Showtime’s groundbreaking hit, Queer as Folk, might have wrapped back in 2005, but Peter Paige, who played Emmett Honeycutt on the iconic show, isn’t having trouble finding work. The openly gay actor recently opened up to us about the series that made him a gay fave; his recent projects, including his directorial film and stage debut; and why he had to come out.

AfterElton.com: What can you tell us about the play you’re currently directing?
Peter Paige: It is a beautiful piece of writing … called, Me, My Guitar and Don Henley. It opens Oct. 7th here in [New York City]. It is being performed at the 14th Street Y. I am very excited! I have an amazing cast and I think it is coming together really, really beautifully.

AE: Are you starting to focus more on the behind-the-scenes of acting instead of actually performing?
PP: No, I am not stopping acting by any stretch of the imagination. It is just [that I’m] proactive about directing. I get up every day and make phone calls and work on scripts and give notes and talk to writers and call producers and make some money. I can do all those things everyday. Acting is such a passive profession that you can go insane. I think I am pretty good at [directing], and I certainly enjoy it, and it certainly satisfies me in a very different way than the acting work does. So I would like to add it to the resume.

AE: Are you also trying to balance your stage and screen work?
PP: Yeah, I am in New York now. I took some meetings and am looking for something to do in the city. I miss the stage a lot. It’s my first love, and I am excited to get back on the boards sometime soon.

AE: What appeals to you about standing in front of an audience as opposed to standing in front of a camera?
PP: I really love the intimacy of it. The danger of it all. There is no net! You walk out on stage and you start the play and it goes on no matter how badly you f*** up. It is so human, it is so alive, and it is so electrical! I love it. Oddly, I think movies are better at showing real life, but theater is more real.

AE: Say Uncle was your directorial debut.
PP: Yes.

AE: You are also a writer. Why did you want to try the comedic concept of the gay community as predators?
PP: Well, the comedy is not about pedophilia; the comedy is about hysteria. With very little information, people are absolutely certain they know what is going on even if they don’t have all the facts. We are so afraid of each other. We are so afraid of everyday [situations]. We are told to be afraid of the West Nile virus and the postman and the foreigners and your computer! It just is exhausting for me, and I really think it has reached a dangerous place. So I wanted to make a movie about it.

AE: You’re also working with an all-star cast for this movie. What was it like working with Kathy Najimy and Gabrielle Union?
PP: It was amazing. It was totally amazing! I fell in love with Anthony Clark when he was doing Boston Common, Gabrielle was in Bring It On, Kathy was in Dog Show, and Melanie Lynskey in Heavenly Creatures. All these people share an ability to be funny and honest.

AE: You’re working on an animation series for Logo called Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in the World. What can you tell us about it?
PP: It is very funny and very inappropriate. The animation is done with Legos. I wish I could show you my Lego hands. You know how Legos have this round sort of end? Well, I would stand by the microphone and do Lego hands, and that made me get into character.

AE: Whatever gets you through it.
PP: Exactly, whatever gets you through. It [the show] is so inappropriate. In the first episode, there is this scene with a lesbian crawling around the bathroom in a rest stop looking for semen. It is that inappropriate. It is very funny and good, and I hope we get to do a bunch of them.

AE: I know Margaret Cho is working on the project, correct?
PP: She is, yes. I know Margaret and love her. She is great to interview. We sort of interviewed each other for the 10th Anniversary of Out [magazine] and we had a great time.

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