Queer As Folk - Justin Taylor/Randy Harrison #70 - Because we want to see him in tights! - Page 14

WildRose · 06-06-2012, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manu9 (View Post)

I'm afraid I'll be so excited, nothing will come to my mind

I can see what you mean

Thanks for the links

btw- It's great to know Michelle will appear in the upcoming cool movie Magic Mike. I wish Randy would appear in it too (or better yet Gale

)

Manu9 · 06-06-2012, 09:08 AM

Michelle will be in Magic Mike? It's that the movie with Channing Tatum? I didn't know about that.

Randy is out and about in Cologne, apparently

Here's a pic that was posted on the LJ community.

Photo by Sarah Baseley.

varo_kamry · 06-06-2012, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manu9 (View Post)

Michelle will be in Magic Mike? It's that the movie with Channing Tatum? I didn't know about that.

Randy is out and about in Cologne, apparently

Here's a pic that was posted on the LJ community.

http://i.imgur.com/KiidF.jpg

Photo by Sarah Baseley.

he appears to have tamed his haircut.

WildRose · 06-06-2012, 10:34 AM

Just saw that pic on LJ

He looks so cute!!

galesgirl645 · 06-06-2012, 02:20 PM

Please do not quote pictures as it affects the bandwidth

It's awesome that Randy was out and about.

soulmatejunkee · 06-06-2012, 02:58 PM

Mh, Randy was/is on the cover of a german magazine:

And there's also an interview with him about QAF and Justin. I translated it. There are maybe some grammar mistakes in it... if you find them, you can keep them

Quote:

Since QAF ended you only worked on theater. Is there a reason for?
R.H.: “Because I prefer it. (laughing) And also because the ending of QAF wasn't that good for me in case of my TV experiences. I got a lot of similar offers for other TV shows and movies, while the offers from theater were more different and versatile. And so it was an easy decision. I wanted to develop as an actor and I think that’s easier while working on stage. With every rehearsal and every new co star I learn something new.”

But you don’t regret your work on QAF, do you?
R.H.: “Absolutely not! I am really thankful for being a part of a show that still catches up peoples fancy and that people still appreciate the work we did. I guess that’s because before and after there had never been a show like QAF.”

Do people still recognize you? And if they do, what are they say to “Justin”?
R.H.: “In NY, where I live, people barely recognize me. And if they do, it’s always nice! Because these people are really lovely and sometimes they tell me how much Justin meant to them and that the show helped them with their lives.”

While playing Justin, what did you learn about yourself? Would you two like each other?
R.H.: “I learned how to act in front of a camera. I barely had any kind of experience about that before. Unfortunately I accustomed some really bad things in those five years of QAF. Like to “underact” the lines when I thought Justin wouldn’t talk like that. That’s stupid of course! I should’ve play out every single sexual ambiguity the writers wanted to put into the character! Justin could’ve been a lot more plastic (?) if I would’ve been more gamier with my acting back then. After all Justin wasn’t my idea, it wasn’t my character, it was their doll to play with, so to say. Back then I took everything a little bit too personal and that wasn’t good for my acting. It wouldn’t have been necessary. And no, I don’t think that Justin and I would really like each other. But we also wouldn’t not like each other. I think we wouldn’t really care about each other. His implicit Will to follow hetero normative examples of roles and relationships is not who I am. Bull**** like that bores me.

Do you regret your openly coming out during the show?
R.H.: “No. The more actors are openly out, the better.”

Does QAF shows the real Gay scene?
R.H.: “The gay scene in QAF is the wishful thinking of the writers and creators. It’s a could be/should be. I wouldn’t say it doesn’t exist, but it’s only a small part of the gay scene. The real gay scene is a lot more versatile.”

Are you happy to be with your former Co-Stars again?
R.H.: “Sure! (laughs) We’re all still friends and see each other from time to time. But since I do live on the east coast and all the others live at the west coast I don’t see them as much as they see each other, unfortunately. For example: I haven’t seen Hal [Sparks, playing Michael] since the day we stopped filming QAF. I excited to change that now.”

