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AE: One of the great storylines on Queer as Folk was between Emmett and Drew Boyd (Matt Battaglia), though they didn’t end up together. If you were Emmett, who would you pick: Drew or Ted (Scott Lowell)?
PP: You know, it is hard to say. I certainly see what is attractive about Matt Battaglia and his character. I actually pitched that whole [story concept] with the writers. That was my idea. I was very invested in that story. I would have liked them to get together, but there was something true in what [Emmett] said. He wasn’t ready to love. I think you can’t begrudge him in his choice.

AE: Do you think they ended up together a few years down the line?
PP: Yes. Let’s just say that Emmett got a phone call from Drew and he was ready to go the distance.

AE: What was the greatest thing about working on Queer as Folk?
PP: There were a lot of great parts. I really loved the crew. I got to play Emmett — it was like I got to play the queen. He really became the most interesting character to play. There was a lot to him, and the writers gave me a lot of really good stuff to do.

Then they pulled the rug out from under me and I had my heart broken, and it was really satisfying to do creatively sometimes. I really enjoyed it. Being part of a show and the lack of apology in the show — all of that meant a lot to me.

AE: What was the worst part about being on Queer as Folk?
PP: It was being away from my friends for six to eight months a year. I made great friends with the cast and in the crew and some other people in Toronto, but my friends in Los Angeles I have been friends with for almost 20 years now. They are just incredibly important to me. I have known them since high school [and] some after high school. We are a family, and so that was hard being away from all of them.

AE: Do you have any regrets playing such an openly gay character?
PP: It certainly has impacted my future character[s], but I firmly believe that the good that was done far out weighs the challenges that it created.

AE: What made you decide to say, “OK, I am an openly gay actor?”
PP: I couldn’t imagine [being] a part of Queer as Folk — a show so voiced and so righteous — and then not answering my sexuality, which is an apology by omission. I just couldn’t do it.

AE: How did your family react to your coming out?
PP: Pretty well. They all said that I had done the right thing.

AE: Did they have a suspicion or was it a total surprise?
PP: I said they couldn’t have [been too surprised] because I was the gayest little boy on the earth. I used to cut up my dad’s socks and make them into tube sock dresses. It … sure involved a readjustment for everyone.

AE: How is your dating life going?
PP: How is my dating life? I am newly single. It is complicated at the moment.

Peter Paige’s play, Me, My Guitar and Don Henley, runs through Oct. 27, 2006, at the 14th Street Y in New York City. Tickets are available at theatremania.com or by calling 212-352-3101.

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