Post by texans08 on Jan 23, 2006 23:03:09 GMT -5
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I'll type up the more interesting parts. jeff's quotes of course.
"It's one thing on daytime to build a bomb...that's kind of acceptable. Even killing Edmond Grey" says the actor, whose bass voice seems out of place coming from his lean frame.
"It's when you're smacking your girlfriend around on television, showing the smack, taking three prominent women on the show down to a cave..." He trails off, shaking his head. "Yeah, there were things i had a huge problem with, but i understand that it also defines the character."
Wether the audience would see things the same way was anyone's guess. Though producers assured Branson his character's "death" was only a temporary state, he worried whether fans would welcome his return.
"I did'nt want to come bacck and just be nasty and be manipulative, evil Jonathan and end up being off the show again in four months," he says. "If i came back, my only input was, 'Please redeem me, because i know i could turn the character around if i was given the writing."
CHARACTER BUILDING
That turnaround hsa been a slow affair for the Emmy-nominated actor, who had to play psychotic Jonathan and brain-tumor Jonathan before reaching the somewhat frustrating challenge of post-neurosurgery Jonathan. Branson often describes the character's brain as "rebooting," or relearning all the processes thrown awry by the tumor.
The tics that accompany his rehab-childlike emotions, stuttering, word confusion-will play for a while, Branson says, "personally, a little longer that i feel it should, but that's not within my control. We need enough time for him to be able to go to each person that he hurt and try for redemption individually. Because if you just try to do one group apology, i think it cheapens the whole thing."
Branson would'nt comment on whether or not Jonathan and Lily would find love, but he laughs as he acknowledges that his characters' next leading lady is "unexpected, and it is suprising."
"When you're doing anything on film or video, you just don't really get a gauge of what you're doing, "he says. "The producers are too busy, and the directors have to move on to the next item. So the fans are the ones who tell you how you've been doing."
Apparently, the liked what they saw. To Branson's amazement, crowds cheered him when he appeared at the shows fan breakfast just after his return last summer. The applause has only grown since, making him a magnet at events like ABCs FITS tapings and the annual SSW.
"It was bananas. I did'nt expect the fans' reaction to be that way for me," he says. "It was wonderful actually. It was really cool."
So while the Jonathan still has a hard path ahead of him, Branson knows the audience will be with him at every bend. "My fans are so appreciative of the work I've put in," he says, "and that just means everything to me."
...ON HOW MUCH JONATHAN NEEDS RYAN AND ERIN: "You're talking about a guy who has no allies outside his family, which is a given."
Some FYI on JEFF...
BDAY..March 10th
Doing his homework: To get a feel for what Jonathan would go through after surgery, Branson talked to a speech pathologist who works with brain surgery patients at NYU. Branson picked up some tips, but "because of daytime, because of our time constraints, i can't do it exactly the way I'd like to," he says. "But we try to keep as much of it in there as possible."
I'll type up the more interesting parts. jeff's quotes of course.
"It's one thing on daytime to build a bomb...that's kind of acceptable. Even killing Edmond Grey" says the actor, whose bass voice seems out of place coming from his lean frame.
"It's when you're smacking your girlfriend around on television, showing the smack, taking three prominent women on the show down to a cave..." He trails off, shaking his head. "Yeah, there were things i had a huge problem with, but i understand that it also defines the character."
Wether the audience would see things the same way was anyone's guess. Though producers assured Branson his character's "death" was only a temporary state, he worried whether fans would welcome his return.
"I did'nt want to come bacck and just be nasty and be manipulative, evil Jonathan and end up being off the show again in four months," he says. "If i came back, my only input was, 'Please redeem me, because i know i could turn the character around if i was given the writing."
CHARACTER BUILDING
That turnaround hsa been a slow affair for the Emmy-nominated actor, who had to play psychotic Jonathan and brain-tumor Jonathan before reaching the somewhat frustrating challenge of post-neurosurgery Jonathan. Branson often describes the character's brain as "rebooting," or relearning all the processes thrown awry by the tumor.
The tics that accompany his rehab-childlike emotions, stuttering, word confusion-will play for a while, Branson says, "personally, a little longer that i feel it should, but that's not within my control. We need enough time for him to be able to go to each person that he hurt and try for redemption individually. Because if you just try to do one group apology, i think it cheapens the whole thing."
Branson would'nt comment on whether or not Jonathan and Lily would find love, but he laughs as he acknowledges that his characters' next leading lady is "unexpected, and it is suprising."
"When you're doing anything on film or video, you just don't really get a gauge of what you're doing, "he says. "The producers are too busy, and the directors have to move on to the next item. So the fans are the ones who tell you how you've been doing."
Apparently, the liked what they saw. To Branson's amazement, crowds cheered him when he appeared at the shows fan breakfast just after his return last summer. The applause has only grown since, making him a magnet at events like ABCs FITS tapings and the annual SSW.
"It was bananas. I did'nt expect the fans' reaction to be that way for me," he says. "It was wonderful actually. It was really cool."
So while the Jonathan still has a hard path ahead of him, Branson knows the audience will be with him at every bend. "My fans are so appreciative of the work I've put in," he says, "and that just means everything to me."
...ON HOW MUCH JONATHAN NEEDS RYAN AND ERIN: "You're talking about a guy who has no allies outside his family, which is a given."
Some FYI on JEFF...
BDAY..March 10th
Doing his homework: To get a feel for what Jonathan would go through after surgery, Branson talked to a speech pathologist who works with brain surgery patients at NYU. Branson picked up some tips, but "because of daytime, because of our time constraints, i can't do it exactly the way I'd like to," he says. "But we try to keep as much of it in there as possible."