You were Justin for 5 years, you know him. Where would he be today?
R.H.: “I think, he’s still in NY. But he’s not a popular artist. I mean, he made some Photoshop stuff on the computer in Pittsburgh an then printed them on Photo paper to show them to galleries. That only proves that he had no idea what was really going on in the art scene in 2005. And that makes me think that he wasn’t a very curious guy at all. Today he would work in a good position in a graphic design company or maybe he’s doing some advertising work. He’s good with the Computer, with Photoshop and illustration and maybe even with Flash Animation, so I think he would make some good money. He would have a partner who makes a lot more money than he does and who’s a lot older than he is. Justin does totally maintain a father complex. Unfortunately! (laughs) They married as soon as gay marriage was allowed in NY and they live at Chelsea or Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan and they don’t like people who live in Brooklyn. Justin never had been in an Off-Brodway-theather. I could see him and his husband looking out for a surrogate mother for their child. Because of course they are narcissistic and rich enough to reproduce even though there’s an overpopulation in Manhattan. Justin thinks he’s one of the top 1000 gays of New York and he’s really proud about that! Things like that got very important for him lately. If he comes back to Pittsburgh for visiting, he makes his old friends feel bad about themselve – even though that’s not his intention. (laughs) And… do you know that feeling when you are completely drunk and then have sex with someone and the next morning you wake up and think O my god, how could this happen? and then you feel a little sick when you remember all the details of that night? That’s how Justin feels today when he’s back to Pittsburgh for visiting his mother and then accidentally meets Brian. His husband would make fun about their former relationship. And even though Justin would object piously a little bit – in the end he would laugh about it.”

Source picture: DIE JUNI-AUSGABE IST DA! � MÄNNER

galesgirl645 · 06-06-2012, 03:07 PM

Thanks for translating Steffi

soulmatejunkee · 06-06-2012, 03:39 PM

I really hope he's going to answer a little more fan-friendlier about the last question at the Con

Because I doubt fans agree (or even like) that answer

galesgirl645 · 06-06-2012, 03:43 PM

Yeah it seemed kind of sarcastic his answer

Gemstone · 06-06-2012, 11:29 PM

I wish I can have a nice sitdown with him and tell him about Justin

Of course I'm in total disagreement with him, especially on that last answer.

Steffi, thanks for the translation

soulmatejunkee · 06-07-2012, 05:07 AM

Not sure if he was really serious with the last answer

It sounds a little sarcastic ironic *LOL*
We'll see...

varo_kamry · 06-07-2012, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 90210-Steffi (View Post)

Not sure if he was really serious with the last answer

It sounds a little sarcastic ironic *LOL*
We'll see...

yeah. I would not get overly upset with that answer. Randy has a funny and very twisted imagination and a unique sense of humor (just listen to some of those tales he has spun when introducing his songs at Our Hit Parade) He never liked answering questions that were posed to him in the past that started out with "If Justin were a real person..." or "answer this question as Justin..." or what would Justin be doing today..." or "would you like Justin if you met him in real life..." and usually gave an outlandish answer. That was a great job of translation, but I would venture to guess that some of what he said was lost a bit with the use of a wrong word here and there.

UPDATED REPLY: I just re-read Randy's comments about what Justin would be doing now and realized the answer has two levels to it, as Randy's interview comments often do. On one level he is having some devilsh fun with the fictional character of Justin. On another deeper level he is satirizing the type of self-important gay Manhattan couples Randy appears not to like.

I thought of some comments he made in an interview in Advocate magazine toward the end of QAF in which he used satire and irony to answer some questions he obviously did not care for

Advocate: If your character was a real person, would you be his friend? Why or why not?
RH: .... Were I placed into the TV wonderland of Queer as Folk, ...., Justin and I would f *** once, realize we were twins separated at birth, and try to get our parents back together using elaborately quirky schemes. I’d most like to tell Justin to calm down. Maybe get him into a yoga class.

