"Prior to Hadestown, I played The Magical Negro. I have no regrets about that. But all the while...and this is going to sound corny, but it's true. All the while I was saying, 'Why doesn't someone cast me for my mind? For my intellect? Am I really just another pretty face?' And it came together in Hadestown."

André De Shields talks about the 50+ years he's spent working on Broadway, being a long-term survivor of HIV, and his life mission of spreading BlackManMajesty.

André can be seen on Broadway this fall in the newest revival of Death of a Salesman.

LGBTQ&A is hosted by Jeffrey Masters and produced by The Advocate magazine, in partnership with GLAAD.

A condensed transcript of each week's interview is posted on The Advocate's website. Follow us on Twitter: @lgbtqpod