ShowTime Con 2013

I attended the Convention too, and it was amazing.
He was lovely and adorable as always, very funny and smart.
There's not a lot to tell about the museum visit on friday, he chatted with some fans (they asked questions about his bandaged finger, the Russian meteorite etc), then we had a guided tour in the museum and he seemed genuinely interested in everything he saw (i.e: when the guide asked how the sculptures looked like, he participated, replying "flat", "round" etc).
I tried to take some notes during all his saturday/sunday activities. Just please, remember that English is not my first language so if you were there and you notice some mistakes or if you do remember anything else, just let me know, I would like to offer a full report of everything Gale said.
This is M&G n.1, will post all the others as soon as I can.

M&G 1

Q: I heard you like Juventus, do you know that a player from Athletic Bilbao is joining Juve soon?
G: Yes, I know, I know everything.
Q: So is that your favourite soccer team?
G: Did you watch Celtic vs Juventus match?
(he touches his eyes as if wiping some tears, meaning the Celtic team cried)
They had no chance. I mean, it’s Juve we’re talking about.

Q: How did you hurt your finger?
G: Playing soccer. A goalkeeper hurt me because he didn’t see I was standing behind him.
Q: Is it broken?
G: No, not broken, sort of twisted. It’s impossible to fix, will take about 6 months (of course he was joking)

Q: Which character would you like to play?
G: A character I have done or will do?
Q: Will do in the future.
G: Rasputin. A cat… a cat under a glass. Pontious Pilatus. Santa Claus.

Q: If Brian were real, would you like to be his friend?
G: Si, mi amigo. Todos los dias.
(Silence. Then)
Y todos las noches.
[blushing and sucking his lips in. Everyone laughed]

Q: How did you manage to play characters like the ones in Grey’s Anatomy, or CSI?
G: You have to like your characters to make them real, right? Even if you don’t agree with who they are.

Q: Why did you talk about a cat in the glass before? What did you mean?
G: Do you know that chinese story of that siamese cat, with 2 heads and a gun? That’s what I would like to be.

Q: Do you still ride your motorbike? I ask you because I have a Honda 250, had an accident lately…
G: Did you hurt yourself badly?
A: No, not badly, just the leg. I’m still recovering and I can’t wait to ride again. Was it the same for you?
G: Yeah, it was.

Q: Which actor you wouldn’t work again with?
G: That’s a dangerous question. I love them all, I love every actor.
I think, I wouldn’t work with the ones who wouldn’t like to work with me. That’s logic. A simple content.

Q: Have you ever been in Spain before? How do you like Bilbao?
G: It’s an amazing place, one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen. It’s similar to San Francisco, pretty small. You get so much into the city.

Q: I don’t know if you’re aware of FanFictions, but your fans love to write about QAF characters and about actors too...
G: Do they write about me, or about my character?
A: Both. They make up stories and use actors like fictional characters. How do you feel about it?
G: I think you can’t help it, you know? It’s gossip, very fascinating. I can watch a play, or a movie, and then I can associate the character with the actor who plays the role and just create new ideas, new concepts. It’s creative. I don’t have to pay the price either, I mean, if I write something down on my phone or my pc is fine, but if I tell the same thing publicly then you could slap me, do you know what I mean? So yeah, my opinion is, if you have a good idea then write it.

Q: Do you like cartoons?
G: Yes. Heckle & Jackle. Google it.

Q: Which cartoon would you like to voice?
G: Yosemite Sam.
(Then, pretending to run)
And that one, “Andale, andale”
(everyone said: Speedy Gonzales!)
G: Yeah. And there’s also another amazing one, I don’t remember the name.
Un momento.
(He takes a sheet of paper and a pen, then writes down)
I just remember the last line, it was always the same at the end of each episode: “That ever sailed the Spanish Main”
[He showed the line to everyone in the room]

 

Coffee break 1

Q: Gale, I’m the fan who showed you a photo of your motorbike in Bologna to sign, you didn’t seem too glad to see the pic and pointed at it saying “mine, mine”. I would like to know why you did seem upset?
G: People are crazy, you know? I don’t want you to know how my bike looks like. I know it’s not your fault, someone took a photo of my bike and put in on the internet. That’s really dangerous. Just tell me who took the picture? You didn’t show me a motorcycle, you did show me MY bike, of course I wasn’t happy about it. It’s like if I had shown you a picture of your bathtub, my problem is that it’s weird, you know what I mean?
(He noticed the fan felt guilty, so he held out his hand to the girl and said)
Ok, Paz. Peace.

