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Welcome
to SoapCity's One On One interview with one of
daytime's beloved stars. Each month we will feature
a new interview with one of the most popular actors
of the genre.
One
on One with Daysí Matthew
Ashford
SC
Sherrie: So youíre coming back to
Days?
Matthew
: Yes, Iím actually going back this
week.
SC
Sherrie: So could you give the fans a little tease
about what they might be seeing.
Matthew:
Well,
first of all theyíre going to be seeing me
in a towel. Stepping out of the shower, kind of
like Patrick Duffy and then I get a phone call from
Alice Horton, my inside connection, who gives me
the lowdown on where to find Jennifer.
So I make my way to the coronation and sneak my way
in because I have to get in there to see her. But
to do that because I donít have an
invitation, I have to disguise myself as one of the
waiters and sneak my way in.
SC
Sherrie: You could have disguised yourself as
royaltyÖ
Matthew:
Yeah, in a robe or one of those long dresses,
hey, that would have been good.
SC
Sherrie: How is it seeing everybody
again?
Matthew:
Oh itís great, and not only seeing the
cast, the crew as well. The people are great and
well and happy and healthy. Itís comforting,
you know like Cheers, ëwhere everybody knows
your name.í
SC
Sherrie: Do you have a favorite memory of your time
on Days?
Matthew:
There were so many fun things that I got to do.
I
loved working at The Spectator, working as a
reporter while I was obscuring the truth about
myself as much as possible. I got to do so much fun
stuff next to Jennifer without having to face off,
having the sidekick Vern, and the big shipwreck was
a hoot. The wacky adventures were a lot of fun to
do, Iíd ask myself ëwho else gets to do
this stuff?í
Sinking ships, trains derailing.
SC
Sherrie: I always thought of you as the Indiana
Jones of daytime, all those adventures.
Matthew:
Oh really, ëcause Jack was the guy who
seemed the least well suited for adventuring, still
he was the guy who got to go here and there.
SC
Sherrie: But that gave it more realism.
Matthew:
Well, the writers would put us into situations
and I would comment about how Jack is used to being
well dressed and used to having his shower etc. so
of course he would be a bit of a tenderfoot in
those outdoorsy circumstances. It made for some
high comedy as well. I think when you perform what
the character would really do in a given situation
then it strikes those chords of recognition with
the audience.
SC
Sherrie: I think thatís why the character
was adored so much.
Matthew:
Absolutely, because he isnít afraid to
be an idiot, although in his mind heís never
an idiot he takes himself very seriously, far too
seriously which kind of leads you to make mistakes
in situations like that. I think Jack wants very
much to be happy but he has no idea how. But no
matter what he wonít give up and in terms of
life I think thatís the type of thing that
we all hope that we have, ëno matter what,
Iím gonna pick up and Iím gonna go
on.í
SC
Sherrie: With everything youíve done since
leaving Days, is there something in particular that
stands out or that youíre particularly fond
of?
Matthew:
Iíve
done a lot of theater and musicals, in "1776" I
played Thomas Jefferson. I did this wonderful Tom
Stoppard play called "Arcadia" where I played a
character who is so much like Jack Deveraux that it
made me really kind of miss putting on Jack in the
morning, going in and doing battle, and some movies
ñ I played a hairdresser hit man in one film
and a skulking underwear model in another.
Still, I think the theater was the most
enjoyable.
SC
Sherrie: Is there anything else in your career that
you havenít done yet that youíd
really like to do?
Matthew:
In terms of life in general all sorts of
things. Career-wise, Iíd like to do some
more movies and Iíd love to work on Broadway
at some point. I went to the North Carolina School
for the Arts and we were really trained to make
this a lifelong vocation and were told to dream big
and think big so I would love to do big movies and
important plays. With something like Days I have
the chance to do what is basically repertory work
and perhaps, creating characters, creating value
and sometimes even making a difference in
society.
SC
Sherrie: If you had a message for your fans what
would it be?
Matthew:
I canít wait to get back to work!
Iím looking forward to seeing you all
again.
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