A Big Thank You

Just a quick one to say thanks to all those who responded to my blog - it wasn't intended to stir anything up. Merely my candid observation of a fan machine at work (nothing I've encountered before). Rest assured, I've been doing this long enough not to take anything personally. I am quite happy being an average looking character actor - as that's afforded me a much wider range of roles than I might otherwise have had.

My blog is merely a mildly lucid ramble about whatever sparks my interest - be it traffic on the 405 or, in this case, the GH forums. It is great to see people feel so strongly about their TV. Whether they love it or hate, they're watching and opinionated. And it's healthy to have an opinion.

Thanks especially to those who rallied to my defense - you didn't need to, but I am touched. And it's good to know you're out there. May you all have a splendid weekend!

Sincerely,
Faux Jax

Temperatures Run High on General Hospital

It was not without trepidation that I stepped onto a soap set to fill in for an actor on ABC's General Hospital. Very much a baptism by fire as these guys work fast - really fast. Like one take fast. That's fast - in case I'm being vague. Nevertheless I had a blast temping for the role of Jax. I was curious to see what the fans thought (and by fans I mean GH fans, not my own - lol). So after a quick Google, found I had been roasted. It seems the GH viewers are very protective of their Jax - as one might expect, seeing as he's been on the show for years and years.

If any of you GH fans stop by here, be assured I did my best on short notice to fill in for one of your favorites. Yes I'd love to be taller and better looking, but hey - you'd probably like that for yourselves, too. And a special message to Chandler - no, my cheeks are not surgically altered. They are God-given. As is my ugly face (thank you Shanda, I will treasure that comment). If I was to alter anything, it would be my calves. I have small calves and hours in the gym have done little to help. There. That's me.

Oh, and let me say that the whole team at GH was fabulous, warm and inviting. A great bunch and a pleasure to work with. Though, if the forums are anything to go by, it doesn't look like I'll be making a come back anytime soon. Unless of course it's to play AJ, brought back from the dead (good suggestion, Stacy!)

Will Gets His Star

So the other day I was driving through the grubby wasteland that is Hollywood and came across a crowd of camera waving fans. Fans of what, I wondered. Was it a premiere? No, in fact it was a Star ceremony on the Walk of Fame. The recipient - Will Smith.

Will had yet to arrive, so I pulled into a rare parking spot and stood amongst the excited throng, waiting across the street from Graumann's Chinese Theatre, to catch a glimpse of a true A-list star. After 30 minutes of jostling (and curses thrown at drivers who chose to stop and block our view), Will Smith arrived looking remarkably like Will Smith. He gave a sweet little speech about his meeting with Mandela and how the former President of South Africa shared an experience from his 27 years in captivity.

The prisoners saw one movie a year, and it so happened that they screened "In the Heat of the Night" that particular year. Mandela noticed an edit where something had been cut out by the censors, and asked through his channels what that might be. He discovered it was the scene where Sydney Poitier slapped Rod Steiger. At that moment, he said, he discovered the true power of film for change. If a Black man could be shown to strike a White man in an American film, then film was a powerful force.

Whether or not that made Will feel better about making $20m a picture, I do not know. I do know that Will always delivers. And even Elvis (albeit an Elvis impersonator on Hollywood Blvd), was captivated by the man of the hour. I managed to take this snap of him without him asking me for the customary 5 bucks. So we all went home happy, I guess. Some of us are just on a different list. The "no-one's really heard of me yet but they might one day" list. And that's promising.

"Yet" is a powerful thing, too.

You can throw the word at the end of any task or goal you've yet to complete or accomplish, and turn the whole thing around. Make it a positive.

Eg: I haven't started my diet..yet.

Or: I haven't done the dishes...yet.

You haven't done them yet, but the implication is that you will, sometime in the not-too-distant future. You WILL get to them. You WILL get it done.

So may I bid you a fond and festive farewell and wish that all your "yets" become yesses in the not-too-distant future!

Happy Holidays!

Lights On

Well we're there finally. My episode of Moonlight airs tonight at 9pm Pacific on CBS. Here's this week's storyline:

When a cult target a young woman based on their belief that she was responsible for their leader's death, Mick offers to help her.

I get to play the cult's leader, Donovan Shepherd, whose death may be a little less final than everyone would like to believe. (And whose most terrifying weapon is his hair) I couldn't resist but give a little snap of just how creepy this guy is. Definitely a departure from my Mr Nice Guy.

I don't think I'll be booking any baby sitter roles after this one...

I Saw the Moonlight

Great news. I get to play two of my longtime character dreams in one role. Can't go into detail (as usual), except to say I'm a guest star on new TV show Moonlighting, which follows vampire investigator (or investigating vampire) Mick as he solves crimes and battles evil. The show was Number 1 in it's Friday night slot last week, so a good episodic to get on!

I also read for a feature called The Human Contract, written and directed by Jada Pinkett Smith. Got to meet Jada, too, which was a treat. She was really warm and engaging and yes - she is gorgeous.

Moonlight airs Friday nights on CBS. Look out for a very different, follicly enhanced Gideon five weeks from now.

You won't be inviting this character over to babysit the kids...

Greetings from Temecula

Indie coming-of-age feature Greetings From the Shore opens the Temecula film festival today and I'm off to check it out. It's my first film festival (I know - you'd think I go to these all the time), so I'm keen to see what's what. I played a supporting role of a Russian sailor who's a migrant laborer on the Jersey shore.

Leads Kim Shaw and David Fumero are great as the unlikely couple who hook up one summer. It was a great opportunity working in the picture postcard town of Lavalette and to play with the gang, which included good buds Lars Arentz-Hansen and Ron Geren - and our intrepid leader, Greg Chwerchak.

For more info, you can visit the Temecula Film Fest website.
There's also a great review of the film HERE.

Apparently we get ferried to the red carpet in vintage cars! I can see the puzzled expressions on people's faces now, as I cruise by in my open-top MG: "Who the %&$# is that?!"

Hehehe.

Not a bad way to spend your birthday...

Hair

Not the musical. Real hair. Folicles. I'm talking about that dead tissue that collects and gathers round the neck. Mine is clearly growing out of control, thanks in part to recent movie role that required me not to touch it. 8 weeks after that request I have a mop that no-one would touch - not even me. The Malawian government even has a phrase for it: "Hair falling in bulk to the collar". It's illegal!

I blame Armenia. Or at least one of it's flock; my hairdresser Marta, who decided to "retire" and not tell me. Quite why a woman in her 30s feels the need to retire from hair dressing is beyond me. Maybe she grew tired of looking at scalps all day. Maybe there's a breaking point at around 10,000 heads. Or maybe it's just me.

In any event (and this really IS an event) I have no stylist. I'm not shy to say it, but I like my stylist. She cuts my hair well. Very well. Better in fact than any of her predecessors. She's also the only person to touch my hair since I moved to the States 4 years ago. And now she's gone. And I do not want to jump on just anyone's stool. I've done that before and it's not a happy place - I am always the guinea pig for some new style that has yet to (and will probably never) catch on. It doesn't matter if I say "Just a little off the front please". I'll get a short back 'n sides. It's inevitable.

So in the meantime, I have a mullet in training. And at the risk of this sounding awfully similar to a, well, similar post I made a couple years ago, I am in sore need of a snip. It's not easy, people. If they get carried away, I need to get new headshots. And headshots in LA don't come cheap. So it's really a critical business decision. (He said hastily, to avoid casting assertions on his own sexuality)

That said, business is good. I've booked a couple of video game voices since being back home. No acting work - only 2 castings. No callbacks. Maybe that's cos the voices are off-camera.

Hmmmm...

I might have a point there...