A versatile and gifted performer with a flair for comedy, actor Peter Paige was an accomplished theatre trouper who cut his teeth performing everything from Greek classics to Shakespeare to Eugene O’Neill on stage. Mainly known for his television work, however, Paige was most famous for having played the fabulously flamboyant Emmett Honeycutt for five seasons on the adult dramedy, “Queer as Folk” (Showtime. 2000-05).
A native of West Hartford, CT, Paige was born in the summer of 1969, just one month before Neil Armstrong’s historic moon landing. Discovering theatre in middle school, Paige was instantly hooked – and from that day on, knew that he wanted to become an actor. A superlative student despite constant upheavals and relocations (Paige lived in seven states before he finished high school), Paige eventually earned a full scholarship to Boston University. As a student at B.U.’s prestigious School of Theatre Arts, Paige often spent 12 to 15 hours a day in the university's classical theatre conservatory. Graduating in 1991 with Summa Cum Laude honors, Paige soon moved to New York City and joined a traveling theatre company. For the next year, Paige toured the country performing Moli?re’s “Tartuffe,” before relocating to Portland, OR, where he spent another two years honing his craft on the city’s Equity stages.
In 1995, Paige moved to Los Angeles, CA, hoping, like many an actor, to break into television. The actor scored a homerun at his first audition, which led to a guest-starring role on "Suddenly Susan" (NBC, 1996-2000). Paige’s well-received performance as “Neil, the Neurotic Undertaker” opened the door to more guest-starring roles on such shows as “Caroline in the City” (NBC, 1995-99), “Will & Grace” (NBC, 1998-2006), and the MTV soap “Undressed” (MTV, 1999-2002).
In 2000, Paige auditioned for the lead role of Michael Novotny, one of the central characters in a controversial new drama called “Queer as Folk.” Based on the groundbreaking British series of the same name, the show, which followed the lives of several gay characters, generated intense buzz even before it aired. Unfortunately, Paige did not get the lead part. However, producers liked him enough that they offered him a different role – that of Michael’s roommate, Emmett Honeycutt. Originally written as a swishy Southern queen with a heart of gold, Emmett was often a source of comic relief in the show’s first season. As the show progressed, however, Emmett gradually developed into a more serious, introspective character in response to complaints from gay activists who feared stereotypes.
Paige’s next project was deeply personal. In 2005, Paige wrote, directed, and starred in “Say Uncle,” a dark satire about a child-like gay man with an intense interest in children. When Paul (played by Paige), is wrongly accused by a neighborhood mom (played by Kathy Najimy) of being a gay pedophile, all hell breaks loose and the community degenerates into a lynch mob mentality. Hilarity ensues… Or at least, that was supposed be the plan. Premiered at L.A.’s Outfest in the summer of 2005, critical reception was decidedly less than favorable. Most critics felt the film’s tongue-in-cheek approach was grossly inappropriate, given the seriousness of the subject. Critic Richard Roeper, for one, was particularly unkind. In a scathing review of “Say Uncle,” Roeper called the film “aimless and self-indulgent” and one of the worst movies of the year.