I love Ricky interviews. He is extremely friendly and outgoing, and very animated. He is not in the least brash, though, just really cute and funny.


He was told backstage just before coming out that Michael Logan of TV Guide had just named him Best Actor in Soaps for 2005. (This interview aired on February 1, 2006) He said Logan is a tough critic, and he didn't think he liked him, so he was very appreciative.


Asked about all the Guiding Light departures, he wondered aloud what the perception is. "Does it seem like it's in bad shape?" (Well, yeah...) He pointed out that the big corporations downsize. He said he's "met with people... the boring stuff, the brass" and "there's a huge machine coming behind the shows" owned by Procter and Gamble, ATWT and GL, "right now and the best of times are coming." Of the axed actors he said "I miss them dearly, but they're talented folks and they end up on their feet." He said it's a "great ride" anyway for an actor to be in the same job for 10 or 20 years.


He joked about how wonderful it was to be in a wedding, because they got him a new suit. They mostly don't get him anything because his clothes get ruined being Gus. He keeps having accidents with them.

When discussing Beth Ehlers (Harley) he calls her "my girl" in a very tender, affectionate tone. He says when they get onto the set it becomes real to him, and he is in love with her at that time. He said it's like magic, and "if you can capture that magic...."

He told how they won the contest for Most Irresistible Combination at the 2005 Emmys, and it was a big glass cone. Right off stage afterward, she dropped it and it "shattered into pieces."


He likes having Mallett on the show, because no conflict is no show. He calls him Lurch or something similar, and they make him reshoot the scene. He said Rob Bogue, who plays Mallett, is very good at knowing all his lines. Ricky, on the other hand, makes up "all my own dialogue." He finds it hard to remember all that stuff, but he is careful to give the other actors the right cues. He also commented on the clip they had just showed... a great "Thanksgiving show ... choking your father in a nuthouse."


Ricky talked about his Emmy red carpet work, also. He said it's not all that easy. You wear an earphone and get instructions through that, while the fans are yelling along the ropes on the other side, and you are doing the announcing at the same time.


He told a funny story, especially since he tells stories so well, about his new movie role. He and Beth have the same agent, and they were both called in together for a phone call. Martin Scorsese had called and wanted them for a Leonardo DiCaprio film. In the movie, DiCaprio goes to see his aunt to tell her something, but she won't listen because she's watching GL. She is watching her favorites, Gus and Harley. So they want them in this film. It was so exciting until they found out they wanted to use a clip, not the two of them. They agreed to "do" the movie. Ricky said all he wanted was tickets to the premiere, but they were no longer in contact (made the sound of a phone buzzing)



After the interview concluded, he participated in a Match Game style game.
See next page about the Blank Game.

The BLANK GAME