Dear Joshua,
Hal Sparks claims to be straight and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise.
In an interview for an online gay magazine, they treat him as
straight: "Rex Wockner chatted with him about [...] having to kiss
boys all the time when you're straight." (SOURCE: Rex Wockner, ""Queer
as Folk's" Hal Sparks", Gay.com,
<http://www.gay.com/entertainment/interview.html?sernum=489>).
These question and answer go like that:
"A lot of gay guys I know would find it icky to kiss a girl. Did you
have to deal with an "ick factor" in getting used to kissing boys all
the time for the series? (on p. 2 of the interview,
<http://www.gay.com/entertainment/interview.html?coll=pno_entertainment&sernum=489&page=2>)
Absolutely. I still do. I don't think the ick factor would ever go
away for a gay man, because it's just contrary to his nature. It's not
that women are bad; it's just that they have no interest, and I am the
same way. Definitely, there's an ick factor. It's a little bit like
French kissing your dad. When you don't have the internal impetus that
makes you gay in the first place, you're kind of flying blind in that
area. I don't get it. But then, that's even more evidence, I think,
for the argument that people should be allowed to be who they are. In
the same way that I could never understand the appeal of kissing a
guy, I wouldn't expect a gay man or woman to understand the appeal of
what I do.
Have you had any gay surprises doing "Queer as Folk"?
I didn't know gay men had sex facing each other. That was a big
surprise. It seems logical now, but I'd just never thought about it.
It looks like it would rack you up. It looks painful. And I realized
the gay club world isn't that different from the straight club world,
really. There's just this element of propriety that's forced on the
straight club world by years of social norms that isn't necessarily
there in gay clubs." (on p. 3 of the interview,
<http://www.gay.com/entertainment/interview.html?coll=pno_entertainment&sernum=489&page=3>).
Another gay magazine also mentioned the fact that Sparks is straight:
"For Sparks, who is heterosexual, accepting a role on the series was a
way to take part in something he believed would have a positive effect
on the way Americans view gays and lesbians.
"I've had gay friends my whole life," he explained. "Two of my best
friends from growing up in Kentucky are gay, and two of my friends in
Chicago were gay.""
(SOURCE: Doug Gruse, "'Folk' hero - Hal Sparks is on our side",
Philadelphia Gay News, March 5, 2004,
<http://www.sparksfan.com/art_philgaynews.html>).
By the way, on the Gay Life section of About.com, they write:
"Is Hal Sparks Gay in Real Life?:
Here is Showtime's official answer:
"Some of the actors are gay, and some of them are straight. Showtime
respects the privacy of its actors and does not release personal
information.""
(SOURCE: Ramon Johnson, "Hal Sparks", GayLife@About.com
<http://gaylife.about.com/cs/9/p/qafmichael.htm>). If I may post my
own opinion here, I think this is the answer in any case: when a
person doesn't make their sex life public, there is no reason for us
to snoop in their bedroom and see if he favours one sex over the
other.
In any case, if you're a Hal Sparks fan, don't let go of this site:
Sparks Fan
<http://www.sparksfan.com/>
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it. My search terms were:
"Hal Sparks" straight;
"Hal Sparks" gay. |
