Actors/Actresses: October 2006 Archives

When the call came to audition for the role of a fashion designer on the MyNetwork soap "Fashion House," Garrett Swann had already rented a U-Haul truck to move to Santa Barbara, abandoning his dreams of an acting career. The audition came with short notice that Swann actually drove the U-Haul truck to it! Even though he had little television experience, his history of party planning and working around fashion design during his years as a struggling actor helped him nail the part.

"It was just ironic that the minute you want to give up, you let go of something, and suddenly it all comes back to you," Garrett tells Out in Hollywood. "This role just came really natusally to me because I knew all about that world, about fabric and how things are cut. And with all the backstabbing the characters do on the show, I know about that from the drama in my pwn life! I even knew about throwing vases and glasses!"

Now the openly gay Swann finds himself on television six nights a week as one of Bo Derek's fashion designers. The other one is played by openly gay actor Tony Tripoli.
"When we wrere in the screen test together for the pilot, I knew when I met him we were ying and yangv and frik and frak. I'm the softer side of the pair, the more sensitive but sneaky one. Bo really liked working with Tony and I. We gave her a lot of fun and we had a lot of connection with her. It's so easy to connect with gay boys, we're so open."

The cast also includes Morgan Fairchild, Tippi Hedren, and a cast of quite attractive younger actors and actresses just now making their mark.

Swann began performing in plays as a teen, studied acting in New York at Circle in the Square and landed commercials and bit parts here and there. It may have taken until he was 37 years old to land his first job as a regular on a television series, but Garrett says he hgas been performing since he was maybe 6 years old when "I'd lock myself in the bathroom and go through every product in the medicine cabinet ands I'd do commericals."

'This is really my big break," he says. "Before when I'd go out for things, no one knew who I was."

Now, a lot of people do.

"I find it bizarre and weird to see myself on television but I'm starting to get used to it," Garrett says. "I'm getting recognized now as I travel and do publicity for the show. A woman walked up to me on a plane recently and said, 'You're that guy on television!' I went to the opening of 'Sweet Charity' recently and ["General Hospital" star] Jackie Zehman came up and told me she was a fan. It's bizarre."

Was gabbing on the phone with a friend Friday night with the television on in the background. I hear this voice. It's Mario Cantone! Charlotte's gay wedding planner'friend in New York City with lots of attitude was making an appearance on ABC's "Men in Trees" as a gay hairdresser in the small town of Elmo, with just a little bit of attitude. Cantone is giving a trim to former real-life lesbian Anne Heche's character of Marin when there is an earthquake and he lops off a big chunk, forcing her to wear hats for the rest of the episode.

I liked the fact that Cantone's character, Terri, makes it immediately clear that he is gay. "You too look as sad as the end of 'The Way We Were.'" he says to a forlorn Marin and her friend. "I watched it again last night!" When Terri overhears the women talking about a guy Marin likes because "he looks like a young Paul Newman," he interjects: "I'd fall into those cool hands Luke anytime."

He explains to the women that he ended up in this small town because while on an "alternative lifestyle" cruise with his boyfriend, he walked in on the partner and the ship's purser getting cozy in their cabin. He got off the ship at the next stop and stayed.
"What can I say?" he tells the ladies. "I love the crap out of nature!"

Out actor John Benjamin Hickey, who alternates between roles in theater, television and film, has roles in two movies currently in theaters: "Flags of our Fathers" and "Infamous." He recently spoke with Andy's Blog about a variety of topics.
He calls being directed by Clint Eastwood in "Flags" "The greatest experience of my life! Like being in a room with Miles Davis -- not that I've been in a room with Miles Davis, but that's how I imagine it would be like...
In "Infamous," he plays Truman Capote's longtime partner Jack Dunphy: "They were partners, lovers, and boyfriends for some 30 years and Jack led his own much quieter life. They had something worked out to where it worked for them, because Truman got around much more than Jack did."
Check out the full post by clicking HERE.
I best remember Hickey for his role as one-half of a gay couple of the wonderful, but short-lived, comedy "It's All Relative" that aired on ABC three seasons back. A friend and I attended this surprisingly intimate event at the LA Gay and Lesbian Center where Billy Bean hosted a panel featuring the entire cast. And what a cast. It also included out actor Christopher Sieber, Lenny Clarke and the terrific Harriet Sanson Harris who has since gone on to a delicious role on "Desperate Housewives." It was a magical night made even more magical by getting to meet two of the show's executive producers: Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. Their credits include a few things you may have heard of: "Chicago," "Gypsy" starring Bette Midler, "Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows" and the upcoming big-screen musical 'Hairspray." They are also involved in bringing Bean's life story to the screen on Lifetime television.
"We met little resistance," he tells Andy's blog regarding ABC and "It's All Relative." "For whatever you may have thought about that show, it did offer Middle America a monogamous gay couple like a lot of married couples and I thought that was cool. It was cool to get to do that on network television -- especially on ABC. They never
censored us in any shape or form. Granted it wasn't the most cutting edge show, but even so...."

Jane Lynch has been one of those actresses who looks really familiar but you can't quite place her. She has nearly 100 guest appearances on televison series ranging from "Friends" to "Desperate Housewives" to "Felicity." But in the past year or so, this 46 year old actress has been one of the busiest performers around: Tonight, she made another appearance on ABC's "Boston Legal" as sex therapist Joanna Monroe, is a regular of Lifetime's "Lovespring International" and has been signed for a role in an untitled CBS sitcom to be directed by Ben Stiller starring his wife Christine Taylor. She also has had a recurring role on the Showtime series "The L Word."

Jane is just as busy in feature films, big box office hits, including her role as Will Ferrell's mother in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and as Steve Carell's sexually hungry boss in last year's smash comedy "40 Year Old Virgin." She has a role in the upcoming Christopher Guest comedy "For Your Consideration" and a handful of movies either in the can or in pre-production!

As a tribute to this talented and very busy actress, I am adding Jane Lynch to the "Out In Hollywood" gallery of out heroes. Check out our gallery so far and feel free to suggest any high-profile people you feel deserved to be added.

Former "Queer As Folk" star Gale Harold, who was unexpectedly killed off of Fox's "Vanished" a few weeks ago, is leaving television behind for the time being. He's headed back east to co-star in a production of "Suddenly Last Summer," the Tennessee Williams play that was made into a 1959 movie starring Elizabeth Taylor and Katherine Hepburn (both Oscar-nominated for their roles) as well as closeted gay icon Montgomery Clift.

Harold plays the Clift role of Dr. Cukrowicz, opposite Blythe Danner and Carla Gugino. The play officially premieres on Nov. 15 at the Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre. The straight actor, who fully gave himself up to the rile of slutty Brian Kinney in "Queer," gave an interview to Playbill magazine. In it, he seems A LOT more enthused about appearing in two episodes of "Deadwood" as Wyatt Earp than about the five years on "Queer," the show that made him a star.

Appearing on "Deadwood," he says, "was fantastic! Working with David Milch [creator and head writer] and the actors and everybody on that show was really invigorating. I don't know what the best descriptive word would be. I loved it! I didn't want to leave."

Of "Queer" he had this to say: "It was full of different experiences. Working with the cast and the directors and pushing myself to places I didn't expect to be in was very positive and difficult and frightening. I'm very grateful that I had the experience to do it. It opened some doors to me. Overall, it was very positive."

Gee Gale, sounds like you had a BLAST.