Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Gale Harold
birthname	Gale Morgan Harold III
birth place	Decatur, Georgia, U.S.
birth date	July 10, 1969
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	2000–present }}

Gale Morgan Harold III (born July 10, 1969) is an American actor widely known for his roles on ''Queer as Folk,'' ''Desperate Housewives'' and ''Hellcats'', as well as on a series of 2002 Pontiac Aztek commercials.

Early life

Harold was born in Decatur, Georgia, the son of an engineer father and a mother who was a real estate agent. The second of three children, Harold's parents were devout Pentecostals, and Harold had a strict Pentecostal upbringing. At age 15, he left the church, saying that he "knew it was bullshit." Harold's father left the church several years later.

After graduating from The Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia, Harold attended American University in Washington, DC, on a soccer scholarship. He began a Liberal Arts degree in romance literature, departing after a year and a half following a conflict with his coach. Harold then moved to San Francisco, California, United States to pursue an interest in photography at the San Francisco Art Institute. He worked a variety of jobs including positions as a Ducati motorcycle technician and a construction worker.

In 1997, friend Susan Landau, daughter of actor Martin Landau, suggested Harold try acting. He relocated to Los Angeles and began a 3-year period of intensive drama study. At 28, he was accepted into the Actors Conservatory Program with the classical theater company A Noise Within. In his theatrical debut, Harold appeared as "Bunny" in ''Me and My Friends''. In 2003, he starred in Wake, produced by Susan Landau Finch and directed by her husband Henry Leroy Finch. The movie featured a cameo by Martin Landau and the lead part of Kyle Riven was written specifically for Harold.

Career

In 2000, Harold landed the controversial role of unapologetic gay man Brian Kinney, a central character on Showtime's popular gay drama ''Queer as Folk'', a breakthrough performance that included a level of explicit gay male sex unusual for American television. Brian Kinney's character, as well as the show itself, elicited quite a great deal of controversy. It was alternately lauded and criticized for its explicit depictions of gay club life. The show ran for five successful seasons, ending in 2005.

Harold had the lead role of Special Agent Graham Kelton in the short-lived FOX series ''Vanished'' in 2006, but his character was killed off in the seventh episode and appeared only as a corpse in the eighth episode.

Harold also guest-starred as Wyatt Earp in two episodes of the HBO series ''Deadwood'' and appeared twice on the CBS series ''The Unit''. Alongside childhood idol David Bowie, Gale is an associate producer of the documentary ''Scott Walker: 30 Century Man''.

Gale Harold returned to the New York stage in Tennessee Williams' play ''Suddenly Last Summer'' on November 15, 2006, in the role of Dr. Cukrowicz ("Dr. Sugar"). Harold's co-stars in the Roundabout Theatre repertory production, a limited Off-Broadway engagement running through January 20, 2007, were Blythe Danner and Carla Gugino.

Harold was the male lead in the indie romantic comedy ''Falling for Grace'', which debuted favorably at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival (under working title ''East Broadway''). Harold played an eligible New York bachelor in an inter-racial relationship with an Asian-American woman. The film screened at festivals, theaters and campuses in the U.S., China and Germany; it was released on DVD in March, 2010.

Gale appeared in November 2007 in a guest role on ABC's ''Grey's Anatomy'' as Shane, a paramedic and white supremacist with a swastika tattooed on his abdomen, who is injured in an ambulance crash.

Harold joined the cast of ''Desperate Housewives'' on the fourth season finale May 18, 2008 as Jackson Braddock, Susan Mayer's love interest. Six months after a serious motorcycle accident, Harold returned to play Jackson on the May 3, 2009 episode of the show.

In January and February 2010, Gale performed alongside Denise Crosby (Star Trek TNG) and ex-model Claudia Mason in Tennessee Williams' ''Orpheus Descending'' at Theater/Theatre in Los Angeles. The production and cast received mostly positive reviews, with the Los Angeles Times calling his performance "brilliant" and adding "Harold, ideally cast, beautifully ignites with Crosby, whose unconventional interpretation is an affecting revelation."

