Guiding Light:
Me and My Character
Jordi Vilasuso
2002 has been a watershed year for Tony Santos. He found out his wife,
Catalina, was faking a pregnancy but before he could really process the
news, Catalina was killed and Tony thought true love, Marah, did the deed.
Later, Tony’s rage at learning that Marah slept with his "best
pal," Romeo Jones (Catalina’s real killer), led Tony dangerously
close to raping his ex-girlfriend. The pair has been apart ever since.
But on Monday, November 25, Tony’s grief over the presumed death
of his beloved cousin, Danny, prompts him to make a life-changing decision
-- one that affects Marah, as well. For a sneak peek at what that choice
might mean for all the Santos’, keep reading...
SoapCityAlina: The near-rape of Marah was kind of a defining moment
for Tony, wasn’t it? How did you, Jordi, put yourself in the right
frame of mind to go to such a dark place?
Jordi Vilasuso: I don’t know. I really don’t know. You
kind of just jump off the cliff and go for it. We worked on that scene
for a long time, almost a week. We went through one rehearsal with (Executive
Producer) Paul (Rauch) in the rehearsal hall so we could see how we were
going to do it, and then with Bruce Barry, the director. There was a lot
of dialogue, a lot of stuff going on, a lot of regurgitating of story.
I think the key to playing that scene was to really know what you were
saying so you can feel it. It was a lot of hurt, a lot of frustration
and a lot of anger. Tony’s got so many issues going on inside of
him. I think that when he doesn’t know how to deal with things, it’s
so frustrating and he doesn’t want to take it anymore, so he just
goes to that place that says, "Well, if I’m not going to get
it, I’m going to beat it. I’m going to hit the wall."
SCA: Is it tough to play that kind of behavior without judging it?
JV: I never judge my character. I try as much as possible to really
put it all through my skin, really take what’s given and personalize
it and see how’s he going to deal with it and hold on to what’s
most important. Why is he fighting for this? What does he want? He wants
Marah but he doesn’t get her, so how is he going to deal with it?
He’s almost obsessed with this girl. She was so beautiful to him,
she was his baby, she was everything that he’s ever wanted and she
also holds so many things in her life that he doesn’t have. You open
up a lot of yourself when you are playing something like the rape scene.
I think Tony is a vulnerable character. It’s hard to play because
a lot of the time you’re given writing that’s so heartfelt and
so emotional, it’s like, "How vulnerable should I get? My cousin
is dying and I’m dealing with that. I’m dealing with having
to go after Carmen. I’m dealing with the possibility of having another
chance with this girl, but will her parents accept me?" In the writing,
if you just look at the words and when you say them, it touches you. I
draw a lot from myself.
SCA: Isn’t that scary? Now it’s not just Tony being vulnerable,
it’s you, too.
JV: I’m getting more comfortable with it, but it’s always
been very scary for me, especially being a guy from this macho, Cuban
family; it’s like you can’t cry. But sometimes, with this work,
it’s whatever happens happens, and you just go with it because if
you don’t, you’re caught acting and you don’t ever want
that to happen. So, if it feels right to cry, you cry. And my family is
like, "How did you do that?" Also, you bring this stuff home
with you. It’s a more intense kind of living. Dealing with all these
things could drive you crazy. Sometimes I look at Laura Wright (Cassie)
and I’m like, "How do you do that? You’re killing yourself,
especially when you have to cry."
SCA: Well, Tony has been doing some pretty intense living these days.
Does he really want to kill Carmen?
JV: He wants to raze Carmen. Because he sees her as a scorpion,
she’s poisonous, she’s a virus. Whenever she’s in the room,
it’s always a feeling of, "Stay away. I don’t want you
here." He sees what has happened in his family. Danny is dead because
Carmen killed her own son. That’s not what he wants for his future.
He wants to start over from scratch. And hopefully Marah can make him
see the light. Hopefully, she’ll take him through all the hardships
that they’ve gone through and they can build a new trust with each
other, starting with Thanksgiving...
Next: Matthew Bomer
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