She didn’t care that the part was big or small she just wanted to be part of this. She was doing a play in Chicago and, on her own dime, flew to L.A. Jerry Offsay called and asked what we thought about her. And Sharon Gless, we never saw anyone else other than Sharon for Debbie, who was the last part to be cast.
Lipman: I remember at the beginning, Michelle, Peter, Scott, Thea Gill and Hal were so passionate about doing this, they didn’t have to have their arms twisted, they wanted to do this. As we were getting more desperate, one of us asked her if we could see the tapes she didn’t send and maybe there was somebody there. The casting director in New York would send her people she thought we should see, and there was no one who was right for the part. We found Randy in a lucky way: there was a talent agent in New York who would submit people on tape to Linda, who was in L.A. Linda was calling talent agencies she’d never heard of. The gamble was: would the show succeed and have a second season? Maybe this actor would like it and extend, but Ron and I decided that it was too much of a gamble.Ĭowen: I don’t remember. Lipman: There was one actor, I don’t remember his name, who was a candidate to play Brian before we met Gale, who said he would do it for one season and then leave. We both wondered, “Is he really fabulous or are we desperate?” And he was really fabulous. Gale is very charismatic and enigmatic and read the scene. the night before and said, “He’s here, come over right now.” And there was Gale. And we didn’t have Gale until the day before. The character of Brian is such a linchpin to the show if we didn’t have Brian, we didn’t have a show. Lipman: We had to go to the network to get approval with the cast, and usually you have two people for each role - or more - and you never go in with one. I guess people were concerned that if they were on the show, it would stigmatize them. the reason was obvious: it was because of the content of the show, it being a show about gay people. It was very discouraging.Ĭowen: Actors that we knew actually told us that their agents told them not to go up for Queer as Folk. You’d look at the casting list and it said NA up and down.
Linda would call and say we have 25 people coming in and we’d get there and only have four. Usually when you go to a casting session, you’ll see 50 people and of those, there will be one or two “ NAs” who were not available. There wasn’t a single major agency that submitted any talent for the show. It was very difficult for our casting director, Linda Lowy ( Scandal, Friday Night Lights), to get the major agencies to submit talent. Looking back, what kind of early obstacles did you face?Ĭowen: The biggest obstacle in putting the show together at the beginning was casting and staffing the writers’ room. See more Loud-and-Proud Meter: Hollywood’s Art of Coming Out
#Queer as folk soundtrack hear my name series#
The duo also share their idea for a potential reboot, and break down how the show set the stage for more contemporary series like Glee and Modern Family. Ahead of the session, Cowen and Lipman spoke with THRand looked back at the show’s early struggles - none of the major agencies would submit talent for the show - as well as the cultural impact of the show that offered an honest and intimate look at the lives of a group of gay men. The series, created by producing and life partners Ron Cowenand Daniel Lipman, will celebrate its 10-year anniversary Friday at the ATX Festival with a reunion moderated by The Hollywood Reporter. It’s been almost 10 years since Showtime’s Queer as Folk ended its five-season run and, while much in the LGBT political landscape has changed since then, the ground-breaking drama still remains as relevant as ever as the fight for equality marches on.
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