There are some stories that get left untold, but for Dwen Curry, she's ready to put hers on full display. The drama movie Fighting To Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story, which premiered on BET+ on Feb. 27 and is available to stream now.
Fighting To Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story shows Detroit native Dwen Curry played by Dyllón Burnside (Pose, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story) who is forced to move to Oakland, California in the early 90s to overcome drug addiction and depression. Curry, then begins leading a secret life as the criminal mastermind of an underground organization known as the Gay Gangsters (GG), making millions from fraud. Curry's life is even more complicated by her sexuality, identity, and struggles with self-acceptance as she is later convicted for wire fraud and sent to prison.
Through this story, Curry is not just a celebrated salon owner and celebrity stylist—she’s become a trailblazer who has redefined what it means to live authentically in a world that often demands conformity. Curry has styled some of the biggest names in entertainment, from LisaRaye McCoy to YoYo to Missy Elliot, to DMX, to Mariah Carey and more while also using her platform to advocate for the transgender community.
The cast includes Dyllón Burnside as Dwen Curry, DB Woodside as Uncle Leon, Dwen’s uncle; AJ Akua Johnson as Cynthia Curry, Dwen’s mother; Greg Mathis Jr as DJ, Mike Rob as Jihad, A close friend to Dwen and an original GG, Maurice Alpharicio as Zaire, Erika Norrell as LisaRaye McCoy, and Rodrick Covington as Butchie, Dwen’s first real friend in Oakland.
The movie is directed by Joe Carroll from a screenplay by LaJill Hunt. Dwen Curry, Donte Lee, and Delece James, and Dyllón Burnside serve as executive producers alonside Vanda Lee, Kristin Iris Johnson, and Smallwood who produced the film for MegaMind Media.
According to Burnside, "It also speaks to how important it is for us—as Black people—how important it is to champion, embrace, and wrap our arms around our own." Now that Curry's story comes to life on-screen and offers an intimate look at her journey of self-discovery, resilience, and the powerful intersection of her personal and professional worlds, in this interview, both Curry and Burnside open up about the making of the film, their work on-set and off, and the role that BET played in the storytelling that is helping shape Dwen's legacy and future. Read on to learn more!
Dwen, you're very open about sharing your story, and a lot of what makes your story so special is that your identity is at the forefront. What were those conversations like as you developed this?
Dwen Curry: [BET] was interested. Everyone was intrigued by the story. My little sister, she's so funny, she always says, 'Would you just get to the point?' So now I tell her, 'If I were to get to the point like you want me to, we wouldn’t have a movie, because I’m a very detailed person. When I tell a story, I like to place you right there in the chain of events that’s going on.' So, they were very interested, and I believe that when it came down to telling the story, they just wanted to keep hearing more. And then I have more celebrities involved, you know, and it was incredible. That’s why it has to be a series, because I have so many more stories I could tell—like with Mariah [Carey], Da Brat, Patti LaBelle—juggling flights while I’m styling them and everything. They’d be taking pictures while I’m working flights for the airline, but none of them knew what I was doing.
They just didn’t know. I kept that part a secret. I knew they were doing something, but we didn’t know what you were doing. I said, 'That’s a fact. You weren’t supposed to, because if I’m living that kind of life, I can’t bring you into it. You’re a square and by being a square, you're not involved in that life.' So, they call those people squares. I’m a square now. If your ass stood up there and got me caught up in some sh*t, I’m telling on you. you know, especially if I didn't know, and you didn't mix me up. I now know what it's like to be a square.There's so much that they had to cut out. We had to bring it down, but, as you can see, they did a good job. As you did, Dyllón.
Dyllón Burnside: Thank you.
Dyllón, you're embodying a real person; As you're working with Dwen to develop her as a character, what is that relationship like?
DB: I actually think it's exciting! I'm a naturally curious person. I've always been that person that my mom and the adults in my family. I was the kid that they always told to stop asking so many questions. Society always has, and Dwen knows this by now, I always have questions.
DC: Yes, we do.
DB: I bring that to my work. You know, it always necessarily begins and ends with the script—diving in, investigating what's there, mining it, and going over it again and again. It's about reading things that people may not even realize are in the script and bringing those things out. So, it started there. But I was also really excited about the prospect of being able to ask Dwen questions. Yeah, there on set, I spent a lot of time asking questions and making sure that I got it right. It wasn't so much about that—it was about getting to the root of the story, finding that golden thread, and making sure I stayed true to what was true for her, what she experienced, and what she wanted people to know about her experience.
DC: He ain't never lied when he said 'He nosy.'
DC: So, you know, so I could check on the project and be there. Dyllon would call me and be like, 'Where are you at?' And I’d say, 'Oh, my boss is calling. I gotta go.' He’d be like, 'Well, I need you because I’m about to...' And I’m like, 'Okay, he needs me, I gotta go.' If he said he needed me, I was there, right? I showed up, didn’t I?
DB: Yes! On one particular day, I needed to make sure that Dwen was there. We were filming the scene where Dwen goes into the doctor's office to talk to the doctor about taking hormone therapy. I needed to make sure she was present on set for that—that we got it right. It wasn’t a scene I was willing to just lean on my sister and the director, Joe Carroll. God bless him! I love him! He’s fantastic! But I wanted to make sure we were honoring Dwen’s story in a way that, like I said, was true to what she wanted people to know about her journey.
