Chella Man, genderqueer deaf actor, cast as Jericho in ‘Titans’ series

Chella Man

Chella Man — a deaf, transgender Jewish/Chinese-American actor — has been cast to play the bisexual Jericho on the upcoming second season of the DC Entertainment streaming series “Titans.” Photo: Twitter

Chella Man — a deaf, transgender Jewish/Chinese-American actor  — has been cast to play the bisexual Jericho on the upcoming second season of the DC Entertainment streaming series “Titans,” DC Entertainment announced.

Chella Man

Man, who also identifies as genderqueer, is the first deaf actor to be cast in a DC role, according to DC Entertainment. Nicole Maines  — who plays Nia Nal and her alter ego, Dreamer on “Supergirl” — is the first transgender actor to play a transgender superhero on a DC show.

‘Supergirl’ transgender superhero is historic TV first

The announcement of Man joining “The Titans” cast  comes a few days after it was revealed that Esai Morales would play Deathstroke, Jericho’s father.

‘Dream come true’

Man, 19, who began documenting his transition from female to male in 2017 on Instagram and YouTube, called the casting a “Dream come true” on his Twitter account Tuesday.

“It is UNREAL to announce I will be making my acting debut as Jericho on Season 2 Titans!,” he posted. “As a trans, Deaf, Jewish POC, I have always reminded myself of the power in my differences. It’s a dream come true as I will now be able to showcase this power on the Titans.”


 

‘Titans’

Season two of “Titans” will begin filming in April.

“Titans” is the first series on DC Universe Streaming subscription service that kicked off  in September.

The show follows the Titans, a team of teen superheroes led by Batman’s former sidekick, Dick Grayson, aka Robin (Brenton Thwaites); Starfire (Anna Diop); Raven (Teagan Croft); and shape-shifting Beast Boy (Ryan Potter).

Jericho

Man’s Jericho will be bisexual and uses sign language to communicate with his teammates after his vocal cords were cut by kidnappers who tried to blackmail his assassin father.

Jericho also has the power to possess another person by simply making eye contact with them.

Jericho was introduced to the DC Comics world in 1984 in a small cameo appearance in Marv Wolfman and George Pérez’s “Tales of the Teen Titans” issue 42. He then received a larger role in issue 43.

About the author

Beatriz E. Valenzuela

Beatriz E. Valenzuela is an award-winning journalist who’s covered breaking news in Southern California since 2006 and has been on the front lines of national and international news events. She also covers all things nerd, including comic book culture and video games. She’s an amateur obstacle course racer, constant fact-checker, mother of three, and lover of all things geek.

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