Ryan Carnes – Desperate Measures

Q. Are there any recent projects that you are currently working on besides “Desperate Housewives” or “General Hospital?

A. Actually right now, those are the only things that I’m working on. Lately, it’s been a little bit more “Desperate Housewives” and a little bit less “General Hospital.” “General Hospital,” I was very busy with that during the summer because on soaps they like to pump up the teen storylines for months and then that lightened up a little bit. In the past couple of months I’ve been fortunate enough to get to work on three episodes of “Desperate Housewives” so that’s been keeping me relatively busy. Throw some auditions in there and some class, acting class and that’s what I’ve been up to.

Q. You recently appeared in the movie Thicker Than Water, can you tell us a bit about the premise and your character?

A. I did, back in October it was right, I actually worked on it the day before Halloween. That was a lot of fun, it was only a one day shoot, it was kind of a smaller role, but it was a lot of fun because I got to play a character unlike any character that I’ve ever played, whether on camera for a job or really even in class. The character is kind of like, the movie took place in kind of a backwards Western town where the gas station still has the old style gas pumps, a lot slower lifestyle. My character Tim “Ray” Markus is kind of the local hell raiser who graduated high school but probably by the skin of his teeth. He felt the necessity to still hang around and hit on local girls in the town and just create a little hell wherever he went.

Q. What made you want to be a part of that project?

A. What made me want to be a part of that project I guess was the fact that the director is, he’s a seasoned veteran, he’s David Cass Sr., he’s been around a while and he’s been doing this a while and he was a great guy to work with. He was kind of like this old school seasoned veteran and just really laid back. He was great to work with and I thought it looked like a fun project because it kind of reminded me of home a little bit. I mean now granted my town, I grew up in a town of four thousand in Illinois, and so it wasn’t as backwards as the town in this film but still, a lot of the same elements were present. There is a certain number of kids who, whether or not they do go on to school, go on to college, and they may very well go on to college out of town or community college. But, they hang around and they do still go to high school parties and they do still date high school girls. It’s kind of fun to, it took me back a little bit, and I got to model my character after some people that I actually knew. Also, I think that the story that the movie centers around, LuLu is the main character, and she’s this girl who feels kind of trapped because she loves the farm, she love the horses, but at the same time she feels trapped in this little town and she wants to get out. That’s actually one of my character’s lines, I think it might have gotten re-written and it got taken out of the script. Originally I had this line where we’re standing at the gas station, she’s filling my tank of gas, and this really nice car drives by like a BMW convertible or something. She looks up and she kind of just stares at it longingly and then my character says “you wish that was you don’t you?” There is definitely an element of I think anywhere, whether small town America or anywhere America, there is that element of that particular age of feeling trapped, of wanting more, wanting out of your current situation, even though you may not know what it is. I just thought for her character it was a great role and it was a great script and a great film and something that looked like it had a story worthy of being told.

Q. You’ve been appearing on the show “Desperate Housewives,” for those who don’t watch can you tell us a bit about “Justin,” your character?

A. I actually don’t know how much I can say because the most recent episode, which is really where his character comes to life, has not aired yet. I am not sure when it’s going to air in relation to when this interview will be printed. But, Justin, the character started out as the first episode I did I was primarily there, I was a friend of John the gardener’s. He gets to reveal, unbeknownst to he and John, he gets to reveal to John’s mom that John’s having an affair with Mrs. Solis. We’re playing basketball and I’m kind of razzing him about his relationship with her, I’m like you know other than the obvious she’s hot, but what is it that you’re so…why are you so stuck on her? Why don’t you just do your thing and be happy with that and not worry about it. He’s like well there is more to it than that, he’s kind of like fretting over it and stewing over it and I’m like dude don’t even worry about it, cuz when people find out you’re doing a hot house wife your social status is going to explode. It’s just like this total stereotypical conversation between a couple of guys and his mom overhears me say that last line and so that sets other things in motion of her going to Mrs. Solis and her worrying about John not taking his scholarship. So, it was kind of cool, I got to kind of be the guy that opened the can of worms so to speak. In the second episode Justin becomes a part of the family a little bit more I guess, he’s moved into his buddy John’s apartment and John’s throwing a house warming party and he’s just moved out of his parents home. Mrs. Solis comes over and Justin answers the door, and unfortunately, they cut a good portion of the scene. It was kind of like this challenge for Justin, he has a little conversation with Mrs. Solis, it’s kind of like those things where I knew who she was but I just wanted to hear it out of her mouth. I just wanted to kind of corner her and make her feel uncomfortable because it was fun, but they cut that whole conversation and it was just Justin answering the door and seeing Mrs. Solis in shock going “wow, who is this woman?” I think probably for Justin, even though it didn’t air on that episode, that it was probably the beginning of his wheels being set in motion as far as what his character is dealing with and where he was going to go and what he was going to do, who he was going to talk to and go after. I know I’m being very vague but I really don’t know how much more I can say. Justin is a character who, he’s got a secret of his own, as I think does everybody on Wisteria Lane. He’s got a secret that not even his best friend knows and he’s struggling with something right now that he’s torn with, he doesn’t know what to think, he’s having this cesspool of emotion and that manifests itself in a very interesting way in that third episode that’s coming up in I think a very real way. I think a lot of times when we’re feeling one way we tend to overcompensate in the other way and act contrary to that and the writers did a very good job of depicting that in this third episode. For that reason, I was really lucky to have the chance to do this episode and it’s a great character arc and I think it’s going to catch people off guard and I don’t think anybody is going to see it coming.

