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| Youthful Daze creator and star Bryan James. |
Read Part 2 of our exclusive interview below.
SERIAL SCOOP: You knew how important the Drew and Tommy love story was going to be to Youthful Daze. What was it like filming those initial scenes with Ethan, where Drew and Tommy shared their first kiss?
BRYAN JAMES: That was challenging for me as an actor because it was so intense and emotionally raw and that's what I was excited about. If I'm not terrified then it's not something I want to work on currently in my career. As an actor living in LA there are millions of us. I want my talent and work ethic and commitment to telling the story full force to come out strong, and that will only happen if the material is challenging me. I have no hang ups with doing any storyline as long as it's true to the human condition. Let's bring truth to the material and have that be the focus.
SERIAL SCOOP: Both you and Ethan were completely on board to make this pairing a successful one?
BRYAN JAMES: Ethan and I knew what we were delving into. I had a couple of really amazing conversations with him. After one of our conversations I signed contracts with the crew the very next day. Knowing that I had the Tommy and Drew stuff in a strong position is what made me feel comfortable to even begin filming. We shoot out of sequence by location so I was working with Ethan immediately. It enhanced my entire performance because I knew the magnitude Tommy had on Drew's life when he was around and when he wasn't. These two characters have longed to be together for over 2 years. And they are only 17/18 years old. That's intense when it's examined that way. The audience didn't know that, but that absolutely was the case and will continue to be seen moving forward. This was a really crucial moment for the character and for the show frankly.
SERIAL SCOOP: It's worked. You guys seemed to connect from the first moment. As a viewer, I believe that Drew and Tommy are in love and should be together. What is it like working with Ethan?
BRYAN JAMES: If I wasn't working opposite Ethan I'm not sure I would have been able to give everything to that the way I did. I don't want to speak for him but I think it's the same for him. We both got to a place with one another where we trusted each other completely to go there. There's no ego or hang ups with either of us. We aren't thinking about this too much in our heads, we are just living the truth of this moment together and approaching it from that angle. We both are on the same page and we both want this storyline to be everything it can be. Ethan is amazing to work with. He is one of the nicest people I have ever worked with in a major storyline and he has a love for the craft that is infectious and so refreshing to be around. He makes me feel at ease and safe, it's a safe environment to be in. I couldn't ask for more. I can't say enough about how great Ethan is.
SERIAL SCOOP: That is really great to hear. I am glad you don't hate him. [laughs] How has the audience responded to Drew and Tommy?
BRYAN JAMES: Really amazing. People are responding to this storyline and to these two characters fighting to be together. It's really rewarding to work on something and then have people tell you that it's something they've been waiting for and wanting to see done this way for years; telling you "thank you" for creating this. That's really special and I don't take that lightly. I will continue to deliver for them. There is a good way and a bad way to do soap. Some of my characters being gay is completely irrelevant to my story telling decisions and I think on the remaining daytime serials there's a lot of resistance in telling a gay storyline and having it be front and center. Not from the writers or the actors but from the network. That's not an issue for our soap.
SERIAL SCOOP: On Days of our Lives there is Will (Guy Wilson) and Sonny (Freddy Smith). They are married, and have a child together. They kiss, but they don't get the same kind of attention the heterosexual couples do.
BRYAN JAMES: We don't even discern the types of stories we are going to tell for the gay or the straight characters. There is no filter with me hesitating on a direction to go in because it's involving two men. Who gives a shit? It's 2014. Let's just tell some good stories. And if we do a make out scene or a sex scene why does it need to be done differently than the straight ones? It doesn't, and it shouldn't be. I think that's refreshing for a lot of fans of daytime drama to know we aren't going to only show Drew and Tommy for five minutes in a twenty minute episode. There's been good gay storylines on soaps but has there been one time where the screen time was actually what it should be? Youthful Daze is not going to ever do that to our fans. Drew and Tomy are absolutely the main focus on this show right now and going forward they will be as well. All the Drew and Tommy fans should be excited to know this is something worth investing in. We respect this love story tremendously.
SERIAL SCOOP: It is incredible to see a gay romance front and center and know that it is going to be treated with dignity and respect. I'm sure fans will be happy to know they can invest their time into this pairing without fearing it is going to be halted at some point. Is there anything you can share about the future of YD? Thanks to Sarah Hester (Becca), Youthful Daze fans were given some spoilers. Thanks, Sarah. [laughs] But we can always use more spoilers!
BRYAN JAMES: I can tell you there is a substance abuse storyline that is coming up with Becca that is going to affect a lot of story not only in season two but in season three, beginning to air at the end of this summer. Mallorie (Jessica Osgood) and Sean (Ash Nair) have a lot of story coming up. Drew, Tommy, and Oliver are all going to be front burner as well. There are some things coming up on this show that make me very giddy as a fan of the show. There's some juicy stuff coming especially for Conor (Daniel Kountz), Vanessa (Heather Johansen), Brad (Paul Vandervort) and Ms Loomis (Kami Koren). They are all on the outside looking in on the main characters and all four of them are going to cause problems for the central characters. All for very different reasons.
I think the show will always operate a little in the gray in terms of who is good and who is bad. I can say that I feel the audience is going to have to take sides in a lot of these dynamics soon if they haven't yet. It's definitely the good guys vs the bad guys. The bad guys sometimes have the edge because the good guys used to be bad themselves. They're struggling within themselves to be better people constantly, while combating the horrors some of these more self-embracing evil characters inflict on each other.
SERIAL SCOOP: Well, if that wasn't enough to entice new viewers to watch Youthful Daze, how would you describe the series to new viewers?
BRYAN JAMES: They need to know that the show is all about a group of rich teenagers in Calabasas that go to a private prep school from hell. Drew Castle, my character, just reconnected secretly with his ex who happens to be a guy, and things are about to get even more complicated for this character. I'm also excited to tell you that this show has just started! We still have an entire second half of season 2 dropping every Sunday and principal photography for yd3 started June 20th. Youthful Daze will continue to air new episodes every Sunday night until June 2015!!!
SERIAL SCOOP: Thank you, Bryan. We will all be watching!
Youthful Daze is available at http://www.youthfuldaze.com. Watch a brand new episode every Sunday night.
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* EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Sarah Hester on 'Youthful Daze and the joy of playing bitchy Becca Malone
* EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Mike C. Manning on His 'Youthful Daze' Character and Producing 'Kidnapped for Christ'
Michael Goldberg is a freelance writer, producer and actor from Chicago. He regularly contributes television and web series features to Serial Scoop.
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