Randy Harrison

Infobox actor
bgcolour = silver
name = Randy Harrison


imagesize = 150px
caption =
birthname = Randolph Clarke Harrison
birthdate = birth date and age|1977|11|2
location = Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S.
deathdate =
deathplace =
yearsactive = 1984, 2000 - Present
spouse = Gale Harold (2001-2001)
Simon Dumenco (2002-Present)
domesticpartner =
children =
academyawards =

Randolph Clarke "Randy" Harrison (born November 2, 1977) is an American actor whose best-known television role is that of Justin Taylor in the 2000s television drama "Queer as Folk".

Biography

Harrison was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, but moved to Alpharetta, Georgia, with his family when he was eleven. He attended Pace Academy [ [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AT&p_theme=at&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB86DE8F2998EF2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "SPEED READS"] , "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution", April 12, 2001. Accessed November 9, 2007. " Harrison, a 1996 graduate of Pace Academy in Buckhead, stars in Showtime's "Queer as Folk," which depicts the lives and loves of a group of gay men and lesbians."] , a conservative [ [http://www.danndulin.com/queerasfolk.html Queer As Folk Interview ] ] private prep school in Atlanta. His father is an executive with a large paper company, his mother he describes as a 'thwarted artist', and his only sibling is his bank manager brother [http://www.stormpages.com/mukthar/randy/intervews.html] .

A young veteran of the stage, Harrison has acted since the age of seven. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre (2000) from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, where he starred in such productions as "Hello Again", "Shopping and Fucking", and "Children of Eden". He received his start in theatre at Pace Academy in Atlanta, including a turn as the leading role in the school's 1992 production of "Peter Pan". While at Pace, he studied acting with George Mengert and voice with Valerie Kennedy.

Harrison soon went on to perform in other theatrical venues across the U.S., playing in productions such as "Violet" at the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, "1776" at the St. Louis Municipal Theatre and "West Side Story" at the Forestburg Playhouse, as well as productions of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "The Real Inspector Hound" and "A Cheever Evening".

Harrison, a gay man, made his television debut playing Justin Taylor, a gay teen, in 2000's American version of "Queer as Folk", the British television series. Harrison's character comes out, pursues an intergenerational relationship, faces homophobia, recovers from a hate crime, and develops into a strong young man. In 2002, Harrison was cast as "Sean" in a made-for-television movie entitled "Bang, Bang, You're Dead", which is based on the play of the same name.

In 2002, Harrison and [http://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/members/user_profile/The%20Arts%20Bureau%20(tAB) Marci Adilman] , his close fiend since middle school [http://randyharrison.anyp.cn/stagework/articles/070612231942413.aspx?z=1756670&m=2653732] at Pace Academy, co-starred in the play "Deviant" at the New York International Fringe Festival. In the summer of 2004, Harrison made his Broadway debut as "Boq" in the musical "Wicked". He was cast in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", presented in the Spring of 2006 by the SITI Company (where Harrison has studied extensively at through Skidmore College and in Manhattan [http://www.sho.com/site/queer/bio.do?bio=harrison] ). In early 2007, he joined the cast of the Guthrie Theater's production of "The Glass Menagerie" as 'Young Tom'. He played the young Spenser in Christopher Marlowe's Edward the Second, in New York City in the winter of 2007-8. In the spring of 2008 he appeared as "Eros" in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.

In the past few years, Harrison has become a regular actor at the Berkshire Theatre Festival, first in July 2005 being cast as Alan Strang, the lead character in "Equus", returning to the mainstage in July 2006's "Amadeus" as the title role. At the 2007 Summer BTF, he was cast in two plays: in July taking the role of "Billy Bibbit" in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and in August he starred in Mrs. Warren's Profession as "Frank Gardner". Currently this summer at the BTF, he is cast in the role of 'Lucky' in Waiting for Godot. The BTF showing of the play, and Harrison's performance in particular, has garnered rave reviews from several publications, including "Variety." [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117937882.html?categoryid=33&cs=1]

In 2006, Harrison co-founded, with fellow actor and close friend since middle school [http://randyharrison.anyp.cn/stagework/articles/070612231942413.aspx?z=1756670&m=2653732] at Pace Academy [http://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/members/user_profile/The%20Arts%20Bureau%20(tAB) Marci Adilman] , the Arts Bureau (tAB) [http://theartsbureau.com/aboutus.html] , an umbrella organization encompassing theatre, film, music, and writing. In July 2007, Harrison and Adilman co-starred in the first play through tAB, "a heartwarming story, ultimately", based on the work of Anton Chekhov. In late 2007/early 2008, Harrison and Adilman shot and co-starred in their first tAB short film,"Thinking", which they have been entering in to several film festivals. In summer 2008 the two shot their first feature film, "Return Shift Escape", through tAB in which they also co-starred. Christine Corpuz, whom Harrison starred with in the play "Antony and Cleopatra", will play Harrison's on-screen love interest in the feature film.

He is approx. 5'8" tall (1.72 m).

Credits

Television

* "Queer as Folk" (U.S. version) (2000-2005) as Justin Taylor
* "Bang, Bang, You're Dead" (2002) as Sean

Theater

* Hello Again
* Shopping and Fucking
* Children of Eden
* Violet
* 1776
* West Side Story
* The Real Inspector Hound
* A Cheever Evening
* Deviant (2002)
* Wicked (2004), as Boq
* Equus (2005), as Alan Strang
* A Midsummer Night's Dream (2006) as Lysander/Thisbe/Cobweb
* Amadeus (2006) as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
* An Oak Tree (2006) as the father
* A Letter From Ethel Kennedy
* The Glass Menagerie (2007) as Young Tom
* One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (2007) as Billy Bibbit
* Mrs. Warren's Profession (2007) as Frank Gardner
* Edward the Second (2007/2008) as Young Spencer
* Antony and Cleopatra (April/May 2008) as Eros
* Waiting for Godot (Summer 2008) at Berkshire Theatre Festival

Films

*"Thinking..." (2008)
*"Return Shift Escape" (2008 or 2009)

References

External links

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