’t go unseen by their parents. “As a child, my father gave me a VHS of Porgy and Bess that Dorothy Dandridge and Sidney Poitier were in. Watching these beautiful black people tell the story and emote and sing and dance—I was enthralled. I watched it incessantly…
Music has always moved me.”
Beautifully, although their family may not have fully understood every step of their journey, they always showed up for J Harrison. “My mom really has been the biggest supporter, whether it’s made sense to her or not. She’s like, “You like it? I love it. Go have fun. I’d never wear it. But do it.’ She had to find a different way to parent me because I was this rambunctious child, always questioning, like, ‘Why do we have to do it like that?'”
So perhaps it was inevitable that a creative, expressive human with a hunger to see more decided to set out for New York City. Even at 18, the decision was made with family, and with that, carefully nurtured intention. “I had a conference with my father. Multiple nights of sitting and talking with him to make him understand this choice of stepping into my purpose. I’m still a person of faith, and that has evolved for me, but to speak to his heart and to say to him: This is something I’ve prayed about, that I’ve dealt with in my spirit.” As a man who boasted a PhD in Administration and Education, an MA in Philosophy, and 30 years of experience in advanced education, J. Harrison’s father was perhaps hoping for a “safe” career of math or science. But his child was adamant. And in retrospect, the decision was a step into destiny. “You know, these days, he’s like, “There’s mud on my face…but it smells good!”
In the years that have passed since that heart-to-heart conference, J Harrison has encountered moments that helped them further stand by who they know themself to be. They tell the story of being invited to a multi-day reading. On the first day, they were wearing a little black romper and happy face crystal shoes. The director asked them if, for the sake of the reading, they could find some pants. “He said, you know, ‘I love this outfit, it’s adorable, but for the sake of the reading, I would like a clean slate so that the producers don’t see the journey.’ And I knew what he meant.” But traffic was horrible, and J Harrison wasn’t going to buy pants at TJ Maxx for this moment, so they made a decision. “I settled within my spirit and said: This is what I wore today. If these clothes get in the way of the producers and creative team seeing what they need to see, then this role isn’t for me. And they kept me on, and I was able to inform the role, to be myself, to come from an authentic place.”
The pandemic, too, had an impact on how casts and teams interacted and grew together, broadening the appreciation of community and support in growth. “We all came back so tender, so precious, and so open to communicate.” There was also a new focus or careful thoughtfulness about diversity, equity, and inclusion, motivated from a place of awareness. “I had this revelation for myself that we have to operate with conscious sensitivity. Everyone brings their own existence and their own experience to every moment. We have to operate in that way, in that awareness that, like, the world does not revolve around me. I am not the end-all, be-all for anything. I have to be available to collaborate, to communicate, and to keep that conscious awareness of humanity beyond myself.
“… we have to operate with conscious sensitivity.
Everyone brings their own existence and their
own experience to every moment… “
Being consciously aware of others is the equivalent flip side of the coin of intentional self-awareness, and J Harrison is adamant about accepting self. “We are conditioned to be the same, and to stay the same, so that others always know how to deal with us, as opposed to allowing ourselves and each other to change. We have to grow; we have to evolve.” The fruits of this mental work are apparent in the poise and bright presence of a human being who accepts who they are and where they are on the journey, as a participant, a mentor, and a model, as well. “People say to me all the time, ‘Oh, I could never wear that.’ No. You haven’t freed yourself to see yourself there. You haven’t given yourself the permission and the grace and the space to even play in that part of the playground.”
But self-work and acceptance and freeing yourself isn’t easy. Change is hard. J Harrison maintains that growth and change do not happen without pain, without being uncomfortable, and letting go of wanting control of what is outside yourself. One must accept that. “I am the only being I can control. So, all I can do in this world is exist in my truth and in my authenticity, and carry that into the world, and hope that makes a difference.”
It does make a difference. It makes an impact on the environment, it changes the scenery, the balance, the mood. It changes what is perceived as normal and acceptable. And that changes the world. “I take up space. Good space. And now I’ve taken the power of understanding that as a black, queer human being in this world, my existence is a political statement. I am making a political statement by leaving my home, so I might as well give you something to look at!”
But the key to this expression is authenticity; it’s not about entertainment through othering; it’s entertainment through invitation to encounter true self. “I can’t be attached to how you’re going to respond to me. I just have to show up and be myself. It’s wonderful to step into this place of freedom, to keep stripping the layers of society and religion and things that have been placed on me. I can be like, no, that was never me. That didn’t serve me.”
One of J Harrison’s trusted bellwethers is thinking about how their childhood self would respond. They call it “checking back in with Little J.” They tell the story of leaving Mrs. Doubtfire one night, after playing the role of André Mayem, and keeping their makeup on for the trip home. On the way, they caught a glimpse of themself in the train doors. “I said, ‘Wow. Little me would be so happy.'”
Another tactic that they use to illuminate their own understanding and the self-awareness of others is a tactic they picked up during COVID. Rather than asking people, how are you, they asked: what’s bringing you joy these days? “Then you add more and more of that to your life. You say, okay, great, let me acknowledge the thing that is actually making me smile, that is actually elevating me in a way.” This self-support is crucial, and it isn’t second nature to most of us. “Continuing to seek outward approval and to get permission from everybody else is what drains you and sucks you dry…. Understanding that, like, this brings me joy…that will be the best investment one could make.”
It’s not a snap change, they emphasize. It’s an everyday journey and an everyday willingness to meet oneself. It requires time and commitment. “The first thing I do, every day, is—I have a little altar in my apartment—I go there, and I pray, and I meditate, and I meet myself in the day. It doesn’t matter if I’m hungover, or how late I was in bed. That is the first place I go, to ground myself, to breathe, to check in and say: whatever the day brings to me, I met myself, I am grounded. I can take on the world.”
As their career continues to grow, and with the accolade of peers for their Tony Award-winning turn as Jerry/Daphne in Some Like It Hot, the world holds so much more. “The biggest thing I’ve learned is that I just have to show up and bring me to the table. If that’s what you desire, great. If it’s not quite right, we can collaborate and talk about the things, but you hired me for me.” With this confidence and sense of openness, there is so much possibility.
“I really just want to keep shifting things in the entertainment industry because we are curators of society and comment on the time.” J Harrison mentions a particular interest in elevating and illuminating real stories of interesting people, to diversify and amplify the experience of others through acting. “If this human exists somewhere else in the world, let’s tell these kinds of stories. All kinds of stories. I don’t want to be limited in any way.” Despite calling it perhaps cliché, they reference their own role model: Beyoncé, a woman who is creative, intentional, and shares with ease. That diversity of oeuvre, and breadth of creativity, and openness calls to them.
“I want to direct, I want to design clothes, I want to be a model. I really want to do it all. I’ve been asked to direct a musical and I’m in the process of building a deck of music…. I’m excited to just keep doing things that keep people guessing. I don’t want to be limited in any way. I see myself really doing it all.”
With all this on the docket, how will J Harrison measure success? “In twenty years, I hope to just be continuing to be effective in the world. However I can do that.”
Text by Moonah Ellison
photography by Spencer Heyfron
stylist Cannon
groomer Emmanuel Ramirez
video Cristian Pena