By BetteAndTinaForever
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After she left to go upstairs and enjoy the dinner,
I talked to more people, including Peter Paige
and Thea Gill from Queer as Folk, and
Elen Lauper, openly gay sister of Cyndi Lauper. We talked about
the Foundation and The L Word, as well. Peter Paige was
first and I also asked him a few questions about Queer as Folk.
B&TF: So, Peter, tell me what are you doing
right now because Queer as Folk is over, so what are you up to?
Peter Paige: Well, I’ve been doing a lot.
I just directed a movie that will hit the circuit this winter. I
sold the pilot as a writer so my writing partner and I are doing
re-writes on that right now and I am doing The History Boys, downtown
LA and we open November 14th, so I’m awfully busy.
B&TF: How did you get involved with this Foundation…you’re
presenting so you were probably asked to do that but did you hear
about this before and what was your reaction?
PP: Yeah, Judy Shepard is one of the most amazing
women that I’ve ever come across and our paths have crossed
numerous times at various gay fundraisers and events and she asked
me to present and I said, “Of course.” Anything I can
do to help further the work that she and the foundation are doing,
any time they need me.
B&TF: What can you tell me about your experience
on the Queer as Folk? It was five years…
PP: It was the most amazing five years of my life.
Truly, I made extraordinary friends, I learned so much about myself,
about the crafts of television, about story telling, about politics
and the gay social movement, I mean, it was one of the most extraordinary
gifts you could ever get.
B&TF: Well, now they have The L Word, which
is sort of a replacement…do you watch it?
PP: I don’t watch I very often, I do occasionally
and I know all the ladies from I I think they are all fantastic.
I don’t watch much TV; I know it’s so disrespectful
of me, but I don’t watch it a lot.
B&TF: Well, when you're doing TV and when
you’re on TV all the time…
PP: Yes, you don’t have time to watch it.
B&TF: Well, thank you so much.
PP: It was my pleasure.
~~~~~~
Thea Gill, his co-star in
Queer as Folk, was next and I had the chance to talk to
her, as well. Thea is gorgeous and very tall, and I wish Michelle
Clunie was with her because they make a very beautiful couple. I
asked her some question about Queer as Folk, so it could
give an idea about Showtime’s other shows and what we could
expect with The L Word.
B&TF: Well, I’ve been sort of asking
everybody the same questions, so how did you get involved with the
Foundation and what was your reaction when they asked you to present?
Wait, you’re not presenting, right, you just here for support?
Thea Gill: Yes, I’m here to support Peter
and of course I’m very supportive of the GLBT community. One
has to fight hate crime and I also have a personal experience with
murder in my family, so this is quite an emotional day for me. I’m
able to be present, to support Peter and also support this very,
very important and very deep Foundation. I hope that people will
lend more acceptance and love to people who are gay and lesbians
and transgender and to people who are who they are.
B&TF: And of course, you played Lindsay on
Queer as Folk, can you tell me a little about your experience
and how it was to play a lesbian in the relationship with all the
problems that were coming to them, though you survived them at the
end of season 5…
TG: Well, this experience had changed my life
personally in many ways, not only as an actress but also as a human
being, and also as someone who wants to be vocal and fight inequality.
I’ve always been a bit of a misfit myself, so in a way being
on Queer as Folk allowed me to embrace all the feelings
of inadequacy, and so I’ve been able to bring out that compassion
in my role and I was able to do that in all kinds of ways.
B&TF: I’m working for the l-word.com,
and I spoke with the cast members from The L Word, and
a few times I asked if they have a chance to change something in
their scenes if they think it didn’t fit their characters
to do certain things, so they would go to the director and ask for
changes, and sometimes the scene might change and sometimes the
director would say that the scene will stay how it was written…how
it was on Queer as Folk, did you have liberty to do things as an
actor?
TG: We didn’t really get the scripts very
much in advance, so we didn’t have a lot of time to change
the storylines but, of course, Dan and Ron, Dan Lipman and Ron Cowen,
were really open to suggestions when they come up, but, you know,
they were their stories and we would have to live up to what their
vision was, and I’m glad that that was the case because otherwise
it would have been too many different directions that the show could’ve
gone and it could’ve lost its power.
B&TF: Were you surprised that there was only
five seasons? Did you think that show would go longer or you knew
it from the beginning?
TG: It seems to have run its course, it seems
that it had its life and I never knew how long we would go, I was
surprised that we actually went five years but it was the right
time, you never know. I, personally, would have loved to continue
working on the show but sometimes things have to come to the end.
B&TF: What have you been doing since the show
ended, any new projects?
TG: Yes, I’ve been doing a lot of stage
in Canada. I just relocated to Los Angeles a couple of months ago
from Canada. I’ve been doing movies of the week, and I’ve
also done another, kind of vampy gay show, called Dante’s
Cove.
B&TF: Oh yes, I know…are you still on
it?
TG: Oh yes, yes…so I’ve been doing
all kinds of things actually since Queer as Folk, which
is cool.
B&TF: So, Queer as Folk is over and
The L Word replaced it, do you watch the show since it’s
about lesbians and you played one? Do you like the show?
TG: Yes, I have seen it a few times and I enjoyed it,
I enjoy all the actresses on it, I think they are all remarkable
and very talented.
B&TF: Is there any character that you prefer,
that you like more?
TG: I like Jennifer Beals’ character a lot,
and I quite like her a lot too, you know, as a person.
B&TF: Well, thank you so much, enjoy the show.
TG: Thank you.
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