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On May 9, NFL Super Bowl (XXVII) MVP John Riggins assumed the role of
Springfield's Mitch Hendon. During his 14-year pro-football career, John
played for both the New York Jets and the Washington Redskins, and his
116 career touchdowns and 104 rushing touchdowns are both number three
in the record books. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 1992. After his retirement from professional sports, John worked as
a football analyst on television and radio, along with appearing in theater
productions of Illegal Motions in Maryland and Gillette
in New York. He is making his daytime debut on GL and, as of this writing,
the former running-back still can't get over all of the similarities between
his old job, and his new one...
SoapCityAlina: So, John, how does one go from Super Bowls to soaps?
John Riggins: You've got to pay your dues. I came up to New York in
1994, and studied acting at the William Esper Studio for a couple of years.
Then I got remarried and since I was making my money being a broadcaster,
I kind of got shifted more down that road, as opposed to the acting. And
jobs aren't out there like apples hanging on trees. I had to make a living,
so (broadcasting was) what I've done. To a certain extent it's been fortuitous.
I met some people along the way, and they had a project and put me in
it. One thing led to another, and here I am on Guiding Light.
SCA: What's it like to go from football, where you're an expert and
at the top of your field, into acting, where you have to start all over
again at the bottom?
JR: It's very refreshing. Because I am green, I don't assume anything
in acting. At least I try not to -- as I once did in sports, where I thought
I had all the answers. I know I have very few answers in acting, so it's
a real learning experience. I don't have a problem with it at all. I never
did buy into some of the fame that I got in football. At the same time,
I knew football. It's not a game where it requires a lot of soul searching
or trying to flesh something out. You either got it or you don't, and
you know it pretty quickly. Here, it's a different story. The parallels
between acting and football are just uncanny. Every time I act, I find
more of them all the time.
SCA: For instance?
JR: Yesterday, I'm here shooting, and we do a scene, one that took
a little emotional energy. We get to where we actually tape it, and you
just didn't feel that you hit. You were just a little off. Well, because
of the nature of soap operas, you don't have the luxury, if the director
says, "That's good enough," even if you, as the actor say, "I
know I can do better, I know there is more to this scene," you don't
have the luxury to go back to that. This scene is going to be there for
posterity. And, in the same way, in football, on Sunday, the day of the
game, they call a play, and you run the play. And you have the same kind
of thing, where you know if I'd only done this, I could have made some
more yards or I would have been able to make that block. But guess what?
You don't get it back. And you have to look at it on Monday. Everybody
saw it on Sunday, but then I've got to sit there in the film room and
it, too, is there for all of posterity. It fascinates me how football
and daytime are so similar.
SCA: Did you expect that about daytime?
JR: Well, I didn't know just exactly how long the rope was here, or
that there was no net. Obviously, if (a mistake is) pretty egregious,
you have to stop and go back. But you better try to get it right the first
time, because you might not have the luxury of a second. But, I got to
tell you, everybody here couldn't be more helpful. They have a great bunch
of actors here and a great bunch of technical people all the way around.
And John Conboy, the executive producer, he's a great guy.
SCA: How do you like the character you're playing?
JR: Mitch Hendon is an ex-Marine. He's probably a CIA operative. I
haven't been told that, but because he works in different parts of the
world that most people have never heard of, I've got to believe that he
works for the government doing something he either should or shouldn't
be doing, depending on your political point of view. Mitch, I think, is
a little bit of a bully. And John Riggins really isn't. It's a great stretch
for me. I've lived in NYC for the past eight years. And if there's one
thing you learn living in New York, it's tolerance because of how close
together we all live here. But sometimes, we do become intolerant. There's
a situation out on the street and you holler at someone, maybe a cab driver.
Now, John Riggins puts up with all of that stuff. I don't like it, but
I put up with it. Mitch does not put up with it. He just hauls off and
does what he has to. So it's kind of fun to play this guy.
SCA: And what kind of insight can you give us into Mitch's relationship
with his philandering wife, Ramona and her boy-toy, Ben?
JR: I'm trying to piece that all together there. I figure Mitch must
have some kind of an old war injury. And I don't know much about the CIA,
but I have a feeling that they can make things happen that the average
guy can't. So, Ben should watch out!
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