The following is an excerpt from interview (the full version is available at local newsstands) the current issue of SOD.
What was your reaction when you heard you’d be playing a second role?
“I was very excited. It was a good opportunity to be able to do something new. You play one character on a show for a long time and there are many advantages to it – you get to know the character very well and it helps when you’re making choices - and then on the flip side, one of my favorite things about any acting job is when you’re starting it and it’s a clear slate and you get to build a character from the ground up. So to be able to do that was something I really looked forward to. And I got to work on an accent, which was a bit exciting too.”
How long did it take you to perfect the accent?
“It took a while I worked with an accent coach. It took quite a long time to get it right.”
How did you differentiate EJ from Santo?
“I wore a mustache. But he was very different. He was from Italy, so I tried not only to have an Italian accent, but to incorporate gestures which were kind of Italian, some hand gestigulcations. He was different in terms of where he came from – he already was married and had a family – but he was also similar in many ways, too. He was EJ’s grandfather, so there were some commonalities there.”
Would you want to play a dual role again?
Sure. Absolutely.
