It's like osmosis because unconsciously I'm learning things just by being in Brian's skin.ĭNA: When you auditioned, did you have any inkling of where the show was going? Probably that, more than anything else, has been the largest kind of learning curve for me. You get to be completely outside of your own experience. GH: In terms of being a straight actor doing gay sex scenes? No, I don't think it's an obstacle. People will understand that on whatever level they understand it and it will have meaning for them.
So in terms of performing a sexual act, as an actor, you've just got to put your energy and your commitment into whatever is happening. But they would know that two people were performing a sexual act.
For a straight person who'd never had any kind of exposure to that kind of sexual activity, they would not know what the hell was happening. GH: There are people who could watch the rimming scene for the first time and even hearing the dialogue, if they didn't know what rimming was they wouldn't know what the fuck was going on. I'm performing.ĭNA: Do you think the sex scenes are as racy as they're sometimes regarded? or whatever! I mean, there wouldn't even be 'gay' or 'straight' if we didn't have the ability to conceptualise what we're doing. GH: I read a lot of William Burroughs when I was in high school, so I had to figure out what that was a long time ago! But at the same time, just knowing what something is doesn't necessarily give you the scope to understand it completely. I think.ĭNA: As a straight actor, are the sex scenes a strange experience? Especially that first episode with the rimming. I have come to a deeper understanding of things, though. It's more about the characters' experiences within the issues. These stories are adapted from ideas by Russell T Davies and I think they're more internalised and personal. GH: I don't see the show as an "issues" show. That's true of Brian.ĭNA: Since staring Queer As Folk have you gained a greater understanding of the issues facing the gay community? People become reliant on self-destructive behaviour as a way of feeling alive. It creates a political indifference in people. In America the difference between what people are telling you and what's really going on is quite transparent. Like, the United States is the most powerful country in the world and we have all this ideology shoved down our throats. I didn't have a lot of time to spend on building the character and that was fine because in the end I just played him as Brian the human being, rather than Brian the gay man.ĭNA: Are there aspects of Brian's personality that you share? I had some people in mind but they didn't really fit the over-all vision so I didn't use them. It's not just silly, it's got a whiff of "bullshit" about it.ĭNA: When developing Brian's character, did you draw on any real-life people? GH: No, it's more like something you find on the farm and walk away from! It's one of those old '50s American words.
A lot of them are diplomatically reserved and some of them think it's hooey. GH: Some of them approve and, I think, enjoy it. Can you believe it?ĭNA: What do they think of your characterisation of a gay man? Matthew Myers spoke to him for DNA and found him witty and charming in a most un-Brian-like way.ĭNA: Outside Queer As Folk, do you have many gay friends? He plays Queer As Folk's rebellious, sexy Brian Kinney with a fuck-em-all attitude. At 35, Gale Harold is enjoying the break-through role of his career.