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After seven years on General Hospital as Port Charles' most put-upon cop, actor Réal Andrews has switched soaps and coasts to portray Oakdale Memorial's new medical examiner. To find out why he's thrilled to be at ATWT (and what really bugged him about being on GH), read our exclusive interview below!
SoapCityAlina: Growing up, did you always want to be an actor?
Réal Andrews: No. I wanted to run in the 1984 Olympics as a sprinter for Canada. I wanted to be a professional football player or possibly a coach for a collegiate or professional team. I had a very good upbringing from my parents. My mother and father always supported me to be anything I wanted to be. I come from the other side of the tracks. My mom did the best that she could to support us. When I wanted to be an Olympic sprinter, my mother did everything she could to make sure I always had the best shoes and the best equipment, even though she couldn't afford it. But when I told her I wanted to be an actor, after all those years of her struggling and doing the best she could for me, she didn't even blink an eye. She said, "If that's what you want, what can I do to help you achieve that dream?"
SCA: So what prompted the change in careers?
RA: I got my first acting job back in 1980. It was a small part for an African-American in a movie called Harry Tracy -- Desperado. Where I grew up, there weren't that many African-American kids. They went around and found three of us. We read for the part and I got it. That was the beginning. Then I made some friends on the set and they kept an eye out for me. They were stuntmen. Two or three years went by. They called me up and they said, "We need a stunt man for Danny Glover on this film, Iceman." So I proceeded to become one of the first African-American stuntmen in Canada. And that evolved into little one-liner roles, the prison guard, the tough guy, the bad guy, the stuntman/actor roles. And those evolved into bigger, speaking roles. At this point, I was in Toronto and I woke up one morning and I thought, "I kind of like this acting thing. It's fun and I can make money at it!" I decided to move to L.A. in 1988. I wanted to compete with the best of the best. And then 16 years went by before I got another job. When I left Canada, I was doing very well between modeling and stunt work and acting. I was probably making six figures. And then the first year in L.A., I made $600 bucks.
SCA: What did you do? How did you survive, both financially and emotionally?
RA: I did whatever I had to do. I delivered pizzas, I washed windows, I laid floors. Whatever I could to do to make money. And I had a football coach in high school who gave us a very inspirational speech once before a game. He said, there's no such word as can't. I really took that speech to heart. I made that my motto.
That was instrumental to everything I've done. It became a game to me, to prove that there was no such word as can't.
SCA: So what do you consider your big break?
RA: My first job on General Hospital, in 1996, was my big break. You know how when it rains, it pours? Literally within a week of getting GH, I got Soldiers of Fortune. We thought we were going to be able to do both, but it didn't work out, so I went off and did Soldiers of Fortune in 1997. And then, when Soldiers of Fortune didn't work out, General Hospital took me back.
SCA: Did it bother you, on GH, always being the bad guy, even though you were a cop, while Sonny, the mobster, was considered a hero?
RA: It bothered me a lot. Especially post 9/11. I'm very patriotic and I'm a very big fan of our men and women in blue. I understand that it's a soap opera, but I don't believe in making cops look bad or like bumbling idiots in order to get a story across. It was very hard for me. I tried to fight it. I tried to stand up for what I believe in. But, of course, at the end of the day, it came down to, "Yeah, that's nice. Do your job." You have to deal with it by remembering, "It's not my show. I'm not the person whose credit is in the writing." All I can do is try to do the best I can to find parts where I can show policemen the respect and justice that I think they deserve. And then by wearing the flag pin that I wore (on the show), it was my subliminal way of doing the little bit that I could.
SCA: So is it more comfortable for you to finally be on the right side of justice, as Walker Daniels?
RA: I love the way Walker is written. I love the passion he has. I love the fact that he's good at what he does. And, on a personal level, I love the fact that he's a positive, African-American character, which is seldom seen in today's day and age. The beginning of my career, for years, I was playing every bad guy you could imagine, because that's all there ever was for African-Americans. As an actor I was happy to play them because I wanted to work. But in the real world, that's not what it's all about. I applaud the writing on ATWT with every script I receive. It just solidifies the respect I felt for this team before I came here. The writing is phenomenal, the way they justify their characters. Just being on this show, I'm living a dream come true. So far, I've worked with Don (Hastings; Bob), Benjamin (Hendrickson; Hal), Larry (Bryggman; John), Paul Taylor (Isaac), Peter Parros (Ben), Napiera Danielle (Bonnie) and Tamara Tunie (Jessica). I get to be right in there with everyone, which is cool. This is a gift from heaven. It's a joy. You don't know how much of a joy it is to come to work on this show. And it all starts from the top. (Executive Producer) Chris (Goutman) is responsible for the environment that ATWT gives off. I had the pleasure to sit behind Chris at the Emmys, and to see how effective he was when the writing team didn't win and when the directing team didn't win and when Cady didn't win. It just touched me so much, because you could see how much this man really, really, really cares for his people. He took the time to go to them and console them. I've never seen the likes of that in our business. I've seen people that are very much there when you win, but I've never seen anybody have such caring in our business. When I first met with Chris, I asked, "What are you looking for with this character? Do you want me to play him this way, do you want me to play him this way?" And he said, "We'll wait to see what you bring to the canvas. We want you to bring you to the canvas, and then we will see what you bring, and we will write for you." ATWT does not think, "Walker Daniels is an African-American," or "This character is an African-American." They write a character as a character and then if they happen to cast an African-American in that role, they just see what that actor brings to the role. I think that's the key. It's not like they're putting an African-American on the canvas to represent an African-American, they're writing the character first. That's huge! That's why ATWT is so successful. That's why they win Best Show!
To watch Réal Andrews' first day in Oakdale, make sure to download the June 4 episode of ATWT!
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