In July 2010, it was announced at the Television Critics Association Summer Tour that Harold had accepted a recurring role as a law professor in the upcoming series ''Hellcats''. Executive Producer Kevin Murphy said of him:'' “Oh my God, I was such a fan of his on Queer As Folk. He has the ability to be really, really wicked smart and also just really kind of sexy and immersive, and his character, he pulls you in. He’s a seducer and I think all the great lawyers are seducers.”'' The series concluded its season with Harold's character involved in a sexual affair with the show's lead character Marti (played by Aly Michalka). However, the series was cancelled after one season. Prior to cancellation, however, it was announced that Harold would be a regular in another prospective CW series, ''The Secret Circle'', based on a trilogy of popular young adult novels.

Following considerable buzz in the press, the CW picked up ''The Secret Circle'' for the Fall of 2011. The series will revolve around a coven of teenaged witches in a small town in Washington State (changed from Maine in the novels), each a member of a different witch clan dating back to the 17th Century. Harold will play the show's villain, a scheming and powerful male witch (the word "warlock" will apparently not be used) who is the father of one of the teenagers. Because the author of the novel cycle, L. J. Smith, is also the author of the novels on which the CW series ''The Vampire Diaries'' is based, and because the series creators (Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec) are the same, the CW intends to use the latter show as the lead-in for ''The Secret Circle''. Both shows will air on Thursday nights.

Reaction from journalists who have seen the show's pilot episode has been almost uniformly positive, with one writer predicting: ''"We feel like Gale Harold is going to steal every single scene he's in on the show, just like he basically stole this extended trailer. He was creepy as hell threatening Adam's father (Adam Harrington) and even creepier when he was putting on the nice guy act for Cassie... after killing her mother. We already love to hate him."''

Personal life

Harold is a motorcycle enthusiast and former motorcycle technician. On October 14, 2008, Harold was hospitalized after a serious motorcycle accident at USC Medical Center's intensive care unit. He remained in critical condition after swelling of the brain was discovered as well as a fractured shoulder. Harold was subsequently released from intensive care and returned to complete his interrupted role on ''Desperate Housewives''. The online motorcycle publication ''Clutch & Chrome'', which has followed his recovery closely, celebrated his new ''Hellcats'' role with an article on August 3, 2010.

Filmography

''Mental Hygiene'' ''Particles of Truth'' ''The Unseen'' ''Falling for Grace'' ''Passenger Side'' ''Fertile Ground'' ''Rehab'' ''Street Time'' ''Fathers and Sons'' ''The Unit'' Wyatt Earp ''Grey's Anatomy'' ''[[Desperate Housewives'' ''CSI: NY'' ''Hellcats'' ''The Secret Circle (TV series)

colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"	Film
2000	''36K''	Booker O'Brien
2001	|	David Ryan	Short film
rowspan="3"	2003	|	Morrison Wiley
''Rhinoceros Eyes''	Det. Phil Barbara
''Wake''	Kyle Riven
rowspan="2"	2005	|	Harold
''Life on the Ledge''	Chaz
2006	|	Andrew James Barrington, Jr.
2009	|	Karl
2010	|	Nate Weaver
2011	|	Dr. Daniel Brody	''Post-production''
colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;">Television
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
2000-2005	Queer as Folk (North American TV series)>Queer as Folk''	Brian Kinney
rowspan="2"	2003	|	Geoff Beddoes	2 episodes
''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''
rowspan="2"	2005	|	Elliott	Made-for-television film
''Martha: Behind Bars''	Peter Bacanovic
rowspan="3"	2006	|	Rory	Episode 1.07: "The Unit (season 1)#ep7
''[[Deadwood (TV series)	Deadwood''	| Episode 3.08: "Leviathan Smiles" Episode 3.09: "Amateur Night"
''Vanished''	Agent Graham Kelton
2007	|	Shane	Episode 4.09: "Grey's Anatomy (season 4)#ep70
2008-2009	|	Acquaintances of Susan Mayer#Jackson Braddock>Jackson Braddock	15 episodes
2010	|	Kevin Scott	CSI: NY (season 6)#ep139>Point of View"
2010-2011	|	Julian Parrish	9 episodes
2011	The Secret Circle'' ||	Thomas Mead	Main cast

