The cast of Showtime’s Queer as Folk has been pursuing separate projects since the show went off the air in 2007, but the gang all got together (well, minus Gale Harold) June 8-10 for Rise ‘n Shine, a one-of-a-kind fan convention in Cologne, Germany.
Above is a news clip of the event. Okay, granted it’s in German, but it’s nice to see everyone getting such a warm reception. And dang if they all don’t look better than they did five years ago!
Click through for more images from Rise ‘n’ Shine 2012
Gale Harold was on Desperate Housewives after the show. Did 2 CW shows (Wildcats and
Secret Circle) and is currently on location on a film. Of the cast, only
Sharon Gless has been as busy.
Gale Harold is filming a movie. He was given a terrific opportunity (according to both him and Scott Lowell) at the last minute, but he has a non-disclosure agreement, so nobody knows what it is. He sent a long letter of regret to the fans. On the last day of the convention, Sharon Gless addressed all the snark. She says the part he was offered is huge. She mentioned that he was one of the first people who accepted the convention invitation, and assured everyone his regret is real. She pointed out that she herself almost couldn’t come, because of the Burn Notice filming schedule. She added that, not only was Gale coming to the convention, he was actually coming early to participate in a charity soccer match in Cologne, and that some of the cast scheduled their arrivals earlier in order to see him play. She spoke of Gale’s importance to the show, and how much he is missed. She was very emotional. The entire cast applauded him, and the entire auditorium gave him a standing ovation. It’s all on film, and I’ve seen it. Gale is very rarely between work. When he isn’t doing a series, he’s doing an indie move or a play. Sometimes it might be a guest shot on a series, where millions of people see him. Sometimes it’s a movie that never gets distribution. Sometimes it’s a play, like Tennessee Williams’s “Orpheus Descending,” where he receives the best reviews of his life. If anybody wants to know what he’s up to, that’s what the internet is for. Hopefully we’ll all get to see him in the thing he’s doing right now.
@Eric in Chicago: More people saw Gale Harold on one episode of Desperate Housewives than on an entire season of Queer as Folk. And more people saw him in one season of Desperate Housewives than in five years of Queer as Folk. It’s true that more of his devoted fans associate him with Brian Kinney, but it’s not his only claim to fame.
What has Randy Harrison been doing since QAF? Is he less busy because he’s a gay actor while Gale Harold isn’t or is he jut choosing a different career path?
Randy Harrison is VERY busy, but it’s primarily a stage career. He’s been doing both new plays (he played Andy Warhol in one of them) and classics (like Oswald in Ibsen’s Ghosts), to generally superb reviews, for years. This is what he likes most to do.
Please RANDY HARRISON is waiting tables somewhere. He is cute but lacks talent. He should be very thankful for the editing room. It was his best friend in QAF. I wonder if he understands now that writers create the character that he is to bring to the stage. Once you bash a writer good luck getting work past a burger king… Just glad he got to eat his own words in the last season. Too bad he didnt get fist fucked.
@anthony bhal
Did he bash the writers?
It still kills me that Sons of Anarchy’s Charlie Hunnam played that same role in the British version.
The whole American cast paled in comparison to the Brits.
@anthony bhal: @anthony bhal: Only an idiot could say that. Randy Harrison has spent the last few years doing Shakespeare, Ibsen, Marlowe, Shaw, Shaffer, Becket and Tennessee Williams, as well as collaborating with living playwrights, and he knows perfectly well what a playwright does (and what is done in a TV writing room too). It’s been years since an “editing room” has been any factor in his life or his work. He has been playing some of the greatest parts ever written, in “one take,” live in front of an audience, and repeating those performances night after night. And doing a damn good job of it. Here are some quotes from his Variety reviews:
Amadeus
When upstart prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Randy Harrison) arrives on the scene,his staggering musical gifts are evident only to Salieri, who in recognizing Mozart’s greatness bitterly realizes his own mediocrity. But Harrison’s scatological man-child is oddly endearing, too.
Waiting for Godot
His relationship with the haunted, punkish Lucky (Randy Harrison) suggests master-slave roles that bring a homoerotic subtext adding to the piece’s dark discomfort. Harrison brings a masochistic and mesmerizing edge to the almost-silent servant.
The Glass Menagerie
Son Tom (Randy Harrison) supports the women by working a dead-end job, all the while disappearing at night and generally seething with frustration and futility. Harrison plays young Tom with an appropriate mix of yearning and frustration, transparently wanting nothing more than to do right in an impossible situation.
Pop
Show opens with a bang, followed by an especially dazed Andy (played with terrific comic coolness by Randy Harrison) remarking with more curiosity than pain, “Ouch.” There are echoes of veteran songwriters, sometimes as homage, sometimes less so, such as Andy’s solo late in the show, “Still Life,” sung beautifully by Harrison but too reminiscent of Bobby’s climactic self-defining moment in “Company,” without the yearning.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Randy Harrison gives a rich and poignant perf as the stammering, cowering Billy Bibbit. Harrison builds a well modulated arc as Bibbit gradually finds the nerve, inspired by McMurphy, to stand up for himself, only to unravel under Ratched’s chilling threats.