A truly hilarious answer that belittles the question and uses the plot of the Disney movie "Parent Trap"

Advocate: What’s the one challenge or blessing you hope your character faces in a future episode?
First off, I think Justin is old enough and financially stable enough at this point to have his own apartment. But, codependent as he is, I’m sure Justin would get a large dog right away, probably a pit bull named Harvey. Those would be two blessings. A challenge Justin might face would be dealing with the ramifications of having his cell phone stolen when he went out at 4 o’clock one morning to innocently walk Harvey and ended up giving a mugger a blow job in a public park lavatory

Brilliant. Randy avoids the real intent of the question to spin a seemingly ridiculous story line that in actuality is a satiric jab at the bizarre story actor Kevin Spacey told police in London about being mugged in a public park at 4 a.m while walking his dog and losing his cell phone. (The news story and speculation about Spacey was really doing in the park that eaerly in the morning was quite prominent in the news at the time Randy gave the interview. The blow-job in the public bathroom was a reference to George Michael. )

BriTinFan · 06-07-2012, 08:00 AM

Reading that translation (thanks Steffi) just makes me think that Randy's views on QAF haven't changed that much. He still seems to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder about the Justin character.

I agree that his answer about Justin in the future is a criticism of how certain successful Manhattan gay couples might live their lives, but I can't tell if he is saying this tongue in cheek. Randy lives in Brooklyn and his boyfriend is alternative/hippyish/whatever, but it takes all kinds doesn't it, so I don't get his point. Ironically Randy once had a longterm bf who was very successful and middle class (probably lived in Manhattan) and decidedly not a hippy. Who knows - maybe he is having a go at him.

As for "hetero-normative" - Randy is the one who has lobbied for gay marriage! (though to be fair, he maybe thinks of it as a human rights issue - as I do - rather than a chance to live a "stepford fag" lifestyle to quote Brian Kinney).

Also, there is the concept of "suspension of disbelief". I didn't want to think too much about Justin's graphic arts work. There wasn't too much true artistry there, but you suspend disbelief don't you?! Has Randy not heard of the concept?? Same thing with respect to Brian K. He might not be his idea of the ideal partner, but he was Justin's. He's far too unkind to Justin. He's still taking it personally!

Things like this remind me that I'm a QAF fan first, and a Randy or Gale or whatever fan a very distant second!

OK - I'm taking this article far too seriously. Good on randy for pursuing theatre instead of crap TV (as Gale has). This is admirable. Good on Randy for always being honest (but with a short memory - I mean with respect to the previous bf). I do appreciate very much his performance in QAF, especially as his heart wasn't always in it.

Gemstone · 06-07-2012, 08:50 AM

Interesting to read about Randy's tendancies in answering questions. Then the last question's answer makes sense

I guess if had to answer the same questions over and over and over and over again, I would also change the answers every time

You girls are quite right that he's sarcastic

varo_kamry · 06-07-2012, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BriTinFan (View Post)

Ironically Randy once had a longterm bf who was very successful and middle class (probably lived in Manhattan) and decidedly not a hippy. Who knows - maybe he is having a go at him.

Simon and Randy both lived in the East Village when they first met. The EV was a for a long time the young artist/young actor/young writer section of "lower Manhattan".

They BOTH moved across the river to Brooklyn when Randy bought the condo in the Williamsburg, section of Brooklyn - which has now become the edgy artsy NYC community. I don't think Simon - who I believe lives back in the East Village again - really fits the profile of the gay Manhattanite Randy was goofing on.

One other thing about the interview. Yes..thanks Stefi for taking on the task of translation.

But we should remember that Randy's words were translated twice: his spoken English translated to German by the magazine's reporter or editor and then Stefi's translation from German back to English. So some of the intent or nuance's of Randy's words may have been lost in the process.


Fan Forum > TV Shows - Past > Queer As Folk > Justin Taylor/Randy Harrison #70 - Because we want to see him in tights!