While he can usually be relied upon for comic relief, season three found Lowell turning in a riveting performance, as his character spiraled out of control with a hardcore addiction to crystal meth. While viewers and critics were unanimous in their praise of his performance (which included one particularly cringe-worthy scene showing a drugged-out Ted being gang raped), Lowell was conspicuously overlooked at Emmy time.

Now, just as the fifth and final season of the hit series gets under way, the energetic and entertaining Lowell sat down with Richard Kravitz to discuss the experience of playing a gay character for five years, the end of the show and what he has planned for the future.

What can you tell us about the final season of "Queer as Folk"?

It was a tough one to shoot, I've got to admit. I think knowing that something is going to be the end of something, you tend to feel it speed by a lot quicker. I think it does a good job of wrapping things up in a way that lets you know that life goes on, that nothing is neat and easy, and I think it will give everyone a feeling of satisfaction. I think they'll feel that they've gone through a full journey in the five years with these characters and have seen growth in them all, and hopefully see most of them realize some of their dreams.

Do you think that "Queer as Folk" could have premiered at this point in time?

You know, no. I think that for some reason we came on board at just the right time. I think the winds of change were blowing, and we came in and caught a good draft. We all helped each other, I think, in that way.

But if someone came to Showtime or HBO or any cable network right now with "Queer as Folk," I don't know if they would take it, to tell you the truth. Maybe they would. Maybe they would feel it's even more necessary now than before.

Do you think "The L Word" will be able to pick up the slack for "Queer as Folk"?

I think so. "The L Word," from a cursory point of view on my part, isn't as "dangerous" as "Queer as Folk" was. "Queer as Folk" had a real element of danger to it. The fact that it had "Queer" in the title, the fact that we helped kind of take that word back and empower it.

You know, "The L Word" doesn't even spell anything out, it's kind of careful in that way, I think. Even in its title, it's not a very bold statement. I don't think it's interested in being groundbreaking as much as "Queer as Folk" was. I think it's interested in being a really terrific drama, which it is, but I don't think it's as much about being provocative as "Queer as Folk" was.

When you say "dangerous," do you think there's a difference in the "danger" level of gay men versus lesbians as far as the public is concerned?

Absolutely. We have to be honest, we still live in male-dominated culture here in the United States, a white-male-dominated culture. And the thought of two women being together on the whole is not as threatening as the thought of two men being together. Because, you know, a lot of straight men, I think, still have the homophobia of somehow, "Oh, they're going after me! They're gonna wanna be kissin' on me!" That's what they're scared of, deep down that it might reveal something about themselves that they consider a weakness. I think it's definitely the question of the man-on-man love that frightens the majority of Americans.

You go blonde in the new season. Can you give us a clue as to why that is?

Well, it's of course dealing with getting older. Finally his life has been going pretty well by the time we ended the fourth season: He's found a certain amount of security in himself, he's really battled through and, for the most part, won the battle with his addition and come to terms with it all. And because of that, as often happens, people kind of let themselves go a little, because they're feeling good and they've been through so much.

So Ted, when this season starts, has let himself go a little bit. He's put on a little bit of weight and is just not grooming himself as well as he might, let's say. And the consequences of that kind of send him into a bit of a spiral and a bit of a midlife crisis, and he decides to go for a younger, hipper look -- hence, the platinum blonde.

Does this storyline really get into the issue of gay male body image?

Oh yeah, absolutely. Which is an important one. And it was funny, we have a lot of gay crew members on our show, and a number of them are of an age where a similar thing is going on, so we had a lot of interesting discussions about this whole notion.

Some of them are in committed relationships, and their partners say they love it that their partner is getting a bit of a tummy and that kind of stuff. Others are really struggling with it and have done very much the same thing in terms of bleaching their hair and all that. Even before we started the storyline, they've kind of done some of that stuff in the past couple of years.