Q. What’s it like getting to work on a new cult hit show?

A. It’s really exciting and a lot of fun, I got to hold the Golden Globe and it was really cool. I was on set the day after the Golden Globes so of course I mean the atmosphere, everybody was just so happy. I don’t think that anybody has ever been as happy to be at their job that day. So, I was really honored to be there working on such a hit show, and a show that had just won a Golden Globe and work with an actress who had just won a Golden Globe. It was very exciting and Mark Cherry the executive producer had brought the Golden Globe to set that day and everybody was kind of taking their turn getting pictures taking with it and holding it. I am just the guest star and I didn’t want to be too presumptuous and say “oh let me get in a picture, take my picture.” So, I just kind of hung back and watched and wished desperately that I had brought my digital camera that day, I usually I take it to set with me and on that particular day I didn’t. Finally Mark and a couple of the other producers came by and were standing near me and they came over and said hello. They actually thanked me for being there and I said “wait a minute, no, no, thank you for having me here, you’re the ones that gave me the chance to be here.” I said, “but I do have one request, would it be ok if I just held that thing for a second,” and they were like “oh yeah, yeah absolutely,” and I was like “ah, thank you so much that’s really cool.” They handed the little trophy over to me and they almost forgot about it, I just stood there holding it and they were talking to somebody else. So finally they were like “well, we’re going to go we gotta go back to the office and write some more,” and they started to walk off and Mark said “wait a minute, whose got the Golden Globe?” I was just still standing there kind of holding it like a baby and they look over and they’re like, “oh, you got it,” and I said “I thought you guys were going to walk off without it, I don’t know how you could forget it,” but that was funny. I’m just very honored and excited to have the opportunity to be there right now.

Q. How did you become involved with working on the soap opera “General Hospital?”

A. Well, I had auditioned for the casting director three previous times for three other roles for the show and it just never had been the right role or I had never been good enough, or whatever, the stars weren’t aligned. So, I had gotten to know Mark and we had a great relationship, he knew me every time I walked in the door and we just kind of had this casual working relationship. So, Mark had me back and so I went in and read for it and Mark said “great, I’m going to give you a call back, I’m going to bring you back to producers and that’ll be in a couple of weeks,” and I said “ok, great.” So, I had this trip planned, I had a trip to Hawaii planned and I had never been before and a movie I had done was in a festival there so I thought why not go and plug the movie and go to Hawaii and learn to surf all at the same time. So, nothing wrong with mixing business with pleasure so I decided I wanted to take my mom, she’s the most dear person in my life, she had never been to Hawaii before either so I said “mom, let’s go!” We flew off to Hawaii and in the mean time I got a phone call from my manager saying “guess what Ryan, the call back for General Hospital is Monday,” and this was like a Friday and we had just gotten there. I was going to have to go there for two days and then turn around and fly back and I was like “you’re kidding!” They’re like no, we’re going to see if because this is somewhat of a business trip for you, we’ll let them know you’re in Hawaii, you’re on business, you’re promoting this movie and see if they can’t just bring you back for the writers. It goes after the first session is the producer session, then the next step is the session with the producers, executive producer and the writers. Since I had been to read for Mark so many other times and he was familiar with my work, I had met with the producers before, my manager got on the phone and said like “look, would it be impossible for him to just skip that second round and go on to the writer/executive producer session,” and gave them the reasons why. Mark was unbelievably generous and nice and said “you know what, that’s fine, I’ll do that, I’ll just bring you back for the final round.” So, I got to stay in Hawaii and have my little trip and come back with a tan and a clear head and come to the final audition. I was on my way driving down the five and all of a sudden I hear this kind of “womp, womp, womp,” and I was like oh my gosh, don’t tell me that’s a flat tire! So, it just got worse and I slowed down and I was driving like forty and it just got worse and worse and I thought I was going to ruin my car. So, I pull off to the side of the road, sure enough flat tire, so I called my acting coach and I said “you’ll never guess what happened, I have a flat tire.” He freaked out and I didn’t for whatever reason, and I don’t know why this didn’t freak me out, I stayed pretty calm and I was like “well, it happened, there is nothing I can do about it, I’m going to be late, there is nothing I can do about that, I’ll just have to walk in saying I’m really sorry that I’m late, I had a flat tire.” If they tell me to turn around and leave, what else could I do. So, he was like “ok, don’t panic Ryan, just stay calm, stay where you’re at, I’ll come pick you up, I’ll be there in like ten minutes.” I said ok, I’ll be sitting right here I’m not going anywhere, he came and picked me up and hurried me on down to the audition and I ended up being about fifteen minutes late. There was still one other guy in there that they hadn’t seen yet so they went ahead and took him in and I was the last one in and I said hey guys sorry I’m late, I had a flat tire. I had left my car on the five, I just put the flashers on and locked the door and left, which I found out later you’re not supposed to do. I was lucky that my mom was still in town so I called her and I said “mom, can you please do me the favor of calling the insurance company and get a tow truck to come and I can’t deal with this right now, I need to focus on the job at hand.” She was really sweet and of course she did everything for me, so I went into the audition, felt great about it, left and went back and sat on my car for what turned out to be three hours waiting on the tow truck to come. In the mean time, my manager called and said “Ryan, great news, you got the job!” So, that made sitting on the side of the freeway not quite so painful, after that I didn’t really care, and I knew my mom was really worried about me. We can go celebrate as soon as the tow truck gets here and I make it home.

