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The 33-year-old actor says he was wary to pursue gay roles after Trick--for fear of typecasting--but the rich writing and witty dialogue of The Book of Daniel was too good
to overlook.

“What I liked about (Peter Webster) is he's not a clichéd character. Especially in terms of a gay character on television, there's nothing cliché about him,” Campbell says.

He also enjoyed Daniel‘s depiction of a loving family who accepts Peter for who he is.

“I understand that it's important to deal with these issues (on television) in terms of people being ignorant or just being unwilling to accept, but it would also be nice just to see people accepting. Show an inspiring example,” Campbell says.

“There are a lot of people who talk the talk about, ‘Gays are evil. Get them out of there,' but when it comes their own family and someone happens to be gay, they kind of shut up, because really, it all comes down to love. Familial love. I like that.”

During our interview, which took place shortly before Daniel was cancelled, Campbell admitted that he wasn't surprised by the AFA's negative reaction to the show. In fact, he was quite prepared for most of the noise.

“I knew reading the script. I'm surprised we even got past pilot, frankly. I can't believe we've come to this far,” Campbell says with a laugh. “It saddens me, of course, just to see the things that they say and the fact that I expected this and that it happens--that's a sad reality.”

This chapter of Campbell's career may have come to a quick close, but the charismatic actor has been quietly building an impressive list of credits for several years. Campbell recently starred as Jimmy in Reefer Madness:The Movie Musical, a campy spoof of the 1930's drug-scare movie, alongside sister and Scream actress Neve, Alan Cumming and Ana Gasteyer. Campbell created the role in the 1999 stage version, winning the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Lead Performance.

Campbell had a roughly year-long run on the daytime drama All My Children, playing Bobby Warner. He also portrayed the late Jonathan Larson, the genius behind Rent, in the national tour of the rock musical tick … tick … BOOM!

Up next for Campbell are a pair of independent films and possibly more theater roles. Whatever he decides to tackle, it's a safe bet Campbell will approach it with the honesty and grace that has marked so much of his best work.

“I'm an actor, and I want to act. If I'm a good enough actor, I won't get pegged,” Campbell says. “I've played roles all over the spectrum, and I know that I'm capable of doing that. For me, it's the quality of the material, and that's what Trick was, and that's what (Daniel) is, is a great script.”

Too bad in the end, that wasn't enough.

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