December 10, 2004

1. I have heard from other actors that they try to create the situation off screen with the characters they have onscreen. For example Sean Penn didn't associate with Michael J. Fox when making Casualties of War because he didn't want to like him fearing it might interfere with his acting. I'm sure you don't take it that far, but do you try to keep your distance from Peter Paige when Ted and Emmett were having problems or Gale Harold when Ted and Brian did not like each other?

I learned, after going into a depression during the first season, that I need to find ways to leave work at work. Peter, Gale and the rest of the cast are all my friends outside of shooting and the characters they play, in good times and bad, are friends of "Ted's" fortunately. Shooting a television series is quite different than doing a film in that you are living with these characters and actors for many months of many years. To do the kind of intense character immersion that you cited in your question would just drive you nuts and be impractical. Perhaps if I were working on a film like the one you mentioned I might try those methods, but it's something you have to be VERY careful with.

2. I was watching the Season 2 DVD Wrap Party reel (hilarious, by the way!), and I noticed in the scene where Ted and Brian are drunk in Woody's and you had a hard time with the line "We're gonna have to take her honorary queer button away," you said "good it'll be better for the looping" between takes. So I was wondering, do you guys loop your dialogue all the time or do you ever use production track?

We only loop dialogue when needed ... which in my case is not very often because I AM PERFECT!!! Yeah, right. We do it when a line might be hard to understand because of diction problems, or if it's too soft or if there's some distracting background noise on the track. On occasion the producers want to add an off-camera line to help a scene out or change a line that just isn't working after we've shot it and we'll loop those as well. I would say 98% of the dialogue you hear is from the production track. We have had AMAZING sound teams on our show who make our jobs SO much easier.

3. I know that you said you were a big fan of history. Did you ever play Oregon Trail on the computer, and if so did you make it to the end of the trail, or did your party die off because of snake bites and contaminated meat before you reached the end?

I may be a fan of history, but that doesn't make me a computer geek! What the heck are you talking about?!?!? Get out of the house now and go play in the fresh air.

4. We don't really get a chance to see Ted cuttin' a rug very often. What kind of dancing skills do you have? Are you secretly another Fred Astaire?

My dancing has been known to cause seizures and hot flashes in both women AND men. For that reason we keep my talents locked under key for worldwide security only to be unleashed in dire times. You will get to see "Ted" bust some MAJOR moves towards the end of the second episode of the 5th season. Consider yourself warned.

5. I would like to see your new home on MTV Cribs. Would that be something you would consider?

Nope. I really like to keep my personal life private and don't see the need to share my home with people I don't know. I'd much rather people know me for my work than how kick-ass my new jacuzzi bathtub is. Omigod, it ROCKS!!!

6. What is the feeling of the cast of Queer As Folk in regards to a 6th or 7th season? Are you interested in continuing on with the series if Showtime wants to renew? Or do you feel like you are ready to move on to other roles?

I think the feelings are mixed. Some are absolutely ready to move on no matter what while others, like myself, would be happy to do more seasons if (and only if) the quality of the writing makes it worthwhile to do so. I mean job security is a tough thing to say "no" to as an actor.

7. Which do you think is worse: mowing the lawn, raking leaves, or shoveling snow?

Shoveling snow. *twitching with many awful Chicago winter memories*

8. Who did your singing for you during your singing waiter episodes?

I don't know. Meaning no offense to the gentleman who did the singing, the dubbing was a big mistake and poorly executed in my opinion. I'll leave it at that.

9. What did you get up to this summer (besides moving)?

Well, my real estate mogulism (buying a new home and selling the old) took up a big chunk of my summer. The rest of the time was spent writing, playing with friends and traveling - - capped off with a spectacular trip to Venice, Italy.

10. Researchers agree that beauty can be calculated. In fact they label such assertion as the "golden rule." That is, there must be a 1.618-to-1 ratio of the length of the lips to the base of the nose, for example, for a person to be considered "beautiful." That ratio also extends to other parts of the body such as teeth size, height, etc. What is your perception of beauty?

I like boobies.

11. During yout time in Canada, have you had a chance to watch Trailer Park Boys and/or Corner Gas? If so, what do you think?

I have caught bits of both shows and, honestly, I don't get 'em. I REALLY like some other Canadian shows like "This Is Wonderland", "The News Room", "The Eleventh Hour" and any coverage of curling. What a SPORT!!!