Equus
Unfortunately for this summer production in the Massachusetts Berkshires, the doctor (Victor Slezak) is out, but the patient is very much in, with a strong and sympathetic performance by “Queer as Folk’s” Randy Harrison. However as Alan Strang, the 17-year-old stable boy who inexplicably blinded six horses with a metal spike, the blond and beatific Harrison takes the production on a glorious ride.
RED: Mr. Harrison, who plays Rothko’s innocent (at first) young assistant, is best known to television viewers as the innocent (at first) male ingénue in the Showtime series “Queer as Folk.” Onstage he captures Ken’s most significant development: finding his voice and eventually switching places emotionally with Mr. Ari’s Rothko. But at a recent performance, the only scene in which the theater grew completely silent and attentive was during Mr. Harrison’s revelation of his character’s early childhood trauma.
POP: Mr. Harrison, best known for his years as the twink blond on the Showtime series “Queer as Folk,” mimics the vacant-seeming persona of Warhol with enjoyable languor. His wan line readings, in a drab nasal monotone, are often deliciously funny. Warhol’s bland conversational tics — “uh” and “gee” and “great” — are infused with just the right unenthusiasm.
@till the world ends: The Secret was cancelled. It’s ratings were far too low. Gale was unemployed again for awhile but it’s been reported that he’s off doing another Indie film or something now…
What’s with all the snarkiness? These are talented working actors not the characters they play. When a project finishes, they move on to the next thing. Sometimes they have to find work when they can get it so convention obligations are the furthest things from their minds.
Since the event is over, the headline really should have been Auf Wiedersehen (or just Tschüss, which is more informal and friendly). Guten Tag is a greeting and would have been suitable for an article posted on the first day of the event. Just saying, like 🙂
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rf
A small point but since you mentioned it twice– Queer as Folk’s last episode was in 2005 not 2007. 7 years ago.
Eric in Chicago
what the f could Gale Harold being doing that was so important he couldn’t go to this??? so far it’s his only claim to fame as far as I can tell
till the world ends
Gale Harold is on CW Secret Circle. And he is filming right now. it’s a great show! and he is great on it!
Darling Nikki
Gale Harold was on Desperate Housewives after the show. Did 2 CW shows (Wildcats and
Secret Circle) and is currently on location on a film. Of the cast, only
Sharon Gless has been as busy.
ddb
Gale Harold is filming a movie. He was given a terrific opportunity (according to both him and Scott Lowell) at the last minute, but he has a non-disclosure agreement, so nobody knows what it is. He sent a long letter of regret to the fans. On the last day of the convention, Sharon Gless addressed all the snark. She says the part he was offered is huge. She mentioned that he was one of the first people who accepted the convention invitation, and assured everyone his regret is real. She pointed out that she herself almost couldn’t come, because of the Burn Notice filming schedule. She added that, not only was Gale coming to the convention, he was actually coming early to participate in a charity soccer match in Cologne, and that some of the cast scheduled their arrivals earlier in order to see him play. She spoke of Gale’s importance to the show, and how much he is missed. She was very emotional. The entire cast applauded him, and the entire auditorium gave him a standing ovation. It’s all on film, and I’ve seen it. Gale is very rarely between work. When he isn’t doing a series, he’s doing an indie move or a play. Sometimes it might be a guest shot on a series, where millions of people see him. Sometimes it’s a movie that never gets distribution. Sometimes it’s a play, like Tennessee Williams’s “Orpheus Descending,” where he receives the best reviews of his life. If anybody wants to know what he’s up to, that’s what the internet is for. Hopefully we’ll all get to see him in the thing he’s doing right now.
ddb
@Eric in Chicago: More people saw Gale Harold on one episode of Desperate Housewives than on an entire season of Queer as Folk. And more people saw him in one season of Desperate Housewives than in five years of Queer as Folk. It’s true that more of his devoted fans associate him with Brian Kinney, but it’s not his only claim to fame.
Derek
@Eric in Chicago: Then you can’t tell very much can you? Dumbass!
dellisonly
Catty bitches aside. Can I just say Randy Harrison is still gorgeous and getting better looking by the year. He should be the busy one.
mc
What has Randy Harrison been doing since QAF? Is he less busy because he’s a gay actor while Gale Harold isn’t or is he jut choosing a different career path?
ddb
Randy Harrison is VERY busy, but it’s primarily a stage career. He’s been doing both new plays (he played Andy Warhol in one of them) and classics (like Oswald in Ibsen’s Ghosts), to generally superb reviews, for years. This is what he likes most to do.
