represent gay people. The counter argument, that the show tells secrets about a very real element of urban gay life, only turns up the controversy to a fever pitch.

Not surprisingly, it's a subject on which Paige has a passionate response: "What I think the show portrays is flawed, human, fully sexualized gay people, which is something we've never seen before on television. So hell yes, I think it's good for the community!"

There's back story to that answer, however.  Paige's journey from struggling actor to flamboyant poster boy has included careful consideration of what impact Queer as Folk would have on viewers and on his career. "I read the script and was alternately thrilled and horrified by it," he says. "I was totally captivated by the writing, but there was a part of me that asked, `Are we really going to tell people this? Are we really going to tell these stories?"' His manager, also openly gay, called him before his final audition with his own reservations. "He said, `I don't think you should do it. The level of sexuality in this piece is such that I don't think I'm going to be able to take you somewhere else after this.'  I said, `Well, that's a really valid concern. Let me think about it.' So I thought about it," says Paige.

Ultimately, the character proved irresistible to Paige, and the thought of someone else playing Emmett was more than he could bear. "I don't think I could have lived with that," he says. "I knew I had something to offer this project, and I'd rather risk it. And if the gods of Hollywood dictate that this is it for me, so be it. I'll move on to other pastures. I wasn't going to turn this one down out of fear." He still wrestles with the specter of future typecasting but says frankly, "I wasn't willing to go into the closet or create some bullshit PR smoke screen. I mean, here I am playing this big queen, and I've never felt more masculine or empowered. It's ironic."

Ironic, maybe, but not surprising, once you know something of Paige's enlightened upbringing.  He was born in Connecticut, and his parents divorced before he was 2. He lived and traveled with his mother until he was 11. "My mother worked at a feminist bookstore," He says. "I don't remember what it was called, I always called it 'Uterus Rising.' I used to sleep in a Babe Didrikson T-shirt, I was surrounded by funky bisexual women who all changed their names to reflect their African roots. At the age of 6, I would go out with them and engage in conversations." That exposure to his mother's world, Paige says, "gave me a sense that there was something out there for me."