Q. In the movie Eating Out, you play a homosexual character, do you think that homosexual characters are being portrayed in a better light now a days in the media?

A. Well, I think you know what, I can’t say for sure because there have been so many roles that have been homosexual roles and I mean, there have probably been way more gay characters in television and film over time than a lot of us realize. It’s just that I think that they were probably more understated and a little bit more subtle. Whereas now, I think that people aren’t shying away from it, people are saying you know what, there are gay people in society, their stories need to be told, they need to be portrayed, no matter what story that is. I think that people are just a lot less in the dark about it now and people have become much more accepting, still not accepting and tolerant enough which I think is evident every day. Whether it is a few years back when there was the Matthew Sheppard incident in Wyoming or just your everyday encounter where someone might scoff at someone else because they suspect that person might be gay. I think that it’s something that needs to be done away with and I think, I hope that more and more gay roles that emerge in TV and film, have more and more truth. Because you can portray something and you can portray it falsely and inaccurate or you can portray something truthfully and really tell someone’s story well and do it with integrity. Also, you can do a caricature which is kind of like what “Will and Grace” is, I don’t have a problem with the show, I think that the show is hilarious, the writing is hilarious, the characters are hilarious, that’s how sitcoms are, they are very differentiated characters otherwise they don’t work. That’s what you get with Jack and Will and not every gay guy is like Jack, not every gay guy is like Will, I think it’s great that there is “Queer As Folk,” “The L Word” and now a days the list is endless and I think it’s great that more and more shows are emerging. I think it is going to give an opportunity to really portray gay characters in a more truthful manner.

Q. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A. I’m so into the Da Vinci Code right now, I like to do that in my spare time, read which I spent most of my life not enjoying reading in my spare time and I’ve actually gotten into it more lately. Let’s face it, when you’re on a set, and you are just sitting there in your trailer and they haven’t called you yet, that’s all there is to do. Also, I like to listen to music and play music, I’m a drummer. Most recently I’ve been playing with Scott Clifton who plays Dylan on “General Hospital.”

Q. Is there anything that you would like to say to people who are fans of your work and supporters of your career?

A. Thank you. Yeah, I think that’s the most important two words, because without those people who am I? Yeah I’m still an actor, yeah I am still doing what I love to do, those are the people, Hollywood is a funny place and business. Lots of times, you know there is a reason that you see the same names at the box office, that you see on TV, and there is a reason for that. It’s because those people have fan bases and they have loyal people who follow their careers, who follow their work and they buy the tickets. I’ve heard stories about Tom Cruise and about how wonderful he is with fan, and how he will never ever not sign an autograph. I think, first of all that’s right, it’s the right thing to do and the right way to look at it, without those people you don’t have a career or as much of a career. Second of all, that’s smart cuz those are the people that like you and who like your work. So, I just would want to say to those people thank you so much and I just hope that you keep following me and keep appreciating my work.