My chat with “DTLA” star Darryl Stephens about leaving Noah behind: People “get to see what else I can do”

Darryl Stephens has had memorable roles in such films as Boy Culture and Another Gay Movie.

But everyone remembers him mostly from Noah’s Arc.

That’s been a good thing and a bad thing for the actor who played the title role of screenwriter Noah Nicholson in the TV series that ran on Logo for two seasons followed by the wonderful feature film Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom. (I’m still mystified as to why Logo canceled Noah’s Arc in the first place – it had so much life left and so many loyal fans).

While the franchise made him known and helped him build a fan base, people assumed Darryl was Noah who was a bit effeminate and eccentric. Stephens, who is openly gay, believes both fans and casting directors saw him as his onscreen alter-ego.

‘So many people walk up to me and are surprised that I’m not Noah,’ Darryl told me during a chat at a premiere party for the show last week. ‘It’s due time to show them another side of what Darryl Stephens can do.’

That’s why the actor is so excited about the new series DTLA which premieres Wednesday on Logo.

‘It’s exciting to be back on Logo because people who are familiar with me on Logo get to see what else I can do,’ the actor says.

The show, on which Stephens is an executive producer, focuses on a group of multi-ethnic friends, gay and straight, who live in the area of Downtown Los Angeles.

His character is an attorney who begins the series in a difficult period with his boyfriend with whom he lives in an downtown apartment they are trying to sell.

Since Noah’s Arc, Darryl has done guest spots on such TV series as Private Practice, Ringer, Two and a Half Men and Desperate Housewives.

But he’s pleased to be able to be playing a complex character who he gets to explore in a series.

‘This is a great next step in my acting career,’ he says.

After the series pilot airs, seven more half hour episodes of DTLA will air on Logo in subsequent Wednesday nights.

Below is an image of Darryl and Danny Roberts, The Real World: New Orleans alum who also appears on the show.