‘Queer as Folk’ star gets huffy defending Obama on same-sex marriage

Since Showtime’s “Queer As Folk” signed off, Hal Sparks has kept busy — acting, playing with his rock band Zero 1 and performing standup comedy. This week, he stops at the Addison Improv for six shows during a four-day run. The last time he played Addison was a one-nighter. Coincidentally, his friend Lea Thompson was in town and she came to his gig. But he didn’t work the actress into his routine.

“I don’t work anyone into my act. I have too many jokes,” he says.

So if Michael Jackson was sitting in the audience, Sparks would ignore him, too?

“Oh, no. People would be ignoring me. That’s like a monkey, a child and penis all rolled into one,” he says.

The former “Talk Soup” host is one of the funniest commentators on VH1’s “I Love the …” series. When it comes to pop-culture zingers, he tosses them like Chinese stars. But when the topic shifts to politics, Sparks doesn’t automatically reach for the joke bag.

Last month, he served as a guest radio host for Air America where he beat the Obama drum. Since one of his biggest career moves was playing Michael Novotny, the main character on “QAF,” how does he feel about Obama’s spineless position that he can’t support full equal marriage rights for gays?

“It will not happen on a federal level for a long time. Obama knows that,” Sparks says. “If you even bring [gay marriage] up, that will be the hammering issue. That’s one of the things that kept Gore and Kerry out of office. I don’t think it’s spineless. Obama is sidestepping the issue until he’s in office, which is a smart move.”

Sparks may have played gay on TV, but most people only hear Obama saying “Y’all can’t drink out of the same marriage water fountain as straight people.”

“I understand that,” Sparks says. “But you called him ‘spineless,’ and I gave you a different perspective. I was part of the first gay married couple on TV, and I caught shit for a long time for that. We’ve taken the gay marriage road before, and it hasn’t worked. What is working is the grassroots level — state by state.”

Does Sparks think that his rights as a hetero dude should change while crossing state lines?

“So the California victory was useless,” Sparks asks?

No. But that victory happened in a courtroom — not at the ballot box. And it wouldn’t have happened unless someone like Gavin Newsom stuck his neck out.

“I totally agree. I know Gavin. I met him at the AIDS Walk in San Francisco. And the first thought that crossed my mind was that he should be president,” Sparks says.

Then Sparks must know that during every San Francisco campaign stop, Obama snubs the mayor.

“I wasn’t aware of that,” he says.

Anyway … What’s Sparks’ standup routine like?

“Oh, what a lovely transition. Dude, I mean, do you even care?” Sparks asks.

Of course, we do. With his pinch-worthy dimples and cute ass, most people probably don’t recognize that Hal Sparks is truly funny. Comedy careers are rarely built on physical attractiveness. And playing queer doesn’t always win actors a new fan base.

“As many straight folks who liked ‘Queer as Folk,’ there were that many gay ones who hated us. I never expected to be liked on either side. I’d come home from an AIDS walk and have Christian ladies threatening to throw acid in our faces at our autograph signings,” he remembers.

But his standup act doesn’t shy away from gay material. He says his jokes about gay marriage would make homophobes laugh and re-think their opinions.

“Ultimately, people who are against gay marriage think that being gay is a choice. My argument is that people choose to be straight?” he says. “So if you didn’t decide, you could wake up tomorrow and find yourself blowing your neighbor in the park.”

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This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition August 15, 2008.