Dwayne Cooper, also known by the

drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street adj ...

persona Milan and as Dwayne Milan, is an American actor and entertainer who competed on the fourth season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

''. On stage, Cooper has had roles in multiple national tours, and he performed in

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

productions of ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'' and '' Motown: The Musical''. Raised in Florence, South Carolina, Cooper relocated to New York City.

Early life and education

Dwayne Cooper was raised in Florence, South Carolina, and attended

West Florence High School West Florence High School is a public secondary school serving grades 9 through 12 in Florence, South Carolina, United States. The school is located on the city's west side, near the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95. History West Florence ...

. Involved in many school activities, he was

student government president The student government president (sometimes called "student ''body'' president," "student ''council'' president" or "''school'' president") is generally the highest-ranking officer of a student union. While a student government group and a class p ...

in 1993, during his senior year. Cooper attended the University of South Carolina, initially planning to major in journalism but opting for

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

instead.

Career

Cooper is an actor and entertainer who competed in

as Milan on the fourth season of ''

''. Since appearing on the show, Cooper has only performed in drag for acting roles, such as when he played a

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

in the film ''Spoiler Alert''. On stage, Cooper has acted in national tours of ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the pe ...

'' and ''

Smoky Joe's Cafe ''Smoky Joe's Cafe'', a novel by Bryce Courtenay, deals with the psychological and physical scars on Thommo left by the Vietnam War and Agent Orange. When it is discovered his daughter has leukaemia, his veteran mates band together as "The Dir ...

'', and in a production of ''

Suessical ''Seussical'' is a musical theater, musical comedy by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, based on the many children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most of its plot being based on ''Horton Hears a Who!'', ''Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, Gertru ...

''. He was among the cast of ''Smoky Joe's Cafe'' which received the award for 'Outstanding Ensemble, off-Broadway' at the

Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography The Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography (previously titled the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards) celebrate outstanding dance and choreography in theatre, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway and in film at an annual ceremony in New York City ...

in 2019. On

, Cooper performed as Thad in ''

'', in the ensemble of '' Motown: The Musical'', and as a swing in the 2023 revival of ''Sweeney Todd''. He has been credited as the first ''Drag Race'' contestant to land a role on Broadway. Cooper is also part of the Doo Wop Project, a

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

of Broadway actors who perform pop songs from the

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" ...

. According to Denise Leslie of the ''Pagosa Daily Post'', Cooper has been described as a "modern day

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

meets

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

''RuPaul's Drag Race''

On ''Drag Race'', Milan placed ninth overall. On the fourth episode ("

Queens Behind Bars "Queens Behind Bars" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American reality competition television series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', which aired on Logo on February 20, 2012. The episode has contestants pose for fake mug shots for the mi ...

"), she placed in the bottom two of an acting challenge and defeated

Madame LaQueer Madame Cassandra Uzumaki LaQueer (formerly Madame LaQueer) is the stage name of Cassie Melendez, a Puerto Rican drag performer and make-up artist who competed on season 4 of '' RuPaul's Drag Race''. Originally from Carolina, Melendez moved to Or ...

in a

lip-sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...

to the 2003 song "

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

" by

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

. For the

Snatch Game Snatch Game is a challenge on the ''Drag Race'' reality competition television franchise. Beginning with the second season of the original American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the challenge has taken place on every season since. It has also o ...

challenge of the fifth episode, Milan impersonated

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

. Her performance landed her in the bottom two again, and she beat Kenya Michaels in a lip-sync to the 1990 song "

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

" by American singer Madonna. Milan was eliminated on the sixth episode (" Float Your Boat"), when she was placed in the bottom two of the design challenge which required contestants to create and wear

pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

-themed floats. She lost a lip-sync against

Jiggly Caliente Bianca Castro (born November 29, 1980), commonly known as Jiggly Caliente, is a Filipino-American drag performer, singer, and actress best known for competing on the fourth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the sixth season of '' RuPaul's Drag ...

to the 2011 song " Born This Way" by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, during which Milan removed her dress, jewelry, and wig. During one of the runway shows, Milan wore a

tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element ...

outfit inspired by

Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson (; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Mon� ...

. Ethan LaCroix and Jillian Anthony ranked her eighth in ''Time Out New York'' 2015 list of New York City-based contestants and opined: "Milan was never really a contender ... but she sure was entertaining while she lasted. She defied the judges week after week with her barely there makeup and her lip-synch performances that involved dress rending and wig tossing, leaving her spent and nearly naked on the runway." Patrick Crowley ranked her number 23 in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' 2016 list of Snatch Game performances. In 2018, Michael Cuby included the disagreement between Milan and

Willam Willam Belli (, born June 30, 1982), mononymously known as Willam, is an American drag queen, actor, singer-songwriter, reality television personality, author, and YouTuber. Willam came to prominence as a contestant on the fourth season of ''R ...

on the third episode of the companion series '' RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked'' in American online LGBT magazine ''

Them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Wels ...

'' list of the ten "messiest fights" on ''Drag Race''. In ''

The Spinoff ''The Spinoff'' is a New Zealand online magazine and news website that was founded in 2014. It is known for current affairs coverage, political and social analysis, and cultural commentary. It earns money through commercial sponsorship and su ...

'' 2019 "definitive ranking" of 162 ''Drag Race'' lip-syncs to date, Sam Brooks ranked Milan's battles against Jiggly Caliente, Kenya Michaels, and Madame LaQueer numbers 129, 73, and 69, respectively. Chris Kelly included Milan's dragging

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertain ...

, described by Willam as " nowiki/>swiffering">swiffer.html" ;"title="nowiki/>swiffer">nowiki/>swifferingthe floor with her taint", in ''Queerty'' 2018 list of the show's ten best lip-sync "stunts, shocks and shenanigans".

Personal life

Cooper lived in New York City as of 2011. He has credited Nashom Wooden of the electronic dance music group

The Ones The Ones are an American electronic dance music group. Their 2001 hit single " Flawless" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Belgium and the United Kingdom. The trio consisted of three male vocalists Paul Alexander, JoJo Americo, and Nas ...

for helping him break into the drag scene. He once staged a show for the group.

Filmography

Television

* ''

'' (

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughte ...

)

References

External links

Dwayne Cooper
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Dwayne Living people 21st-century American actors Actors from New York City American drag queens American stage actors Drag performers from New York City People from Florence, South Carolina RuPaul's Drag Race contestants University of South Carolina alumni Year of birth missing (living people)