Q: Did you ever play a music instrument?
G: I used to play the guitar, can’t do it now
(laughing and showing his bandaged finger)
I played on stage in Orpheus Descending, it was terrifying because I never played music in front of so many people, but it was a great experience.

Q: Did you have anything to do with Rage? I like comics, and would like to know if you participated in Rage’s creation.
G: No.

Q: Do you have a geeky hobby?
G: No. Maybe waking up each morning to check “Football Weekly” by The Guardian? Google it. It does have two favourites of mine: music and football.

Q: What’s your biggest fear?
G: Doing a bad job, working with someone that’s better than me in acting and not keep up with him, being told by a producer that I’m not good enough, that I’m not wanted, not the person they were looking for.

Q: Is it difficult for you to always look that good, in great shape?
G: Not more difficult than it is for anybody else.

Q: In the first seasons of the Show you looked more muscular, do you still train yourself?
G: My only exercise now is drinking
(he lifts a coke can up)
I still exercise.
(he stands up and starts to do some push-ups on the table)

Q: I’m from Switzerland. Do you like Swiss chocolate?
G: Yeah, I do like chocolate a lot. I ate a chocolate icecream with my sister earlier, she told me I had chocolate spread all around my face.

Q: What do you think of Brian’s line “It’s only time”?
G: That line was an attempt to leave the door open, hypothetically Brian only does have 2 options: he could go up or down, becoming more successful, more control-freak, no drinks, no drugs, just more money, or crashing down into self-destruction, but it would happen very rapidly, in a 2 years arc.

Q: Will Brian and Justin still be together?
G: If they manage to work their relationship out.

Q: How do you see Brian’s personality?
G: Overachieving Terrified control freak motherfucker.

Q: What kind of director you prefer, the kind who guides you and tells you what to do, or the one who gives you free reign to do what you want?
G: I can’t choose one, each director does have a different personality, I suppose that whatever it takes right then is fine to me, if they know what they’re talking about it’s perfect, otherwise it’s a nightmare.

Q: Do you care about the bad reviews when you have to decide what movie or play you are going to see? Are they important to you?
G: Sometimes critics don’t know shit. I’m more interested in the way they’re written, their writing style, than in what they say.

Coffee break 2

Q: My question is about the loft: during the first seasons it had blue lights above the bed, then the lights became warmer, like orange. Was it intentionally?
G: I think it was interesting. They had been changed because there were talented, creative set designers who worked on the show who wanted to change things, not leave everything static. The loft lights reflected Brian’s personality and the way things kept developing, so yeah, I think your interpretation is correct. I wasn’t aware of that, it didn’t get discussed with me.

Q: Did they use any technologic help?
G: Sometimes. You can use technology to make things more real than how they really are.

Q: In Bologna, you said that you like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, can you tell us the reason?
G: It’s the same reason why I like Pasolini’s “The conformist” (he meant Bertolucci) do you know it? No? And what about “Holy motors”? It’s a story that becomes more and more compelling, very moving, beautiful, scaring… you should watch it. That’s all I’ll say.

Q: How was working with Gus? You seemed to have an affinity with him?
G: That was a robot
(everyone laughs)
He’s a great kid, I like working with children and dogs, they’re very relaxed, not different at all, just nice. Sometimes he did scream but that was ok.

Q: In your M&G you talked about a cat with a gun. Was it a cartoon? A movie?
G: It’s something from my imagination. I like to make shit up.

