Chandler Massey Interview

[peggin.livejournal.com]

Chandler Massey Talks Unraveling, Blackmail & Kisses To Come On "Days"

(I'm posting the interview behind the cut, but it's worth it to read it at AfterElton for the pictures!)



At a time in television history when the daytime serial is rapidly disappearing, NBC's 46-year old Days Of Our Lives has managed to create a stir and get some attention for one reason -- the gays have found their way to Salem! While last summer saw the arrival of Freddie Smith playing good-guy (and out and proud) Sonny Kiriakis, this winter we're finally getting a meatier coming out story with the character of Will Horton, played with earnest believability by Chandler Massey.

The buzz about Will's coming out has been building for months but on the episodes currently airing weekdays on NBC we're seeing Will becoming more and more unraveled and, as Massey told AfterElton.com over lunch recently, this is just the beginning of Will's coming out story and, in true soap fashion, viewers can expect him to not have the easiest time accepting and dealing with his own truth.

AfterElton.com: You've been on the show now for two years, right?
Chandler Massey: December 8th, 2009 was my first day of work on the show. First appearance was February 2nd.

AE: What do you remember during that time two years ago? You were still fairly new to the business then.
CM: It was one of the luckiest things to happen to me in my life. I honestly didn't know how lucky I was when I first got the job. I'd only been out in California about two months, but absolutely I saw it as such a blessing. And now, obviously, I appreciate it even more the longer I'm on the show and appreciate the option they've given me.

AE: In terms of Will's coming out storyline, I know you were first told last February and then things got delayed for various reasons. But now that you're into the meat of the story, was it what you expected?
CM: No, because I really didn't know what to expect. They just told me they were going forward with this and the way I would find out what I'd be doing is by reading the script that I'd be doing in a couple of days. I was wondering if they were going to go very PC with this... I knew that they told me that they really wanted to do this differently and do it realistically, so one thing I'm really surprised about is that the head writers have taken a lot of risks, definitely, and not stereotypically in the least and it's shocked me in a couple of areas, for sure.

AE: Can you talk about those areas that shocked you?
CM: Right now we're filming into March, which is so far away, but stuff is coming up. When they introduced the character of Sonny he immediately was established as being someone who was very comfortable with who he was and confident and very grounded. I love that they wrote Sonny that way because Will is becoming the complete opposite of that. I guess I was really pleased with and surprised by how much of a struggle they're making this. The one thing I really value about the storyline and what makes it different from other storylines is that it's not just the 'Will is gay' story.
Will is the same person and he's gay but they're not just letting that take over his whole identity and storyline. There's all this other stuff going on with his Mom [Sami, played by Alison Sweeney] and I like that because they're sending a message that it's important to be who you are but they're not making it only that he's gay. He's someone with so many different colors and layers.

AE: Right now, we keep seeing the black and white flashback of Will seeing Sami and EJ (James Scott) have sex with this fabulous close-up on your horrified face.
CM: I know! I like that touch!

AE: And the scenes when Gabi (Camila Banus) broke up with Will were pretty amazing. You had told me at the Day of Days event that those scenes were pretty huge. You weren't kidding!
CM: I love working with Camila and we got together and said 'Will and Gabi are no more so we probably won't have scenes together for awhile so we gotta make this count and go out with a bang.' I think she did a great job, and I think those scenes turned out well. I loved that they let me just break whatever I wanted to, which was fantastic! We actually shot a lot more and it was basically just me systematically going around and I destroyed the whole set. They didn't show it, but I knocked the table over and all these books and it was crazy. They really let me let go in there.

AE: As an actor, how do you get to that place and then come out of it? You must have been channeling whatever you could to get that angry. You definitely didn't look like you were going through the motions.
CM: Fortunately, I've been to several different [acting] classes and one of my favorite techniques, the Meisner technique, I've been studying for awhile. I still have a ton to learn so I'm not going to pretend to be the expert, but I went out probably an hour before we started shooting those scenes because it takes me awhile to get into that.
I did what I needed to do to get into that place emotionally for myself, thinking about and playing on my own personal fears. It had nothing to do with a girlfriend breaking up with me, but it was just me and my own personal traumas. I established that what I was going to get Gabi to do in that scene was to say that she loved me and that she does want to move in with me and that was something I needed more than anything. There was no way she was going to say no, so when the scene started the only thing I had in my mind was get her to say yes. When she said no, I didn't even have to try. The scene just kind of went off by itself, you know? It's weird to describe it.