References

External links

AfterElton.com: Documenting a Musical Outsider; interview with Stephen Kijak and Gale Harold

Category:American agnostics Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American University alumni Category:Former Protestants Category:Actors from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:People from DeKalb County, Georgia Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:San Francisco Art Institute alumni

ca:Gale Harold da:Gale Harold de:Gale Harold es:Gale Harold fr:Gale Harold it:Gale Harold he:גייל הרולד hu:Gale Harold nl:Gale Harold ja:ゲイル・ハロルド pl:Gale Harold pt:Gale Harold ru:Харольд, Гейл fi:Gale Harold uk:Гейл Харольд

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
bgcolour	silver
name	Randy Harrison
birthname	Randolph Clarke Harrison
birth date	November 02, 1977
birth place	Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S.
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	2000–present
academyawards	}}

Randolph Clarke Harrison (born November 2, 1977) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Justin Taylor on the Showtime drama ''Queer as Folk''.

Early life and college

Harrison was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, but moved to Alpharetta, Georgia with his family at age eleven. He attended Pace Academy, a private prep school in Atlanta. His father is an executive with a large paper company, while he has described his mother as a "thwarted artist." His only sibling, an older brother, is a bank manager.

Harrison attended the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he ultimately received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in musical theatre. During his time at CCM, Harrison starred in university productions, such as ''Hello Again'', ''Shopping and Fucking,'' and ''Children of Eden''. He also had roles in other theatrical venues across the U.S., playing in productions such as ''Violet'' at the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, ''1776'' at the St. Louis Municipal Theatre and ''West Side Story'' at the Forestburg Playhouse, as well as productions of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''The Real Inspector Hound'' and ''A Cheever Evening''.

Career

Harrison made his television debut playing Justin Taylor, a gay teen, in 2000's American version of ''Queer as Folk'', based upon the British television series. The series ran for five seasons, ending in 2005. In 2002, Harrison played the character "Sean" in a made-for-television movie entitled ''Bang Bang You're Dead'', which is based on the play of the same name. Harrison stars as Brutus in cinematographer/director/writer Patrick Donelley's upcoming post-modern feature film adaptation of "Julius Cesar" opposite actor John Shea as the title role, which as of 2010 is still in post-production.

In 2002, Harrison starred in the play ''Deviant'' at the New York International Fringe Festival. In the summer of 2004, Harrison made his Broadway debut as Boq in the musical ''Wicked''. His Off Broadway credits include "A Letter for Ethel Kennedy" (MCC Theatre, 2002), the Father in "Oak Tree" (Perry Street Theatre, 2006), Eros in "Antony and Cleopatra" (Theatre for a New Audience, 2008), Young Spencer in "Edward II" (Red Bull Theatre, 2007–2008), and Laszlo Fickes/Gerhardt Zeitzler in "A Singing Forest" (Public Theatre, 2009). Harrison has also done several staged readings for Red Bull Theatre, where he starred in their 'In the Raw' workshop production of "A Tyger's Heart" in February 2011

