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Mike Kasnoff left Oakdale in 1997 after surviving a pair of very
dysfunctional relationships with sisters Rosanna Cabot and Carly
Tenney. On July 2, 2002, Mike resurfaces -- only not in Oakdale,
and not to see either Rosanna or Carly. To find out which
Oakdale lady will cross his path first, and why actor Mark Collier
is in awe of Michael Park (Jack), read on!
Accounts Due:
I was born in Florida. I grew up an hour north of Orlando. I did
a lot of plays when I was little, in grade school, but once high
school came around and college, I didn't do too much of it. My (college)
degree is actually in accounting. My father is a CPA, and I thought
I was going to work for him. Now, by my fifth year of college I
realized that I actually wasn't going to do that. But I was having
a good time with the fraternity, so that's why I stuck around school.
Afterwards, I was down in Miami for a while and I got into doing
some commercials. But, four years ago, there just weren't a lot
of places to study acting down there. I decided to move to either
New York or L.A. I figured if I was going to be poor for a really
long time, the best place to be was LA.
Do You Want a Soda With That?:
When I got to LA, I worked at a pizza parlor. I mean, I got a commercial
agent right off the bat, but I really didn't want to go out there
and audition and not know what I was doing. I wanted to learn a
bit more so I wouldn't be so completely green. So I started studying
acting. I made it like college. I sat in class and watched and watched
and watched. I did that for a couple of years. Then, about a year
and a half ago was when I really started doing a lot of theater.
I became a member of a theater company, and then I got more plays
because people who saw me would say, "Hey, would you come audition
for this?"
Son of the Beach:
I had been out in LA about six months and my commercial agent said
they were going to send me out to audition for Sunset Beach.
So I went and ended up being a lifeguard on the show for a couple
of days. A year later, they remembered me and I came back and tested
for a contract role. I didn't get the part, but they ended up bringing
me back for a recurring part. I played David. I was the bartender
on the show. So I would work two or three days out of the month.
I was the bartender that people would come to and get advice from
and things like that. It was actually a really good experience.
But that show was quickly off the air, so I wasn't on there very
long.
Night Shift:
I also did Beverly Hills, 90210. I think they remembered
me from Sunset Beach. I played Donna's boyfriend, the website
designer, Mitch. I played that role for a little while and then
that show was off the air, too. I seem to be bad luck for these
people. The people at As the World Turns don't have to worry,
though. I have a feeling they've been around long enough. I can't
do anything to make it bomb.
Mike Matters:
About a year ago, I auditioned for the role of Paul on ATWT. I didn't
get the part, but they remembered me and called me. At that particular
time, I had just tested for something else and I wasn't sure if
I wanted to move to New York City. So I didn't audition when they
came to LA. But they called my manager and spoke with him, and so
I came out here and tested. I had a screen test with Lesli Kay (Molly).
There was really good chemistry there and I thought I had a good
shot at it. When I got back to LA a couple of days later, I got
a call and they said, "You got it." So I had about four
days to move out here and get everything going. It was a bit of
a mess, but I got out here.
Taxicab Confessions:
I came in on a Saturday night; my cab was taking me into the city
from JFK. We're in Times Square and there are like a hundred thousand
people there, ten thousand people just on that one block we're on.
My cab was going fast and suddenly a couple stepped out in front
of us and ran across the street and I'm like "You idiots!"
Then I looked over and I was like "Oh my God, I think it's
that Molly girl! No way!" I went to my hotel, which was a block
away, and I ran down to see if I could find her, but I couldn't.
So I thought I must have been wrong. But she had left me her cell
phone number, and I called her and said, "I think my cab almost
ran you over." She called me the next morning, dying with laughter!
"Oh my God, that was me. You almost hit me with your car!"
So I was like, "Wow!" I mean, if I had hit her, I wouldn't
have a job anymore!
Talking Points:
I had 15 pages of dialogue the first day I worked, and then 30 pages
the second day. It was a baptism by fire. "Boom, here you go."
I didn't know until I got here who Mike Kasnoff was, or that he
used to be on the show six or seven years ago. I didn't know this
was a recast. I got together with (Executive Producer) Chris Goutman
and he pretty much told me all the past history, and I also kind
of made my own assumptions.
Past History:
I actually did my first two scenes with Cady (McClain; Rosanna)
yesterday. I have Maura (West; Carly) next week. I have a lot
of people next week. With Lesli, there's already this comfort level
there because I knew we clicked in the screen test. With the other
two ladies, I wasn't worried about it, but at the same time I was
anxious to see what would happen. But that anxiety really works
well because (Mike) hasn't seen these people in six or seven years.
Molly, I had never seen before so I could play the newness. But
the other ones, to try to come in and play a previous relationship
was a bit difficult, but at the same time it kind of worked because
there is an uncomfortableness between me and Cady's character.
New York State of Mind:
It's tough not seeing sand and water and trees right now. I lived
in Venice Beach when I was in LA. I was at the beach all the time
playing volleyball or surfing. There's not going to be a lot of
that here in New York. My workload over the last three weeks has
been so tough that it's really been difficult to try and get anything
going here. Which is good -- it's better than sitting around and
being bored.
Fan Fare:
I went to the (charity) softball game with Michael Park (Jack).
There were just lines of people there to see him and the rest of
the cast, and I've never been exposed to this. You would think I
was walking with Michael Jackson the way people were screaming and
taking pictures of him. I was kind of awestruck from watching all
these people. But he handles the people so well. It was kind of
like having a brother there to say, "Listen, this is what you
do." That helped a lot. It was fun. Playing in the softball
game was great. We won.
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