WHERE ARE THEY NOW: The original cast of 'Queer as Folk'
Frank Olito
As the rebooted "Queer as Folk" starts filming with a new cast, take a look back at what the original cast was like and what they're up to now.
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In 2000, "Queer as Folk," which was based on a British series, premiered on Showtime.

Some of the cast started their careers on the show and continued acting.

It was announced earlier this year that the show is getting a reboot on Peacock with a new cast.

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Randy Harrison played the young Justin Taylor, who begins a sexual relationship with the much older Brian.

In 1999, Harrison landed his first television acting gig, taking on the main character of 17-year-old Justin Taylor, who is disowned by his parents after coming out as gay. He quickly finds a new family in a group of gay men after falling for Brian Kinney.

Prior to the series, Harrison attended the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music and appeared in many of the school's productions.

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After "Queer as Folk," Harrison focused mainly on stage acting, but he is ready to take on a whole new career in psychology.

Harrison appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions, including "Antony and Cleopatra." But he mainly acted in regional shows, including "Equus" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." His most recent TV appearance was in 2017's "New York Is Dead."

More recently, he announced he is going back to school to study psychology and potentially become a counselor.

"I love acting and have made a great life for myself for 25 years doing it," Harrison told Metro Weekly this year. "So it's going to depend on how things open up this year: the kind of work opportunities that become available or don't become available. And my passion for school, and the kind of grad programs I get into or don't get into. And where I end up living. Everything's up in the air."

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Gale Harold took on the role of the successful, beautiful Brian Kinney.

"Queer as Folk" was Harold's first television acting gig. He took on the role of Brian Kinney, who is often described as the antihero of the series. Brian is promiscuous and fears growing up and losing his charming good looks. He refuses to settle down even though he enters a relationship with young Justin.

While acting in "Queer as Folk," Harold started his movie career, starring in films like "Wake" and making a name for himself in the early 2000s.

Since the series ended, Harold has continued his acting career mainly in other TV series.

Harold has appeared in many television shows, including "Deadwood" in 2006, "Desperate Housewives" in 2009, "Hellcats" in 2011, "The Secret Circle" in 201, and "Criminal Minds" in 2018.

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Hal Sparks played the emotional heart of the series, Michael Novotny.

Sparks took on the role of Michael, who is Brian Kinney's best friend. They've been friends since they were children, but Michael's life took a very different turn in adulthood. He has settled down with a partner and has adopted a child, sparking tensions within the friend group.

Sparks started his career as a stand-up comedian. He even earned the title of "Funniest Teenager in Chicago" at 17 years old. He continued stand-up in Los Angeles for a decade and even hosted the famous "Talk Soup" in 1999.

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Sparks has expanded beyond his acting career, but he still focuses on comedy.

Sparks still does stand-up comedy and is also the lead singer of a rock band called ZERO 1.

He also appeared in several reality competition shows as host and competitor, including "America's Funniest Mom" in 2007, "Survival of the Richest" in 2007, and "Famously Afraid" in 2019.

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Emmett Honeycutt was played by Peter Paige.

Paige plays Emmet in "Queer as Folk," and at first, he seems to be a feminine gay stereotype, but as the series progresses, Paige brings layers to the complicated and sensitive character.

Before landing the role, Paige had already appeared in a few television shows, like "Will and Grace," "Caroline in the City," and "Suddenly Susan."

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Although Paige has continued acting, he has also become a successful writer and producer.

Immediately after "Queer as Folk," Paige directed "Say Uncle" in 2005, which starred himself, Melanie Lynskey, and Gabrielle Union.

From there, he produced the highly successful series on Freeform called "The Fosters," which lasted five seasons. He also produced the spin-off series "Good Trouble" on the same network.

He has even produced and directed episodes for Shonda Rhimes' "Station 19."

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Scott Lowell played Ted Schmidt, who is the shy and quiet character of the group.

Lowell brought Ted to life. The character is an accountant with low self-esteem and remains relatively under the radar. He is part of the larger friend group and an ex of Emmett's.

Lowell had a few acting credits before taking the role of Ted, including "The Debtors" in 1999 and "Frasier" in 2000.

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Since the series, Lowell has appeared in various television shows, including "Bones" and "CSI."

He has appeared in shows like "The Fosters," "Castle," "NCIS," "Heroes," "Criminal Minds," and "Leverage." Most notably, he played Dr. Filmore on "Bones" between 2011 and 2014. Lowell also appeared on Broadway opposite Bradley Cooper in "The Elephant Man" between 2014 and 2015.

Most recently, he wrote and starred in "Adoptable" in 2016, which is a retelling of his search for his birth parents.

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The group's lesbian friend, Melanie Marcus, was played by Michelle Clunie.

Clunie played Mel, who is married to Lindsay — they're the only lesbian couple in the series. The couple becomes very close with the male characters and welcome them into their lives as they expand their family with children.

Before landing the role, Clunie appeared in the 1995 Academy Award-winning movie "The Usual Suspects" and had a recurring role on "The Jeff Foxworthy Show."

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Clunie continued to appear in various TV shows until she landed a recurring gig on "Teen Wolf."

After "Queer as Folk," Clunie was seen in "The Mentalist," "The Closer," "Lie to Me," and "Make It or Break It."

Between 2015 and 2017, she played Mrs. Finch on the hit series "Teen Wolf."

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Lindsay Peterson, Melanie's partner, was played by Thea Gill.

Lindsay is Mel's domestic partner and becomes close friends with the group of guys as they help her family grow throughout the series.

Before "Queer as Folk," Gill had a few acting gigs in various TV movies and short-lived TV shows.

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When "Queer as Folk" ended, Gill split her time between acting and singing.

Gill has appeared in a number of films and TV shows since 2005, but most notably she played Gail Porter in the Oscar-nominated film "20th Century Women."

She is also a jazz singer, performing on cruises and on TV.

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Emmy winner Sharon Gless played Michael's enigmatic mother, Debbie.

Debbie may be Michael's mother, but in the series, she looks after the entire group of friends, as they often come into the diner where she works for advice.

Gless took on the role of Debbie, but before that, she was known for Maggie Philbin on "Switch" from the '70s and Sgt. Christine Cagney on "Cagney & Lacey" from the '80s. For the latter, she won two Emmy Awards.

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Gant went on to land parts in big TV shows, including "The Young and the Restless."

Between 2015 and 2016, Gant played Zor-El on "Supergirl." For 16 episodes between 2013 and 2017, he played David Sherman on "The Young and the Restless."

Most recently, he played Todd Crimsen on "13 Reasons Why" until 2020.

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