Folkfest Getting Cozy With the Girls of Queer As Folk
Curve Magazine
by Samiya A. Bashir
November, 2001

Flash. Pan quick left. Close-up of Michelle Clunie, the actress who portrays one-half of the lesbian couple on Showtime's Queer as Folk. She's sitting on her suitcase in front of the pay phone at an airport in Toronto with a cell phone to her ear, three hours early for a flight to New York, where she plans to meet up with friends and work on her motorcycle-riding skills. "I have a week off," says Clunie. "I'm going to New York to go motorcycle-riding. I know that sounds really weird. I ride a motorcycle in episode four. I used to ride, but I haven't recently. It's going to be fun; I'm really excited."

Queer as Folk, Showtime's sexy but controversial take on the British series of the same name, began its new season with a bang (and a moan or two!). The series, set in Pittsburgh, deals with the ups and downs in the lives of several young, beautiful gay men and lesbians. Just days into the show's taping of 20 new episodes set to air this spring. CURVE tracked down actresses Clunie and Thea Gill, who play lesbian lovers and new mothers Melanie and Lindsay. The two have a lot to say--about their characters, their own views on sexuality and how they feel about the flack they've gotten for the remarkably high level of anti-lesbian content on the show.

After the tragic cliff-hanger at the end of the first season, what new tidbits can you offer us about what's coming up over the next year?

Clunie: All I know is that this year, you'll see some very interesting scenes. We get to have a lot of fun because we're through the dramatic first season, where we just had a baby. So we get to let our hair down and have some fun.

Gill: I was pleasantly surprised to see, especially for my character, how much she's grown in her self-confidence and her ability to take action and stand up for herself in front of her family, her peers and her friends. She breaks through a lot of her own fears in a really positive way.

Lindsay is a very conservative character, and to speak up for herself and be honest about how she lives and who she loves is something she wants to overcome her fears about. She doesn't want to have to hide, and I think she's had to hide a lot from her family. She is coming from a very repressed place, trained not to rock the boat, always trying to keep things smooth. We see her overcoming some of that, letting the layers slide off.

Will we see more of Mel and Lindsay in this season, maybe more balance between the male and female characters, or will this continue to be primarily the boys' show?

Clunie: It's tough. They outnumber us five to two. The writers want to give equal time to each character, so you'll usually see more men on-screen. But so far, we definitely have more screen time. We get a lot to do and it's also funnier and sexier. It feels more like an ensemble piece, because we now mix it up with Debbie and Michael, too, so all the characters start to blend in with each other. I'm really excited with where it's heading.

Gill: There's definitely been a change in that direction. We have more scenes, more story lines, more of a direction. We have a place to go now with our characters. From the beginning of episode one, we start out with a bang, and it's going to lead us somewhere with a lot of territory to explore.

Michelle, I know you began your training as a dancer. Is there a chance we'll see Melanie busting some moves anytime soon? Perhaps a lesbian dance club one night?

Clunie: I think of that all the time; I even told them we should write a whole drag king show where Mel dresses in drag and a' la Frank Sinatra. I'm sure we'll dance this season. Even if it's not written into the scene, I'll just start busting a move to the radio or something.

Speaking of busting moves, there's so much sex between the male characters, but we see so little with the women. Do you think Mel and Lindsay are going to do any more getting down on the show?

Gill: First day on the set, Michelle and I were like, "You're going to show your bottom and I'm going to show my top." We did a great scene in bed, and I was talking to her afterward and told her that I felt really good. We both felt more deeply about our characters and more deeply about each other.

The hiatus brought us closer together as friends, and doing a scene like that, there's usually just a touch of nervousness, but neither of us has the amount of nerves we usually do when we have to be naked in front of our co-workers. I actually had no nerves whatsoever.

That sense of being completely uninhibited really makes for some good feelings in your work. As an actor, I'm working on being as relaxed as possible, and I really felt it that first day on the set. We were being completely open with our bodies. Michelle is very good that way. She's a very in-her-body actress, which just makes it easier for me. It's important for Lindsay to loosen up a bit.

Clunie: We're totally up for the task. Hopefully we'll see more of that. I think it's great and it's fun and it should be there. I promise I'll do everything in my power to deliver.

Was there any nervousness about taking on not just a lesbian role, but one in such a controversial import as this?

Clunie: The only thing that makes me uncomfortable sometimes is when people misconstrue where I'm coming from. I don't want people to think I'm some symbol of the lesbian community, because I'm not a lesbian myself. I don't want people to think that I'm saying I know more than they do about their own lives. As far as nervousness goes, once you get into the shooting of it, you're working nonstop. I'm just trying to figure out how to make it better and keep fine-tuning it.

Gill: Originally, I just loved the role, loved the script, loved the material and thought this was something I could really relate to emotionally. It fit in quite well with me and gave me little challenges along the way. Then, once we started shooting, some of the comments I did get were quite interesting. There was one person who said: I've never seen a lesbian look like you." I really didn't know how to respond because I was so stunned. I went away thinking about it and became very angry. It's stereotypical and narrow-minded. Any woman can wear whatever she wants!

I got over it, but at that point I started to really judge myself and censor myself a bit. I wondered how I was presenting myself as Lindsay, and hoped that I was presenting her the right way. Then I thought: "That's ridiculous. That's bullshit." I'd never thought of my characters that way. I just go into the mind, heart and soul of them as best I can.

I'm sure you've heard the criticism that Queer as Folk is chock-full of anti-lesbian content, offensive dialogue and stereotyping. What is your response to the criticism?