Q: What do you think of your roles in The Unseen, Grey’s Anatomy? They were pretty nasty. Congrats for your performances by the way.
G: Well, you have to like your characters if you want them to be believable and not getting tired. They were ok. About my performances, I remember I saw this work by (Peter Sellars or Sellers?), it was performed so greatly that you get drawn, I can’t compare that to my performances, I mean, it’s way way higher.

Q: Do you have any acting techniques? How did they change over the years?
G: I started my career pretty late, still trying to find a technique, but it could be tricky. I just try to express my character’s feelings through my body, try to figure things out.

Q: How was your experience in Deadwood? Had you ever been on a horse before that?
G: I had, but we had really great, professional horse trainers working on the set to make sure all the actors knew how to ride. It was great being on that set, working with the actors. Too bad the town doesn’t exist anymore.

Q: Did you watch QAF UK after your experience with the American version? By the way, I think that QAF USA is the only show that surpasses the original series.
G: I only watched the first 2 episodes, didn’t want to be stuck in the British version. I don’t like to talk about “surpassing”, “better or worse”, it was about these guys in Manchester but got compressed in a few episodes, I think it was an especially daring series considering the aftermath of their political situation.

Q: How was it playing a guy with germ phobia like Morrison in Particles of truth?
G: I think we all have different phobias, for me it was like being in a room full of people.

M&G 2

Q: I would like to know if during the crying scenes on QAF you used eye drops or you cried for real? And if you really cried, what did you think about?
G: I can’t remember.

Q: I would like you to listen Brian’s Italian dubbing actor, and tell us what do you think of his voice.
(she stands up and shows him a YT scenes with Brian and Lindsey in Italian, the hospital scene from the pilot
G: She’s very good. He sounds smarter than Brian.

Q: Did you watch all the 5 seasons of the show?
G: I watched the first season. Years later I watched some bits between.

Q: Is it hard for you to stop being in your character shoes?
G: Sometimes it’s strange. Having to separate yourself from what you’re doing, that’s a mind game, you have to be careful with that.

Q: How were you as a teenager? A rebel or a nerd?
G: I thought I was a rebel, maybe I was a nerd after all. I don’t know, I just didn’t care.

Q: There’s a music genre that you like the most?
G: No, I like them all.

Q: What have you been listening to lately?
G: Black Mountain.

Q: Do you prefer working on stage or a movie?
G: I think I prefer working in a movie more, but sometimes you feel like you’re drawn to theatre. I don’t really have a preference.

Q: You are so shy, how do you manage to play so many different roles?
G: I don’t exist when I play, only my characters exist, people are watching somebody else.

Q: Do you like to be someone different than you?
G: Yeah, if you feel it’s someone that is not there, if the world and place are good enough, that’s all you have to do.

Q: Not knowing what would happen during the series, what the changes arc would have been, was it hard for you?
G: If you’re committed enough, there's very little you can do to change the dinamics. If the changes are good then it’s exciting, it’s a way to feel engaged, no matter what.

Q: Did you like your final scene as Charles in TSC?
G: The one on the boat? Yeah, it became clear early that he would have become sort of weaker in the end, the ending leaves things open for Charles.

Q: What would you like to be able to do?
G: I want to be ambidextrous, left handed.

Q: What expectations do you have for your future?
G: Doing what I need to do.

Q: Do you have a Facebook or twitter account?
G: What’s twitter? A part of facebook?

Q: Do you use Internet?
G: I hate Internet, I use it only for researches, to introduce other ideas, you have to do your homework if you have an audience. I’m not interested in sitting in front of a PC, but I suppose I have for good purposes.

Q: Do you think is it hard to realize a new gay friendly show, considering the society we live in?
G: No, not the realization, it’s the start that’s difficult.

Q: How much of a method actor are you?
G: I’m not really a method actor. I think you just have to use your own experience when you act.
Did you see “Last tango in Paris”? it’s a legendary story with Marlon Brando, he felt very uncomfortable while shooting the movie, almost backed up, the result was very tragic. We can talk for hours about different techinques, not necessarily about my work.