Golden Archer

Gay media's It Boy of ‘07 still "It" with Chicago opening of A Four Letter Word
By Jason P Freeman

New York—Likely unaware of the allegorical significance, Jesse Archer orders a Cosmopolitan from the bartender at the Stonewall Inn, August 9, 2007. Arriving earlier in a pair of dark aviator sunglasses, despite the day's thick overcast, he's hung-over from a book signing after-party thrown in his honor the night before. The day before that, he worked the runway in Times Square for National Underwear Day. Before that, he attended the Philadelphia LGBT Film Festival, where A Four Letter Word, a film he both starred and co-wrote, was the opening night feature. A few weeks prior, he was in Los Angeles winning Outfest's best screenplay award for AFLW. He's planning additional film fest appearances and attending a friend's gay wedding in Denmark. Musing over topics for his OUT Magazine column while also coordinating book events to promote his recently released memoir, You Can Run: Gay, Glam and Gritty Travels In South America, Archer pauses briefly--inspired by the bar's TV screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show--to dance a barstool-seated version of "The Time Warp." Then, he orders his drink—Cosmopolitan, indeed

The son of missionary parents born in Taiwan, Archer, 33, was raised in Beaverton, Oregon. "I was a Beaverton Beaver—Try to imagine," he says. "Go Beavers!" And though Archer speaks highly of the Pacific Northwest, "from May to October," he chose to leave "because there's October through May." "Soggy, wet, you never see the sun," Archer says. "It's depressing." Soggy for smoggy, after high school, Archer opted for L.A. to study acting at the University of Southern California. Following that, he lived in Paris, France for one year, returned to the Pacific Northwest, grew languid of his valet job, and traveled to South America—exploring the continent for two years was inspiration for his memoir—before landing in New York.

"The acting thing just came about," Archer says of his media career launch following his move to The Big Apple. "I was a featured extra in Speed 2; I was one of the people exiting the boat. The first part with lines was Slutty Summer [an independent gay romantic comedy by Casper Andreas released in 2004]. [Andreas] made me audition three times. He said I was perfect for the part but he didn't know if I would show up [for filming] because I was a notorious party boy—and still am."

"That's kind of true," says Andreas in a separate interview. "I was a bit worried that he wouldn't be committed to finishing the film since he wasn't really pursuing acting at the time."

From his character role in SS, Archer went on to cameo in 2006's Boy Culture as a "Threesome hottie." Archer expresses semi-serious displeasure at not being considered for the role of Joey in that film, played by Jonathon Trent. "I was on set [of BC] and the director instructed [Trent] to 'imitate Jesse. Do whatever Jesse does. I want the character to be like him.' So, I'm like, 'Than why didn't you hire me for that fucking role?' And [BC director] Q. Allan Brocka said, 'Oh Honey, you're too old.'" Archer laughs, "Can you believe that? The nerve!"

Yet you're never too old to star in your own screenplay. Together with Andreas, Archer wrote and starred in A Four Letter Word, the "spin off," as Archer calls it, to SS. In AFLW, the character players of SS assume the lead, addressing issues of love and relationships juxtaposed against the sexually-fueled atmosphere of gay male nightlife.

"We had some disagreements over what we wanted to include in the script," Says Andreas, "but ultimately we were both very happy with the finished script … I really liked working with Jesse."

"It's fluffy in some parts, but [the film] really touches on a lot of important issues that affect us as gay men," Archer adds. "There was no nudity in Slutty Summer, and TLA [Film Distributors] told [Andreas] for his second one, 'If you want to make the nickel, you got to show the pickle.' So Casper put lots of cock in AFLW, but not mine." And why not?

"I didn't want to, I guess. It's so ridiculous. It's just another sad commentary on our subculture. Just like how my nipple has to be on the cover of my book in order to sell it. Whatever ... If you want to see a hot guy showing his cock, you might as well get a porno."

An accomplished freelance writer, Archer's bylines have appeared in NYC LGBT nightlife and community magazines, HX and Next as well as in national periodicals Genre and Running Times ("I'm a runner," Archer explains, "if you're from Oregon, that's what you're supposed to do"). His experience in publications gave rise to penning monthly contributions for OUT Magazine, writing an "untitled" column on life and love as an out and proud gay man often stemming from Archer's subversive point of view.

"I'm letting the cat out of the bag right now," Archer says of scoring his OUT gig. "I knew [OUT Editor in Chief] Aaron Hicklin before he had that position. He knew I was a writer and brought me in to show him my portfolio. Then, like three months later, he was like, 'I finally figured it out; you're a columnist.' He just decided."

In March 2007 the prized jewel of Archer's media prowess was released—his debut book, You Can Run. In it, Archer shares his experiences in South America with a flare distinctive to his own personality. It swirls the concepts of memoir and travel writing, where gay clichés and camp become the fuel of powerful self-refection and dissection of the world Archer lives in.

"There were so many great stories from [South America]. They needed to be put together in narrative form. So I was writing a few stories … and I tried to pitch them to a couple of magazines, like Out Traveler, or whatever. I didn't plan to write a book." Yet a chance meeting with a book publisher gave Archer new direction. "And several years and several rewrites later, I popped out a book. I gave birth. It took me four to five years. It was a painful birth."

Archer doesn't continue, again distracted by the television screen. "That guy is so hot, in Rocky Horror," Archer says, "You think he's still alive?" And he laughs.

Archer picks up the recorder sitting on the bar and speaks into it like a microphone "We're talking about the gold lamé bathing suit-wearing Rocky Horror creation," he says. Archer notes that he doesn't own a gold lamé bathing suit, "But I have a blue one that's very similar."

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Addendum: A Four Letter Word, starring Jesse Archer, opens Friday, June 6, 2008, with a midnight screening at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N Southport Ave. Showtimes are accessible online or by calling 773.871.6604. You Can Run is available on Amazon.com as well as off Archer's personal Web site www.jesseonthebrink.com.