Hal Sparks charmed his way into our hearts as Michael Novotny on Showtime's Queer as Folk. Windy City Times spoke to him face to face after a live webcast at the Center on Halsted May 8.
Windy City Times: Hi, Hal. So you are hosting an upcoming gala in town for the Center.
Hal Sparks: Yes, and I am doing all the emcee work that goes with it.
WCT: Have you met Lily Tomlin before?
Hal Sparks: I have. Apparently she is a big fan of the Stephanie Miller show, which I do really regularly.
WCT: Tell me about it.
Hal Sparks: Every Wednesday I do the Stephanie Miller show. They call it Hump Days With Hal. It started off with me calling in to promote something but we got into a long conversation and it became a regular thing. Now it's on every week. I get to air my political side. I get to be funny and also try to pick and chose my battles and have an honest conversation. Thanks to Stephanie I am able to do that.
WCT: What brought you into town from L.A?
Hal Sparks: I am in Chicago a lot. I am doing a comedy improv this weekend. I am working the gala in a couple of weeks. I am doing an event for WCPT in August to promote the station here in the city. I will do a show around that. We are doing an event here at the Center in line with it.
WCT: You went to high school here.
Hal Sparks: Yeah, I went to New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill. Chicago is my favorite city in North America hands down, borderline my favorite city in the world.
WCT: What do you think of Talk Soup now?
Hal Sparks: Well, it is once a week so it is a different show now. The Soup is not Talk Soup. It is much more pedestrian and there are a lot of knockoffs. I think Web Soup is arguably better. I like Chris Hardwick; he is a really funny guy.
WCT: What made you want to stream online at halsparks.com?
Hal Sparks: I wanted a very distinct way to get in touch with fans and friends. Meeting so many people after my shows I didn't want to lose touch with those folks. If I can have any way of motivating them to do stuff then I try to take advantage of it. If they are inspired by something I do that cannot be lost in the world. I started it as a lark. I answered some questions on Twitter once and there were so many questions that I couldn't get them all. I looked at other ways to address them. Live TV seemed the best way to make that happen.
WCT: Have grown to be very political on your segments. Have you always been that way?
Hal Sparks: Anytime that you want something or care about someone in this life—especially if it is a big legal issue—then you are going to bump up against politics. If you want quality of life for gays, cancer research or flood relief then you are going to have to fight the government. If you care about any broad issues then start paying attention to the politics of it.
WCT: Well, Queer as Folk was great. I feel I am similar to your character. Do you feel like it pigeonholed your career?
Hal Sparks: Nope. That is my responsibility. If I get typecast, that's my fault. If you have seen my standup or seen me in person, you would know Michael is another human being. If he was standing here then you wouldn't even think we were related.
WCT: That's a good point.
Hal Sparks: I created him as a sole human being on his own so he could live and die on his own. People could see him as a human being instead of that is Hal Spark's acting. You have to be involved completely as Michael as character or else it waters it down.
WCT: We will see you at the gala. Good luck with your show tonight.
Hal Sparks: Thank you and see you then!
Hal Sparks will emcee Center on Halsted's Human First 2010 gala, to be held Saturday, May 22, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, at 7:30 p.m. See www.centeronhalsted.org/humanfirst2010.html .
Find yet another interview with Hal Sparks—where he talks about his upcoming special, Charmageddon—online at www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com .