AE: And now coming up in the new year Will is set to try to blackmail EJ (James Scott), but then EJ turns the tables and ends up blackmailing you with his knowledge of Will being gay. But my question is how does EJ find out about Will being gay when he's still figuring it out himself?
CM: It's just like in real life. The people that you're really close to probably suspect, and they know before that person is ready to admit it, so it happens along those lines. I love the soapy twist with the blackmail because it shows that they're not afraid to take risks. Some people might be like, 'they're blackmailing him because of his sexuality?' But that what makes it different! One thing I can tease that I haven't told anyone else is along the lines of the EJ-blackmailing thing is that Will gets involved in the mayoral campaign.

AE: And Sonny sees Will kiss someone right?
CM: Right.

AE: But we don't know who that person is, right?
CM: No.

AE: Or we can't talk about it, right?
CM: Right.

AE: But we know it's not Sonny.
CM: It's not Sonny.

AE: What do we see with Will in terms of a social life? Do we see him out and about?
CM: I can say that Sonny definitely opens Will's world up a little bit to new people and new friends. Will is one of the guys who really has just a couple of close friends and sticks to that. He's not a big outgoing guy unless he gets a few drinks in him. [laughs] But, no, I think as far as friendship, mostly it's the burgeoning platonic but really close relationship that Sonny and Will have.

AE: With the episodes airing now, emotions are really heightened and there's much more to come but does poor Will get a bit of a breather? He's going through a lot!
CM: I think like in every story there are hills and valleys. There's a build-up, then a fall out and resolution so within each storyline there are many ups and downs.

AE: Will seems to be finding someone to talk to lately in his grandmother, Marlena (Deidre Hall), who just happens to be a therapist.
CM: That's another brilliant thing about Will and Marlena's relationship. He trusts her so much, and because she's a psychiatrist he knows he can tell her anything and she's not going to tell anyone else. But at the same time she does have that background, so he's thinking 'What is she trying to pull out of me?' She's a smart lady.

AE: Playing a gay character is definitely not the rare thing it once was, but did you think about your career as a whole when you were first told?
CM: Well, all those thoughts passed through my mind, but at the end of the day I came to the conclusion and really believed that whatever happens after this storyline or after my job on Days or years in the future, I'm just grateful that I can be a part of a powerful story like this right now. Wherever it takes me in the future, wherever I go, I think this is a good thing just because it's a positive message that needs to be told especially to the daytime audience, which is new territory. The fact that I'm a part of the storyline and bringing the message to people I think is worth whatever I have to face in the future because of it.

AE: You also have a movie coming out next month! Tell me about it.
CM: The movie is called 16-Love and it's a romantic family comedy based in the world of tennis. It's about this girl (Lindsay Shaw, from Pretty Little Liars) who is a #1 amateur tennis player in the country and she's trying to go pro, is very focused and she injures herself in a tournament and realizes she has no life outside of tennis and she has no idea what it's like to be a normal teenager and that's where I come in. Farrel Gambles is my name and he's a tennis player but also a goofball, and he opens her eyes to this world of being a normal kid and falling in love. It's a sweet movie, and I think it's going to be nice.

AE: And let's talk personal life, Chandler. What's the story?
CM: I am single but I guess there's a girl that I'm seeing... but since I came out to LA I haven't really been in a serious relationship with anybody. All the girls are too beautiful out here. It's intimidating, ya know?

AE: Now that word has gotten out about Will's story, what are you hearing from fans?
CM: Everything I've heard on my Twitter, people are saying really nice things and at the Day of Days [event], it had just been announced and everyone was positive and they were happy the story was being told. I heard 'You better not mess this up!' [laughs]

Days Of Our Lives airs weekdays on NBC. Check local listings for times. 16-Love hits theaters on January 120th.

Comments

[amelialourdes.livejournal.com]

I AM EXCITE. :X

[northsnap.livejournal.com]

AE: And now coming up in the new year Will is set to try to blackmail EJ (James Scott), but then EJ turns the tables and ends up blackmailing you with his knowledge of Will being gay. But my question is how does EJ find out about Will being gay when he's still figuring it out himself?

CM: It's just like in real life. The people that you're really close to probably suspect, and they know before that person is ready to admit it, so it happens along those lines.

lol what?

Sounds to me like EJ might know about Will and Gabi breaking up (or Will might tell him), and EJ gets a lucky guess in.