Caine
Wasn’t Randy also in the Broadway cast of WICKED – or did I make that up in my head? 🙂
anthony bhal
Please RANDY HARRISON is waiting tables somewhere. He is cute but lacks talent. He should be very thankful for the editing room. It was his best friend in QAF. I wonder if he understands now that writers create the character that he is to bring to the stage. Once you bash a writer good luck getting work past a burger king… Just glad he got to eat his own words in the last season. Too bad he didnt get fist fucked.
ddb
@Caine: Briefly. He stepped into a part as a replacement; but that may have been on his QAF hiatus.
Caine
@anthony bhal
Did he bash the writers?
It still kills me that Sons of Anarchy’s Charlie Hunnam played that same role in the British version.
The whole American cast paled in comparison to the Brits.
ddb
@anthony bhal: @anthony bhal: Only an idiot could say that. Randy Harrison has spent the last few years doing Shakespeare, Ibsen, Marlowe, Shaw, Shaffer, Becket and Tennessee Williams, as well as collaborating with living playwrights, and he knows perfectly well what a playwright does (and what is done in a TV writing room too). It’s been years since an “editing room” has been any factor in his life or his work. He has been playing some of the greatest parts ever written, in “one take,” live in front of an audience, and repeating those performances night after night. And doing a damn good job of it. Here are some quotes from his Variety reviews:
Amadeus
When upstart prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Randy Harrison) arrives on the scene,his staggering musical gifts are evident only to Salieri, who in recognizing Mozart’s greatness bitterly realizes his own mediocrity. But Harrison’s scatological man-child is oddly endearing, too.
Waiting for Godot
His relationship with the haunted, punkish Lucky (Randy Harrison) suggests master-slave roles that bring a homoerotic subtext adding to the piece’s dark discomfort. Harrison brings a masochistic and mesmerizing edge to the almost-silent servant.
The Glass Menagerie
Son Tom (Randy Harrison) supports the women by working a dead-end job, all the while disappearing at night and generally seething with frustration and futility. Harrison plays young Tom with an appropriate mix of yearning and frustration, transparently wanting nothing more than to do right in an impossible situation.
Pop
Show opens with a bang, followed by an especially dazed Andy (played with terrific comic coolness by Randy Harrison) remarking with more curiosity than pain, “Ouch.” There are echoes of veteran songwriters, sometimes as homage, sometimes less so, such as Andy’s solo late in the show, “Still Life,” sung beautifully by Harrison but too reminiscent of Bobby’s climactic self-defining moment in “Company,” without the yearning.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Randy Harrison gives a rich and poignant perf as the stammering, cowering Billy Bibbit. Harrison builds a well modulated arc as Bibbit gradually finds the nerve, inspired by McMurphy, to stand up for himself, only to unravel under Ratched’s chilling threats.
Equus
Unfortunately for this summer production in the Massachusetts Berkshires, the doctor (Victor Slezak) is out, but the patient is very much in, with a strong and sympathetic performance by “Queer as Folk’s” Randy Harrison. However as Alan Strang, the 17-year-old stable boy who inexplicably blinded six horses with a metal spike, the blond and beatific Harrison takes the production on a glorious ride.
ddb
From the New York Times’s reviews
RED: Mr. Harrison, who plays Rothko’s innocent (at first) young assistant, is best known to television viewers as the innocent (at first) male ingénue in the Showtime series “Queer as Folk.” Onstage he captures Ken’s most significant development: finding his voice and eventually switching places emotionally with Mr. Ari’s Rothko. But at a recent performance, the only scene in which the theater grew completely silent and attentive was during Mr. Harrison’s revelation of his character’s early childhood trauma.
POP: Mr. Harrison, best known for his years as the twink blond on the Showtime series “Queer as Folk,” mimics the vacant-seeming persona of Warhol with enjoyable languor. His wan line readings, in a drab nasal monotone, are often deliciously funny. Warhol’s bland conversational tics — “uh” and “gee” and “great” — are infused with just the right unenthusiasm.
Lilah
@till the world ends: The Secret was cancelled. It’s ratings were far too low. Gale was unemployed again for awhile but it’s been reported that he’s off doing another Indie film or something now…
Mangina
What’s with all the snarkiness? These are talented working actors not the characters they play. When a project finishes, they move on to the next thing. Sometimes they have to find work when they can get it so convention obligations are the furthest things from their minds.
Eddie
Catty…I love it! U guys are funny!
Carl 1
Since the event is over, the headline really should have been Auf Wiedersehen (or just Tschüss, which is more informal and friendly). Guten Tag is a greeting and would have been suitable for an article posted on the first day of the event. Just saying, like 🙂
Michael DeSelms
@Darling Nikki: Not true. Hal Sparks has a very good comedy act on tour, does radio, ANd has a very good band that is on tour.