This story is part of a series of interviews with Atlanta creatives about what it’s like to be working in Atlanta’s independent film scene and film industry at large. Click here to read more stories.
In 2022, actress Toni Bryce hit a milestone in her career.
After appearing on the television series “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” a friend on Facebook told her that she thought she might be the first Black openly trans person to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Bryce was shocked, so she did a little research to try and confirm. Trans actors had appeared in Marvel properties before, such as Zach Barack in 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and Aneesh Sheth in the television series “Jessica Jones.” “She-Hulk” also features the work of Patti Harrison, and earlier this year, Maikol Roque appeared in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” But – as far as Bryce could tell – she was the first out Black woman of trans experience to have a speaking role in one of the world’s most popular franchises.
“For many years, I was scared to claim it, because what if I’m wrong?” Bryce said. “I did so much research. I did not want to be loud on the creek and wrong!”
“She-Hulk” happened at a fruitful time in Bryce’s career. She’s probably best known for her role as Nineveh on the Starz drama “P-Valley.” She has also appeared on the drama series “The Chi,” and appears in the film “Takeover,” which filmed in 2022 but hit theaters in May of this year. But lately – specifically, since the 2023 actors and writers strikes – Bryce feels like her opportunities have run a bit dry.
On our last edition of Indie Spotlight, we talked about how the production slowdown post-strikes has affected crew members. Today, we’ll talk to an actor to see how she’s been faring in the intervening few years.
Bryce grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois, and her love for theater started in high school. She did shows like “A Christmas Carol,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” She also had a particular connection to the musical “Rent” – but we’ll get back to that later. After graduating from college, she moved to Orlando for a year before heading to Atlanta in 2016. Once here, she hit the ground running. She did background for almost three years before auditioning, for the first time, for “P-Valley.”
Looking at Bryce’s social media presence and her activism, she is more than proud of who she is. But, when she first moved to Atlanta, she said she struggled with whether or not to say that she was trans when she was auditioning. When she didn’t say that she was trans, she said it felt like the responses came more often.
“I live at multiple intersections that say you’re not supposed to be successful in this industry. I’m plus size, I’m Black, I’m a woman, and I’m trans,” she said. “All of those intersections tell me that I’m not supposed to be one, in this industry, and two, successful in any capacity or any level in this industry. So, I felt like I had to stop saying that [I was trans] in order for them to actually see me and give me a chance.”
Bryce was able to eventually find her people in the LGBTQ+ film community here in Atlanta, and eventually, opportunities started coming in. According to Bryce, when she first auditioned for “P-Valley,” she auditioned for Uncle Clifford, the owner of The Pynk, the club where much of the show is set. That role ended up going to actor Nico Annan, who originated Uncle Clifford in the play that creator Katori Hall’s show is based on. But Bryce kept her “P-Valley” dreams alive. Representatives for Hall did not respond to requests for comment, but the way Bryce remembers it, she ended up doing background for “P-Valley” and was able to get Hall’s attention. They sat down together on The Pynk set and had a conversation.
“I remember her telling me, ‘I was just thinking about you,’” Bryce said. “‘I have to find a way to get you on the show.’”
Bryce ended up with the role of Nineveh, the seamstress for the dancers at The Pynk, and her star continued to rise from there. In addition to the brief appearance on “She-Hulk,” she started doing reviews for episodes of “The Chi,” a drama series created by Lena Waithe about life in the South Side of Chicago. Eventually, Bryce and the other host, Monroe Alise, became characters on the show.
Season three of “P-Valley” filmed in 2024 and is expected to come out later this year. Bryce has also been part of the reality series “Chasing: Atlanta,” which follows a group of artists and creatives following their dreams in the city. But since the strikes, her acting opportunities have almost slowed to a halt. As mentioned in the last edition of Indie Spotlight, film production in Georgia – and also broadly across the United States – has slowed since the strikes, with studios greenlighting fewer projects and productions choosing to shoot in places where labor and production costs are cheaper.
“Before the strike, I was getting auditions. Before the strike, I was getting bookings,” Bryce said. “Now, post strike, I can’t even tell you the last time I had an audition.”
In part, Bryce attributes her lack of work to a lack of imagination. While there is a storied history of cis actors playing trans characters, the opposite does not often occur – a trend which Bryce finds limiting.
“What this industry does, specifically to trans people, is, ‘Oh, the role has to be trans-specific or trans-centered for us to hire you,’” she said. “Meanwhile, I can be a teacher. I can be the corner store clerk, the judge, a police officer. I can be and thrive in all these other spaces and roles, but they won’t give us the opportunity to do that – unless you are a name that’s already in the industry.”
To help make ends meet, Bryce has been working for the medical clinic AvitaCare Atlanta for a little over a year.
“Some days I even question, am I still an actor?” she said. “I don’t feel like one anymore.”
That mindset has led Bryce to feel disengaged from the industry as a whole, and feeling so discouraged has made it hard to commit to the little work she does get, she said. She recently gave up a part in a local play because her mindset was so poor she didn’t feel like she could give the character all it deserved. She has to actively remind herself not to fall into that pattern of thinking.
“In order for me not to be depressed and sad and upset, I can’t engage. I have to disengage and almost to a degree disassociate with my acting career,” Bryce said. “But then I’m also reminded in this day and age, when so many people are monetizing their brand and their images because of the things that they’ve done, I’m like – well hold on, honey. Don’t give up. Have a little fight in you!”
One of the things that keeps Bryce feeling engaged these days is her activism. She named Jonathan Larson’s musical “Rent,” about a group of young artists in New York City – some of whom are living with HIV/AIDS – as a real turning point for her growing up.
“It literally changed my life, in the way that when I saw Rent for the first time … when I saw the content and what it was talking about, it ignited something in me to want to learn more,” she said.
In college, Bryce became heavily involved in activism, particularly surrounding HIV awareness. She recently was involved in a campaign called I Am HIV Possible, raising awareness for at-risk communities about how HIV is spread and how it can be prevented.
“That’s passion work for me. And it will always be a part of me whether I’m working in the field or not,” she said. “If I’m an actress tomorrow, and I get a million opportunities, I will be involved in advocacy work in some capacity.”
