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Gale Harold Profile |
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Birth Date: July 10, 1969
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Birth Place: Decatur, Georgia, USA
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Birth Name: Gale Morgan Harold III
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Height: 6'2"
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Biography |
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,
Harold'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,
Harold 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. Harold 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 Harold try acting. He relocated 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, Harold 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 Harold.
In 2000, Harold landed the controversial role of
unapologetic homosexual lothario Brian Kinney, a central
character on Showtime's popular gay drama Queer as Folk, a
breakthrough performance that included the first depictions
of male homosexual sex on American television. Brian
Kinney's character, as well as the show itself, elicited
quite a great deal of controversy. It was alternately lauded
and criticized for its explicit depictions of gay club life.
The show lasted for five 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 and appeared only as a
corpse in the eighth episode -- in which Harold nominally
starred but was actually replaced by a new leading man,
Eddie Cibrian. Cibrian received top billing only on the very
last episode to be broadcast. The show's ratings plummeted
after Harold's departure and the last two installments (in a
new Friday night time slot) aired to only half the previous
viewership. Among other factors, the loss of viewership was
publicly attributed to the so-called "Friday night death
slot".
Harold also guest-starred as Wyatt Earp in two episodes of
the HBO series Deadwood and appeared twice 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.
Gale Harold returned to the New York stage in Tennessee
Williams' play Suddenly Last Summer on November 15, 2006, in
the role of Dr. Cukrowicz ("Dr. Sugar"). Harold's co-stars
in this Roundabout Theatre repertory production, a limited
engagement running through January 20, 2007, were Blythe
Danner and Carla Gugino. |
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Other Information |
Worked as a carpenter and motorcycle mechanic before being
cast in "Queer as Folk" (2000).
Avid reader of The Nation magazine.
Calls the city of Toronto his home.
Began acting at the age of 28.
Has an older sister and a younger brother.
Attended South West Dekalb High School and The Lovett
School.
Past influences were Jack London, Gandalf & David Bowie.
Was raised in a Pentecostal household.
In 2007, two years after Queer as Folk went off the air,
Harold and Randy Harrison's characters Brian and Justin won
an only poll sponsored by the website Gay.com to choose TV's
"Favorite Gay Couple." They won in a landslide, with 35% of
the on-line vote. |
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