Trans voices [rarely] get heard, or if they do, it's almost put through a filter. You talked about how there were some things that were left out, but, in general, it felt like a well-rounded story. Were there moments of conversation between the three of you when portraying Dwen and not have to lean on Joe, for every single moment?
DB: We had a lot of conversations. Joe was super collaborative, and we had an opportunity to really dive in and discuss: What is this moment? Let's really figure it out together, and that moment in particular, was one of those moments.
DC: Especially with the line he said. He asked a lot of questions, and if there was a certain purpose for the line, he wanted to take it in another direction. Which was good for me because he was basically finding his way through the film. Then he went and said, 'Hey, I mean, well, the credits speak for themselves because he's the executive producer on the film.' So he doesn't want it to be a flop. He's going to ask questions and do a lot, and if he needs to go in a different direction, I trust it. Because I'm watching me—I’m literally watching me. I got lost in him becoming [me].
So, it's an out-of-body experience. It's extremely surreal for me because, most of the time, I'm present. You know, I'm not deceased or anything. He's not doing something on someone who's not here. I'm here so he can get those questions answered. That's the beauty of it all. So, he was able to—if you look at it that way—he actually did a fabulous job because he wouldn't have a billboard up in the middle of Times Square.
Has there been a response from your inner circles about the movie? How has it touched them? What are your families and friends are saying about it?
DB: Yes, I am so grateful.
DC: I know you are overwhelmed.
DB: I never really know what people are going to feel or experience from my work. I don't necessarily think it’s my job as an actor to be concerned with that. My job is really just to investigate and try to bring the truth to light as much as I possibly can. Then, I just leave the work as it is and trust the work. That being said, a lot of my family and friends have seen the film, and I've just gotten a lot of beautiful feedback that caught me off guard—feedback I wasn’t expecting. My mom texted me a screenshot of a message from one of her high school friends. My mom grew up in Carroll City, Miami, Florida, you know, in a place like where Trick Daddy, Trina, and Rick Ross are from. It’s hood, you know? And one of her homies—Melvin, my uncle Melvin—he’s got gold teeth, the whole 9 yards. Big guy.
DB: Everything you would think of—Rick Ross-type energy. My mom told me he and his wife watched the movie, and he said, 'Tell nephew the movie was great, we loved it, and we’re so proud of him.' I wasn’t expecting that.
DC: Me neither.
DB: You know, I know my folks are supportive, but it speaks to the universality of this story. IIt also speaks to how important it is for us—as Black people—how important it is to champion, embrace, and wrap our arms around our own. No matter how different we may be, we are still family, we are still a community, and we still need each other. We have to support one another.
DC: Absolutely. Yes, you are absolutely right. Oh, okay, so, Uncle! You can't deny the work, right? You see the work—you just can't deny it. You have to remember that a lot of people, and it's a shame, anticipate or look at something and say, 'Well, that ain't gonna be anything,' or whatever. I mean, of course I was scared, but I knew something in my heart told me that they weren’t going to drop the ball with this project because it was a very scary project. It could have gone left or it could have gone right, but I knew they were going to take their time, and I knew they were going to get the right people. The whole algorithm, the chemistry that everybody had—it was amazing. So yeah, Uncle Bubba and then me, looking around, and all of them, Uncle Leon, looking down... that's why, every time, you know, I cry, because I already feel like he’s right there. He’s got a halo over my head, along with so many others up there. So, it’s overwhelming. Huh! I have to try not to be so standoffish or anything, because when a crowd of people comes around me, you’ve got to remember, I’ve been shot twice, so that makes me paranoid.
DB: When I have so many people around me, it’s not because I don’t want to talk. It’s because of the trauma I’ve faced before. But I understand that everybody is excited, and I’m just trying to get used to it. I think it’s good for us, you know. Again, the line did a great job. He definitely carried his own because a lot of people were like, 'Dwen, I can’t believe he played you!' All my friends were like, 'Dwen, he played the shit out of you!' Especially when he says 'mommy.' And I had to think to myself, 'Did I do a voiceover?' I was like, 'I know I didn’t do my voiceover. Why would they do that voiceover with 'mommy'?' But, you know, of course, we laughed."
There's a lot of action! There's crime, there's love, there's loss; Was there a moment on set that either you two shared, or with your other cast members that was really fun and uplifting during shooting?
DB: One of the moments that stands out to me is when we shot the scene of Dwen coming home from prison. That was a fun day, you know. Everybody was together in that scene for the first time, and the energy was just good. We were dancing, and it felt great. It felt like a celebration, the way I imagine they celebrated when Dwen came home. Also, AJ Johnson, who plays my mother—mommy, mama, see?—she and I were dancing in the scene, and I hate that they cut this part. As we know, AJ Johnson is a legend from House Party, and we did the 'Kid and Play' dance during the party, but they cut it. That was a little moment, a little nod.
DC: One of my favorite moments was when we were about to wrap. It wasn’t in order when we were shooting, but I think it was the scene where we were doing the Narcotics Anonymous thing. I had you, Butchie, and Jihad there. You, Butchie, and Jihad. I got a chance to talk to you guys and explain who each and every individual was. Jihad isn’t here to tell his story because he passed away, and Butchie isn’t here because he’s in the process of transitioning. So, the line was able to pull from it, but I believe that with me being there and explaining things to him, he was able to grab more. He really set the tone. That was meaningful for me, because I got a chance to see everything come to fruition, especially since they didn’t have those other people there.
Watch the trailer for the movie below on BET+'s official YouTube channel:
Fighting to Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story is available to stream now on BET+!