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Gay Series Changing Darryl Stephens' Career Arc
by Gregg Shapiro, August 17, 2006

Darryl Stephens Darryl Stephens is having a busy year. In addition to continuing his role as the title character in gay cable network Logo's series Noah's Arc, he has two big queer-themed movies on the big screen. Another Gay Movie and Boy Culture (which won the Jury Award for Best Feature Film at the 12th Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival) are playing the festival circuit and in theaters nationwide. While in Philadelphia at the film festival, Stephens sat down with me at a coffee shop in Center City for an interview.

AfterElton.com: You are the title character in the Logo series Noah's Arc. Your arc, in terms of your career, is very impressive. A lot has happened in a relatively short period of time. Have you had a chance to sit back and absorb it, or do you still feel like you are trying to find a way to take it all in?
Darryl Stephens:
Honestly, I feel like at this point all I can do is focus on the next job. Resting on the laurels of the things that I did two years ago is only going to slow me down. It's important for me to keep getting more work and keep expanding my oeuvre. [Laughs.]

AE: Even though Noah's Arc is ongoing?
DS:
With the series, every time we shoot a season, that could be the last time we see these characters. We are signed for six seasons, but the network is only committed to putting on what is going to benefit the network.

AE: You had two movies, Another Gay Movie and Boy Culture, screened at the 2006 Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. That is quite a distinction. How does that make you feel?
DS:
The only reason I'm in Boy Culture is that the director of Noah's Arc [Patrik-Ian Polk] knows Q. Allan Brocka. Allan was trying to cast that role black and couldn't find anyone. He mentioned that to Patrik, who said that he thought he had someone who would be really good, [although] Patrik was a little hesitant to hand me over. It just so happened that the line producer on Boy Culture was co-producing Another Gay Movie, and she called me about an assistant director that she was interested in hiring that I worked with on the pilot. In our conversation she asked me if I had been in to read for Todd [Stephens, director of Another Gay Movie], and I said, “Who's Todd? I don't know anything about this.” She said, “Come in and read for this role.” It was completely about who I knew and who happened to mention me in conversation.

AE: So it really is true — it's who you know.
DS:
It's a tiny town. It's not like I actually went out and pursued all these roles. They kind of came to me in some ways.

AE: Are you aware of whether the two movies being screened at other film festivals?
DS:
In Miami, they showed both. I think they showed them both at Outfest in Los Angeles. They both played at Tribeca. It's been an interesting year. I haven't been able to soak in much of it, because I've been working.

AE: The two movies, and roles, are very different. Another Gay Movie has a more over-the-top, irreverent style, where Boy Culture balances its comedy with more dramatic elements. Do you have a preference for comedy or drama?
DS:
That's interesting because Noah's Arc is kind of seen as a comedy. I always felt like Noah was the straight man — pardon the pun — on the show because everyone was funny around him and he was the emotional center of it. I think I'm a little more comfortable with dramatic stuff. In my personal life, I'm probably kind of silly, but when it comes to the work, I feel a little more comfortable in not trying to meet anyone's comic expectations, but just bringing real emotions.

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