Harrison has a substantial resume in regional theatre, most prominently as a featured player since 2005 at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. Roles with BTF include Alan Strang in "Equus" (2005), the title role in "Amadeus" (2006), Bill Bibbit in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (2007), Frank Gardner in "Mrs. Warren's Profession"(2007), Lucky in "Waiting for Godot" (2008), Osvald Alving in "Ghosts" (2009) and Nagg in "Endgame" (2010). Other regional theatre credits include the Alabama Shakespeare Festival production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', presented in the Spring of 2006 by the SITI Company (where Harrison has studied extensively at through Skidmore College and in Manhattan); Guthrie Theater's production of ''The Glass Menagerie'' as 'Young Tom' (2007); Andy Warhol in the Yale Repertory Theatre's production of Pop! (2009); and Sebastian in Rebecca Taichman's production of "Twelfth Night" at the Shakespeare Theatre Company (2010). In summer of 2011, Harrison played the role of Tommy in the Berkshire Theatre Festival's summer production of ''The Who's Tommy'' at the Colonial Theater.

In 2006, Harrison co-founded the Arts Bureau (tAB) , an umbrella organization encompassing theatre, film, music, and writing. In July 2007, Harrison starred in the first play through tAB, ''a heartwarming story, ultimately'', based on the work of Anton Chekhov. In late 2007/early 2008, Harrison shot and starred in the first tAB short film,''Thinking'', which has shown at several film festivals and is currently available for purchase on the official tAB website . In Summer 2008, tAB shot its first feature film, "Lorton Lake", which is expected to be completed by summer 2011.

Personal life

Harrison, who is openly gay, dated ''Advertising Age'' columnist Simon Dumenco from 2002 to 2008; the two met when Dumenco interviewed Harrison for a ''New York'' magazine cover story. As of December 2009, Harrison lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with his cats Ella and Aggie.

Credits

Television

''Queer as Folk'' (U.S. version) (2000–2005) as Justin Taylor

''Bang Bang You're Dead'' (2002) as Sean

Theater

Hello Again

Shopping and Fucking

Children of Eden

Violet

1776

West Side Story

The Real Inspector Hound

A Cheever Evening

Deviant (2002)

Wicked (2004), as Boq

Equus (2005), as Alan Strang (Berkshire Theatre Festival)

A Midsummer Night's Dream (2006) as Lysander/Thisbe/Cobweb

Amadeus (2006) as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Berkshire Theatre Festival)

An Oak Tree (2006) as the father

A Letter From Ethel Kennedy

The Glass Menagerie (2007) as Young Tom (Guthrie Theater)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (2007) as Billy Bibbit (Berkshire Theatre Festival)

Mrs. Warren's Profession (2007) as Frank Gardner (Berkshire Theatre Festival)

Edward the Second (2007/2008) as Young Spencer

Antony and Cleopatra (April/May 2008) as Eros

Waiting for Godot (Summer 2008) as Lucky (Berkshire Theatre Festival)

The Singing Forest (April/May 2009) as Laszlo Fickes/Gerhardt Zeitzler (The Public Theater)

Ghosts (Ibsen) (Summer 2009) as Oswald (Berkshire Theatre Festival)

POP! (Fall 2009) as Andy Warhol (Yale Repertory Theatre)

Caligula by Albert Camus (January 2010) as Scipio (Red Bull Theatre)

Endgame (Summer 2010) as Nagg (Berkshire Theatre Festival)

The Who's Tommy (Summer 2011) as Tommy (Berkshire Theatre Festival)

The Habit of Art (Fall 2011) as Tim (The Studio Theatre)

Films

''Bang Bang You're Dead'' (2002) as Sean

''Thinking...'' (2008) as "Boy"

''Lorton Lake'' (2011)

''Julius Cesar'' (2011) as Brutus

References

External links

Category:1977 births Category:Actors from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Actors from New Hampshire Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American people of English descent Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Gay actors Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:Living people Category:People from Nashua, New Hampshire Category:University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni

ca:Randy Harrison de:Randy Harrison es:Randy Harrison fr:Randy Harrison it:Randy Harrison he:רנדי הריסון ja:ランディ・ハリソン pl:Randy Harrison pt:Randy Harrison ru:Харрисон, Рэнди sh:Randy Harrison fi:Randy Harrison uk:Ренді Харрісон