ETC New Year, New "Queer" (Jan 2002)

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New Year, New "Queer",Mekado Murphy for ETC - etcetera magazine [January 18, 2002]
Courtesy: Pfyre



Openly gay actor Randy Harrison talks about his newfound celebrity, Season 2 of "Queer as Folk" and goals for 2002

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This time last year, America was just getting hooked on the Showtime phenomenon that is "Queer as Folk." The character Justin had already given up his virginity to Pittsburgh's biggest slut Brian, and fallen in love in the process. And the saga continued up to a stunning end-of-season cliffhanger that left Justin brutally gay-bashed at the prom.

Now, devotees are planning Sunday night "Queer as Folk" parties nationwide to celebrate the new shows which started airing January 6. The inaugural season is now available on DVD, and Randy Harrison, the 24-year old openly gay actor who brings Justin to life, tries to keep his head in a world of newfound fame. The former Atlanta-area resident reflects on the transformations the show has wrought for him over the past two years and what he anticipates for 2002.

"Getting this show changed a lot of things," he says. "Suddenly being faced with the reality that potentially I could make a career as an actor completely changed my life. I had just graduated from theatre school and when I got this job, it officially began my professional career."

And what a way to jump-start a career. In "Queer as Folk"'s very first episode, Harrison exposed himself in a gay sex scene unlike any other seen on American television. He had no experience in front of the camera before the series, but seemed prepared for the challenges of the show.

"I had only worked on the stage before, but acting wise, there isn't much of a difference between stage and television," he says. "The core is there, it's just sort of about raising and lowering the levels and being aware of the audience you're communicating with."

"As far as the sex stuff, it was easier doing it at the beginning than it is now. I've done sexual content before, so it wasn't a big deal. But now that the show has become more of a job and a routine and it's the second year, it seems a bit harder to do for some reason."

During the show's hiatus, Harrison landed a part in another original Showtime program, a movie called "Bang, Bang, You're Dead." He wants to continue to diversify his acting roles and speculates on how things might be different artistically in 2002.

"The climate of the world has changed so much since September 11 and definitely the business has changed as far as the amount and the type of production that's going on," he says. "There's been a slightly conservative swing as far as programming is concerned. I'm not sure if it's going to carry over to casting. The thing that I'm sure about is finishing a very good season for "Queer as Folk" and then when I'm on hiatus, hoping there will be another good opportunity like there was last year."

With the new season right around the corner, Harrison discusses a bit of what will be going on with Justin.

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"I don't want to give too much away," he laughs. "But Justin is recovering from his attack at the end of the first season. There's sort of more development with Justin and his relationship with Brian and where he fits into Brian's life. He goes to art school. He ends up having to pay for school and figuring out how to support himself. It's just the traditional moves of becoming an adult, which is always helpful to watch."

As the New Year approaches, Harrison discusses his refusal to make New Year's Resolutions. It's a game he doesn't like to play. "I don't ever make them," he says. "Because I figure if I want to change something, I just change it at the time, and I try not to cram so much into New Year's. It's cold, you know? It's hard to be good!"

Harrison will spend this New Year's in New York City, but his best New Year's memory is from a trip in his teens.

"When I was seventeen, I drove up to Hilton Head with a friend of mine and stayed in their grandmother's condo," he recalls. "And I spent New Year's sitting on the beach. I don't know why, but it's honestly the only one I can remember right now. I've really been trying to make New Year's a memorable event for, like, the past four years. But it seems like the harder you try to make it special, the less it becomes."

Although he has no resolutions, Harrison does have some goals and ideas of what he would like to get out of the New Year and beyond.

"Beginning an acting career with as much as I have against me as well as everything I have before me is such a difficult process," he says. "And reconciling what I need financially and commercially and what I need artistically is sort of all the stuff that I'm faced with, right now. I think that if I can end up creating performances that I'm proud of, that are artistically satisfying to me and challenging to people who end up following my work at all, that's my goal."

"Queer As Folk" airs on Showtime Sundays at 10:00 p.m. repeating Tuesdays at 11:00p.m. and Saturdays at 10:00 p.m. Randy Harrison also appears in the upcoming Showtime movie "Bang, Bang, You're Dead."

@темы: 2002