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A round-up of answers to the usual questions from one of Guiding Light's
newest cast members
Ricky Paull Goldin appeared in Springfield as Gus Aitoro
on Thursday, March 29.
Gus who?:
"Any character that you watch, or person whom you know, feels justified
or has a reason behind why they do what they do. Gus has reasons [for
his actions] and his reasons run to the core of his being. Until he finds
justice [for his motivations], the audience might not quite know why he
is the way he is - cocky, arrogant, pushy...He's doing his job and probably
doing it very, very well. Maybe he's a little bit too aggressive in the
way he goes about things; maybe he's not like that with everybody. But
he doesn't care. I find that interesting about him. He doesn't care what
people think."
It's Gus' world, the rest of us just live in it:
"It's not so much that Gus enjoys making people uncomfortable; he
simply does not care what they think. He's going to get information and
get over obstacles any way that he can. He does things in a Dirty Harry
kind of way. I think he's brilliant with the ways that he deduces things.
I think he tries to have the mind of a criminal at the same time. And
I think, psychologically, the way he breaks down characters, of course
[people are] not going to like him. I'm not even that concerned at the
moment that the audience loves him because I hold inside me, inside Ricky
Paull Goldin, the master plan, that that kind of passion can manifest
itself in so many ways. Imagine if there is a woman whom Gus is interested
in. Imagine what lengths he might go to…Imagine what it would take
to make a man like him interested in a person in the first place. He's
kind of given up on the love life part of his life because my map for
Gus inside my head and heart tells me that he was terribly hurt, terribly
in love at one point, and doesn't feel he could do it again. There's something
very admirable about that. At the moment, he is not with a million different
women, and if he is flirting with a woman, it's mostly because he wants
to get something that he's after."
That suits me fine:
"Gus is a complete departure for me. It was time for me to grow up
on television, to become a man with a real job. It's ridiculous to say
but the short hair and the suits -- that's all he's about. Gus Aitoro
probably has eight of the same suits because it's all about the work for
him. I've played villains -- I did four movies of the week in the last
two years where I was the villain in two out of the four, and I played
a villain with a heart of gold on The Young and the Restless --
but this role attracted me because this guy is a young supporting lead.
He's old enough to have a kid. He's old enough to have a real affair that
could lead to marriage. I've never had any of that, especially in daytime.
I was ready."
Grease lightning:
"I remember saying [when I was at Another World] that we should
remember those days because some people have their heyday and never get
to feel that [experience] again. I was lucky. After Another World,
I got Grease [on Broadway], and I thought that was my heyday. Then
I executive produced a show for ABC and that felt like my heyday - I was
in it and directing it and executive producing it. I thought, 'Wow, life
is amazing.' In between, I did four movies of the week and I thought,
'It can't get much better than this.' I had squeezed in The Pirates
of Penzance in Ireland, playing the lead Kevin Kline role, the Pirate
King, which is basically Danny Zuko at 100 years old, and I thought 'I'm
on fire'.…When I first booked Y&R, I thought 'How could I ever
remember that kind of dialogue again?' I didn't remember. I have a very
strong constitution as a person. I don't like to be told I can't do something
and I hate to fail. When I came to Guiding Light, I had to test
like everybody else. The night before the screen test, they changed the
scene -- just like life on a daytime series -- and it's my job [to adapt
and learn the lines]. You're either cut out for that kind of stuff or
you're not. I compensate by pulling a Bruce Willis from Moonlighting
every now and then. I'll make up my own stuff, go on a rampage, but I
get the general gist across and I've got a great sparring partner with
Beth Ehlers."
Pilot lights:
"FlyTV is like the new Laugh-In. It's Laugh-In on crack.
That's a deal for Viacom. The other deal my production company has is
a pilot with MTV. We're working with the producers from Jackass
and Fear. I will not appear in either of these shows but I have
created them along with my partner, Vin Montello. [Our company is] called
Goldin Montello Productions. I'm 75% producer and 25% writer, and he's
75% writer and 25% producer. So together, we're a good combo. We are just
simple folk trying to get some good ideas done."
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