Clunie: Well, I read everything, so I know what's out there. I think it's important to try to focus on the good or the positive or else you'll just completely drown yourself in the negative. Some of it I agree with, some of it I don't. Everyone has an opinion. If as an artist you go out to complete a piece of work with everyone else's opinion in mind, you won't even get out of bed. But I do listen to it. The producers do that as well; you have to pay attention to your audience. So this season you'll see some of those statements played out.

Gill: It's usually from Brian. As an actor, I understand his character, so I understand why his character says these things. I look at it as a part of the reality of these characters' lives. It's something that I think Mel and Lindsay can eventually react to and speak up about when they encounter it.

Some of Melanie's major interactions are through her rift with the lead character, Brian.

Clunie: I take those scenes very seriously. I think it's a very real feeling that Melanie has towards Brian. He gave her lover something that Melanie couldn't and she knows that there are some feelings there that Lindsay has for Brian. There is something that is a bit threatening that she is always keeping an eye on. And Brian's very irresponsible.He's growing, but it adds fuel to the fire.

What kinds of responses have you gotten from women - lesbians and straights - about your portrayal of a lesbian character as a straight actress?

Clunie: The moment I booked the job, this lady came up to me and said, "So, I hear you're playing a dyke on TV." I've had a certain amount of strange prejudice thrown in my direction which I'd never experienced before. I think it makes me a little more aware of what people go through. You live with this character for eight months, so you have to really meditate on it and think about it. I ask myself, "How would I deal with this?"

Gill: That question comes up quite a bit, and I always think, "Okay, so this is something that is obviously on people's minds a lot." Personally, I don't see it as very much of a stretch for me. I really don't! A lot of people interpret this as bisexuality, and it could be.

I understand love, and I understand what love is for another woman. I go right there and bring it to my character as much as I can. Hopefully that reads. Hopefully it makes my character believable and the love she shares with Melanie believable. That's all I'm shooting for.

On a human and an emotional level, I find that the line is very thin between gay and straight and bisexual. To me it's all love. I think that's what so great about this show. It's trying to show people who are attracted and in love with people of the same sex, and who are attracted to just sex. That's just a part of life. It's a part of straight life, too. It's a part of the human world, and that's what people are responding to.

Do you think the producers will be willing to take on other prejudices, perhaps incorporating some characters of color or different abilities into the show?

Clunie: Sure, I think they'll have no problem. It's a very delicate question because the subjects aren't in San Francisco or New York, where you'd have more diversity. It's set in Pittsburgh, a city that's very blue-collar-steelworkers and the like - and I don't think you're going to have that diversity there. Maybe I'm wrong, but I know the producers are interested in bringing in more characters of race because it's the politically correct thing to do.

Queer as Folk has already begun to divert from the original British series. Are you all planning to go off on your own tangent, perhaps try to blow the old series out of the water?

Gill: I think we already are definitely going our own way. The first season, you're always just getting your footing, getting the characters and the story. Towards the end we were starting to feel like it was our own, starting to get deeper into our selves and the other characters.

Clunie: When you're creating, it's almost like you're painting a painting and trying to do a replica of something else. It has to be its own animal. There are definitely things I love from the English version. There is a certain grittiness that I really love. London's a very gray, dark, gritty place to begin with. This show is gonna be its own beast, however we feel about it. We have to honor that and work with what's in front of us.

Did you base your character on the character portrayed in the original British series, or did you come to your role wanting to bring a completely new interpretation?

Clunie: You know, it's interesting - I didn't. I only watched the first episode, and that was after we shot the pilot. That was a choice I made for myself. I wanted to take license and I pulled on a very dear friend of mine, who's a lesbian, and I took bits and pieces from people I know and I added in how I personally felt.

Michelle, what is your favorite aspect of the two characters?

Clunie: I love that Mel is tough. There's definitely a side of her where if the plumbing goes out in the house, she can fix it, and at the same time, she can throw on a skirt and take care of business at the office. I love that she loves her family so much and that she's fiercely protective of them and then at the same time she's completely sensitive and vulnerable and insecure and will go and do something ridiculous, like she did last season, and cheat on the one woman she really loves.

What about Lindsay's character?

Clunie: Maybe it's what Thea brings to the role. Thea herself is such a lovely person and what she brings to Lindsay is just that ... beautifulness. I don't know how else to describe it. She's lovely and Melanie is completely in love with her. I also love her quirkiness, which I'm sure you'll see more of in the next season.

After this experience, do you think you'll be doing more lesbian roles in the future?

Clunie: I really don't discriminate on the sexual preference of my characters. I'm from Oregon and my parents were, like, beatniks, so I grew up very Bohemian. To me the idea of discrimination and people having problems with anyone else's sexuality just blows my mind.

Gill: Yeah, it blows me away. To me, if the role is good and the material is exciting, I'll want to do it. In high school, I did a scene from Personal Best where I played the Mariel Hemingway character. It was a script for TV acting and I remember that I didn't do such a good job. I also played a character named Willa in a Showtime film called Common Ground. Right now, though, this pretty much takes up all of my time.

Both of you have played a variety of different characters in the past, from Thea's debut in The Usual Suspects to Michelle's run in Antigone. What other projects can we expect?

Clunie: I shot this movie for Showtime with Laura Dern called Damaged Care. It was great! It's very political and it's based on a true story about insurance fraud in the South. I got to play Laura Dern's nemesis.

Then I toured with The Vagina Monologues, which was so much fun. The experience really hit home. I was in San Francisco for three weeks with Marga Gornez and Barbara Rush. Everyone working on the show was a woman and we bonded tremendously.

I kind of left my heart in San Francisco. After working hard all year, it was a great way to end the summer. It was just one of those things where you don't want to leave. I spent a lot of time hanging with these women, and we raised money to stop violence against women.