I just got around to actually reading the article/interview with TSJ in Canadian TV Guide and I feel as though I have fallen through a hole in the universe from whence I cannot escape. There are disappearing cats and dancing cards and a man a queen who wants to cut everyone's head off, so I know it's not the real world, but Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum keep dancing around trying to convince me that it is the real world. But. It's. Not. Has anyone else read this thing?
http://tvguide.sympatico..../090107_trevor_st_john_NB
It's like the last couple of years of Roseanne when they switched Beckys on us and we weren't supposed to notice that she wasn't the same Becky. Sure she was blonde and still infatuated with the dark-haired ne'er-do-well, but she wasn't the same Becky we all knew and loved (no offense to Sarah Chalke who was/is wonderful on Scrubs). They said she was the same but she was not the same.
Maybe it's me, but this whole article just rubbed me the wrong damn way. I know I am biased. I know I have Todd/RH issues and my issues are my own to deal with, but....what the hell? I'm sorry, but the idea that Trevor St. NOT Todd has somehow managed to "...top even their original choice" and that his "cocky and arrogant take on Todd Manning [is] revolutionary, bold and unique" makes me want to drive to New York and through spoiled fruits and vegetables at the unimaginative idiots who run ABC Daytime. ...Or call Canada and ask them where the hell they get their weed, because it has got to be some powerful stuff. What the hell?
Excuse me, I am just going to need a large bucket so that I can spend the rest of my evening vomiting. You know, until now I was just kind of indifferent to TSJ. I didn't really like him, but I didn't hate him either. I'd even go so far as to say that I've wanted to like him. I've wanted to feel good about the future of Todd Manning resting in his hands, but this just makes me want to shriek like a fraking banshee (the bold/bracketed comments are mine, obviously):
TVG: Roger Howarth won an Emmy for playing Todd. Then, you came along and blew everyone's minds with your unique interpretation. You play Todd like the
monster he is - without any judgment, which is rare in the soap world. Your decision to infuse humour in the dark role was genius [And not
original].
TSJ: There's no strategy. [Clearly] I feel the moment is by far the most interesting thing, and the only thing worth exploring. I think
what you're seeing is a non-interpretive performance[Without doubt]. Todd is already written on the page, so it's my job to bring him
to life in that moment. [Yes, yes it is.] The answer is in the question. I don't think in terms of evilness, goodness or vulnerability.
[Again, clearly.] This is the line, and this is how I feel, so I act it without analyzing it to death. [Who the frak cares how you
feel? No one care how you feel. How does Todd feel?] I may cry, I may be quiet, I may throw something, and I may be loud. I prefer the
audience to interpret the character, which is what they don't teach you in acting class. [What do they teach you in acting
class?] Teachers tell you to interpret the character. I disagree. A character exists irrespective of how an actor plays the role. [Yep,
that's true. Which is why you're supposed to interpret what's on the written page.] I know it's an unusual way to approach
acting. [Yes, it's the wrong way!]
TVG: When I was on set last summer I was lucky to catch you taping. You never played a scene the same way. [How many frakin takes did he get? I
thought this was a soap not a frakin Scorsese set.] Also, you were having a lot of fun on set. It was akin to watching a master class in soap acting.
[He must have had a scene with Slezak.] Everyone on One Life who I speak to reveres your acting, by the way. [Fraking suck
ups.]
TSJ: I guess that's what happens when you live in the moment. [No, it's what happens when you're a conceited ass] The idea that
you give yourself play space to act is something I personally require on stage. [Then go find another stage. Find an elsewhere to be.] I'm
touched that my fellow actors revere my acting because I rarely receive feedback from them. [Because they were raised right and they know you only lie
to Canadian reporters, not to your colleagues face.] I'm extremely blessed to be working opposite a group of really talented actors.
[It's a bloody miracle, son.]
TVG: Before taking on the part, did you watch any of Roger's work?
TSJ: They wanted me to watch about 15 episodes because the producers expected me to play Todd like Roger. [And my respect for them has now risen
exponentially. They were smarter than I would have thought.] This was before I started shooting. I watched two episodes but I never tried to mimic
Roger's style. As an actor, that's ridiculous. I needed to get a sense of who Todd was first, and that has to happen organically. [No it
doesn't. Not when you've got frakin years of photographic examples to use as a reference.] I don't care if Marlon Brando played the role
before me. [Marlon Brando would weep to have shared a role with you. Only his tears would have been believable.] An actor shoots
himself in the foot when you try to play a part like another actor. It's awful - and very limiting and very uncreative. [Well, that you
should know about.]
I think I hate that guy now. Who the hell does he thing he is? 