So I think it's something very prominent, of course. As we've discussed on the show since the beginning, it seems to be a culture where youth and beauty are prized above all else, and it's always been something that Ted has never had since we started the show. It's always been a bit of a struggle with him, and even with him finding a lot more inner confidence, this kind of stuff can really shatter someone's confidence within the community.

You say that Ted "spirals down." How do you think Ted has evolved over the past five years?

Well, it's been a very difficult course (as I say the words "spiral down" yet again for I don't know how many times in five years). He's been a tough character, I think, to write for and to play. He's the character always in search of something, and that's kind of his role in the show. Emmett kind of knows who he is. Michael for the most part is well-made -- he has grown up, but he kind of had a really strong base. Ted has always been on this quest somehow, and in order for him to fulfill that role of being the one always in search, you can never let him find what he truly wants, what he truly needs. If you do, what are you going to do with him as a character within this ensemble?

So his evolution has been rather herky-jerky -- he kind of takes two steps forward and one step back almost every single season. And you know that invariably, if things are going well for him, something terrible is going to happen. [Laughs.]

But I think, little by little, he has certainly gained a lot of confidence. And I think by the end of the series, he's learned what's important in terms of loving yourself before you're going to find anyone else to love you back as healthfully as you would like.

Do you think the possible problem with Ted is that his counterpart in the U.K. series died in the first season?

[Laughs.] That is a bit of a challenge. I mean, I don't know that it's a problem with him ...

I mean in terms of him being a fully fleshed-out character. The other characters obviously made it through, but Ted's counterpart died, so they had to basically continue on with a storyline that didn't happen in the original series.

Absolutely. Again, I don't see it as a problem, I see it as an opportunity for Dan Lipman and Ron Cowan to make this character their own. And I would like to think that I played some small part in that in terms of their decision to keep the character going.

I think he's ended up being very important. I can't speak for the British gay community, but from what I've seen in the American gay community and from discussions I've had with people, there's a lot of "Teds" out there. I can't tell you the number of people who tell me that Ted is the one they relate to. Ted, I think, is that character we've never seen on a television series or probably even in films.

I mean, we've seen a lot of characters like Emmett, although not with, I think, the true strength that Peter has brought to him. But we haven't seen a lot of "Teds." And I think a lot more people relate to being "Ted" than they do to being "Brian." I think Ted and Michael, perhaps, are the closest to the gay "Everyman" out there. And think that, especially if you combine Ted and Emmett (which Dan and Ron have done throughout the seasons -- we've been kind of a team), I think those two combined probably are "every gay man." [Laughs.] And in a way, a lot more prevalent than Brian would be.

I guess if you combined Ted and Emmett, you'd get Will Truman.

Yes, absolutely!

Since Ted is basically a real person to us, and to you, where would you see Ted in five or 10 years?

I see a couple of possibilities for him. I see him (I was talking about this with someone just the other day) maybe going to a culinary institute, really learning to cook, and joining Emmett in his party-planning business. And maybe, hopefully, moving to a warmer climate. Moving down to San Diego or Florida or even San Francisco. I think that maybe they've had enough of winters in Pittsburgh -- that's my own wishful thinking.

And where does Scott Lowell see himself in five to 10 years?

Scott Lowell sees himself still acting. It's what I was put here to do, I believe, and I've been doing it for so long now, I don't know what else I would do. Hopefully doing a couple films a year and definitely some more theater.

And if another series were to come along that was as challenging and interesting as "Queer as Folk," I would do that again. But having gone through five years of a series and knowing what it takes to do that and what it takes out of you, emotionally and physically, it would have to be something I'd feel pretty strongly about, I think. And it's going to be hard to find something that's ever going to compare to this experience in terms of television. So I would like start moving into film projects and definitely back into the theater again.

You've had a number of leading men. If you were to be in a movie or TV series, who would you like to be your leading lady?

I would love to do something with Audrey Tautou, who played "Amelie," because maybe it would bring me over to Europe to do something, which would be a lot of fun. I would love to do a comedy of some kind with Reese Witherspoon. I think she's really tremendous and a bright, bright personality onscreen.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, Scott.

Thank you!