'Hellcats' taps 'DH's' Gale Harold as crime-solving law professor

Gale Harold, best known for five seasons as playboy Brian Kinney on "Queer as Folk" and his interrupted "Desperate Housewives" run, is headed back to school as he joins the collegiate world of The CW's "Hellcats" as Marti's (Aly Michalka) law professor.

When Zap2it met up with Harold in Los Angeles, he told us that we shouldn't expect to see much of Brian Kinney in Julian.

"[Julian] could actually be held accountable for some of his not-so-straightforward moves," he says. "He's more responsible. The law is his life. It's not cars or discos. He realizes the responsibility he has in the classroom. He's got to make sure that these students get the point and take it on and understand it."

His teaching methods may be a little bit unconventional. "He's teaching, but he's very loose with his information," Harold explains. Playing such a dedicated teacher has been a challenge for him as an actor. "Trying to figure out how to play that naturally, getting the ideas across, but being compelling at the same time. You know the dynamic you have sometimes with your teachers  - they can be very inspiring, but you would like to give them a kick in the pants if you could."

Marti's passion has always been for the law, so trying to balance her impressive pre-law workload with her new cheerleading responsibilities proves to be a struggle, and Harold's character isn't making it any easier.

"I think he just doesn't care," Harold tells us. "It's cheerleading. He knows what it is and he knows why it's there and he might like to sit down and watch some of it for a while, but his main concern is the legal system, and as a teacher, his main responsibility is educating his students. He really does believe. He's not just there for the paycheck; he has bigger ideas."

Harold, who hails from Georgia, is enjoying the southern setting of "Hellcats" -- which shoots in Vancouver -- and the opportunity to let a little bit of a Southern drawl slip into his law lectures. Don't miss our video with him below to get a taste of the down-home dialect.one-note show. The writers have really created a whole world for her."