Gale Harold - Rotten Tomatoes Celebrity Profile

Biography

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Gale Morgan Harold III (born on July 10, 1969 in Decatur, Georgia, United States) is an American actor. He has an older sister and a younger brother. Eschewing publicity, Gale's upbringing is a mystery, aside from his own admission that growing up was a "bizarre Pentecostal" experience. Jack London, David Bowie and J. R. R. Tolkien's Gandalf have often been credited as influences in his younger years.

After graduating from The Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia, Gale attended American University in Washington, D.C. on a soccer scholarship. He began a Liberal Arts degree in romance literature, only to depart after a year and a half following a conflict with his coach. Gale then moved to San Francisco, California, United States to pursue an interest in Photography at the San Francisco Art Institute. He worked a variety of jobs including positions as a mechanic and a construction worker

In 1997, friend Susan Landau, daughter of actor Martin Landau, suggested Gale try acting. He re-located to Los Angeles and began a 3 year period of intensive drama study. At 28, he was accepted into the Actors Conservatory Program with the classical theater company A Noise Within. In his theatrical debut, Gale appeared as "Bunny" in Me and My Friends. In 2003, he starred in Wake, produced by Susan Landau Finch and directed by her husband Henry Leroy Finch. The movie featured a cameo by Martin Landau and the lead part of Kyle Riven was written specifically for Gale.

In 2000, Gale landed the role of Brian Kinney, a central character on Showtime's popular gay drama Queer as Folk, a breakthrough performance including the first depictions of male homosexual sex on television; his performances were as riveting, raw and unapologetic as his character. The show and the character of Brian Kinney were controversial - it was alternately lauded and loathed for its explicit depictions of gay club life. The show found a strong core audience among women as well as among gay men, and lasted for 5 seasons, ending in 2005

Harold had the lead role of Special Agent Graham Kelton in the FOX series Vanished in 2006, but his character was killed off in the seventh episode (following weeks of rumors and a storm of viewer protest on various websites) and appeared only as a corpse in the eighth episode -- in which Harold nominally starred but was actually replaced by new leading man Eddie Cibrian. Cibrian's top billing was only instituted on the very last episode to be broadcast. The show's ratings plummeted after Harold's character's death, and the last two episodes (in a new timeslot on Friday night at 8 p.m. Eastern time) limped on with half the previous viewership, although this also might be due to the Friday Night Death Slot.

He had a guest-starring spot as Wyatt Earp in two episodes of the HBO series Deadwood and two appearances on the CBS series The Unit. Alongside childhood idol David Bowie, Gale is an associate producer of the upcoming documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man. Harold returned to the New York stage in Tennessee Williams' play Suddenly Last Summer on November 15, 2006, reprising the Montgomery Clift role of Dr. Cuckrowicz. His co-stars are Blythe Danner and Carla Gugino.

Film credits

Andrew : East Broadway (2005)
Harold : The Unseen, the movie (2005)
Chaz : Life on the Ledge (2004)
Elliot: Fathers and Sons (2004)
Kyle Riven : Wake (2003)
Phil Barbara : Rhinoceros Eyes (2003)
Morrison Wiley: Particles of Truth (2003)
David Ryan : Mental Hygiene (2001)
Booker O'Brien : 36K (2000)

Television credits

Graham Kelton : Vanished (2006) in the first seven episodes only until his character was killed off
Wyatt Earp : Deadwood (2006)
Rory "The Missile" Radio Station Manager: The Unit in episodes "Dedication" and "Unannounced" (2006)
Peter Bacanovic: Martha: Behind Bars (2005)
Dr. Garret Lang : Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) in episode "Perfect" (2003)
Geoff Beddoes : Street Time (2002) in episodes "Get Up, Stand Up" and "Gone" (2003)
Brian Kinney: Queer as Folk USA (2000-2005)

Himself : Larry King Live (1985) in April 2002

Trivia

Gale has a tattoo on the inside of his right, middle finger that reads "Resist".
He reads The Nation religiously.
He smokes American Spirit cigarettes.
Gale is quoted in MetroSource magazine saying, "I'm straight. And the reason I haven't talked about it is because of the show (Queer as Folk) and the way they were promoting it."

External links

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