Kristos Andrews – The Bay

By starrymag | May 11, 2023

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) Was there anything you have added over the years to your character that was not initially for them on the page?

A) With Pete, way back in the prequel of the show “Far from The Bay,” he had amnesia and just couldn’t remember his own family, girlfriend, close ones or himself. It was a very unique challenge; imagining everyone as unrecognizable and speaking to them anyway with hopes they’d reveal some more answers. Anyway, with time and finally after a special visit with his biological mother, he got his memory back. This allowed me to, within reason, step in and form the character of Pete as a little more personally custom-made since he was undergoing quite the transformation from what was more so than not, in essence, a blank slate to be interpreted. He’s always been pure of heart, cared for his loved ones and takes action quickly; often overlooking the endgame in the process. This was my foundation on which to apply myself. Through experiences of both passionate love, tragic grief, and having to rise to the occasion for the sake of his loved ones, he gained a sturdier footing about his values and more of an unshakeable fire has grown within him. In an indirect yet deep sense, I feel like I’ve been able to source intuitive nudges I would feel in my own heart within Pete’s circumstances, from which I’ve grown myself, in tandem with the character of Pete. He’s become more non-nonsense, rougher and tumble and when he’s driven to accomplish something, he will not stop until it’s achieved. These are attributes I hoped to strengthen in myself, so I enjoyed applying it to Pete’s character. It sounds funny, but his memories still have their own seat in my own overall, collective memory bank, and I cherish them as valuable lessons and moments of growth.  If we’re looking at life experience from a bird’s eye view, within the space of our heart that doesn’t quite disassociate reality from the imagination, that’s where I feel like playing certain characters has its way of hitting the expedite button on life experience.  This is more often than not, the approach I have to the work I am fortunate enough to do, and it broadens my perspective towards life every time.

 

Q) What continues to challenge you about the character you portray?

A) Since I answered with regard to Pete on the last question, I’ll answer this in reference to Adam. He’s a whole other ball game; the type of character that at first glance on the page, one most likely couldn’t picture how it’ll actually work out in getting from the page to the finish line. I’ll admit I wasn’t all about playing the role when the idea was first brought to me by Gregori [J. Martin], Wendy [Riche] and the team. I thought, “Well, I already have my work cut out for me as Pete, who’s already a lead role with a whole high-stakes storyline perpetually unfolding; how on Earth would I pull off a whole other lead role with a whole other life story, in addition to not faltering on pulling off a full-on British accent, not to forget his energy lives in much darker, denser territory which is so intense and requires far more commitment than Pete.”  It was just a huge risk that could backfire terribly. With this said, it was a recast for the third time; the role was originally not an identical twin, rather a fraternal one, and after three recasts Gregori and Wendy decided to talk to me about sort of having the current Adam brushed off as a hire for the real Adam.  He would be an identical twin who grew up in an entirely different environment; a British mastermind with a huge vengeance toward the Garretts. Gregori and Wendy seemed to have enough faith in me; more than myself, and since the clock was ticking before filming, I didn’t want to let the team down. Thankfully, they are very happy with the results, as is the audience. A far better scenario than the worst case. I am so glad I gave it a chance, and I am so grateful for the faith the team has in me.

 

Q) What episodes were the most memorable for you to film or maybe challenged you the most?

A) It’s always a challenge to switch from Pete to Adam and back, so I’d say the ones with both characters in them; particularly in reference to the filming days set where such psychological pivoting is necessary. Most anomalous would be the scenes in which both characters look to bludgeon one another face to face in the same scene. More on the way!

 

Q) What would you like to see for your character in future seasons?

A) For starters I’d like to see Pete and Vivian (Karrueche Tran) reunited with their baby. I could be biased, but I think that will be beautiful. Stay tuned to see what happens! As far as Adam, I’d like it to explore more into what his background is; get to know a bit about who his family the Kenways are and have a little more of a taste regarding their elite power and what Adam’s vendetta towards the Garretts stems from.

 

Q) Who would you love to share more scenes with in the future on the show?

A) I’m very enthusiastic about scenes coming up with Maxwell Caulfield, who plays my father on the Kenway side. It’s nice to work with him face to face, after having grown up seeing his work and looking up to him. He’s a great guy; genuine and caring, for the material as well as interpersonally in life. A class act. Same goes for the rest of the cast I’m working with now and have in seasons before. I, of course, love my scenes with Karrueche Tran; we’ve really put our hearts into the material together over the years and held each other up through many huge moments. I feel like we’re on such a journey together.  I want to acknowledge the pleasure it is with working with who I currently share some amazing material; Karrueche Tran, Mary Beth Evans, my sister Celeste Fianna, A. Martinez, Mike Manning, Eric Nelsen, Brandon Beemer, Kiara Liz Ortega, Bruce Davison, Precious Mayes, The D’Ambrosio Twins, Stephen Schnitzer, Najee DeTiege, Tristan Rogers, Jacklyn Zeman, Alicia Leigh Willis, Dante Aleksander, Meadow Williams, Swen Temmel, Draco Rosa, Taylor Stanley, Carlo Mendez, Alexia Robinson, Nick Theurer…along with those I’ve shared very impactful scenes with in prior seasons; Ronn Moss, Vanessa Williams, Kym Whitley, Vivica Fox, Sean Patrick Flanery, Lilly Melgar, Charles Shaughnessy, Sean Blakemore, Jade Harlow, Brittany Underwood, Fiona Hutchison, Carrington Garland, Chad Duell, Matthew Ashford, Kimberlin Brown, Real Andrews, Terri Ivens, Andrea Evans, Wanda De Jesus, Anthony Aquilino, Michael Copon, Marie Wilson, Cherie Johnson, Ciara Hanna, Tania Mamery, Christian Pagan, Damian Diaz, Mariann Alda.. even more legends like Nicolas Coster and John Aprea.. even Gregori Martin had an appearance against his will!  Ha. I know I’m really going on, I know. But everyone on this show has been awesome to work with. I’m so grateful to be able to say that.

 

Q) What do you think it is about “The Bay” that continues to make it such a fan favorite show?

A) Well, first of all it’s got a rich sense of classic feel, yet it’s got a unique and innovative signature to it. I’ve heard many viewers mention how they fell in love with the show after being sure they wouldn’t be hooked.  Between the pacing, the passion and the thrills, the formula works.  Beyond that, I think the fact that the story behind the making of the show is all about family vibes and independent artists sticking together and going the distance on passion for the art, really makes it special.

 

Q) What are some other upcoming projects that you have been busy working on?  

A) I’ve really been enjoying the films I’ve been doing lately.  A fun action-thriller movie I had an amazing role in is called Breakout recently came out.  Amongst the awesome cast is the late Tom Sizemore; God bless him.  He was an amazing person to work with who always brought joy to the process.  It’s so unfortunate to see such a talented, genuinely cool person have to go, and I am so honored to have shared the screen with him a couple times now.

Additionally, I’ve just wrapped another action-thriller movie with another stellar cast including Jean Claude Van Damme who was a thrill to work with.  He is as inspiring as I hoped he would be – kind, funny and committed.  With our action together, he actually asked me to give him some real contact so he could really sell it.  Not that I recommend it but I do respect that he cared about things being as raw and real as they could get.   I also worked closely with Weston Cage who was such a cool dude to get to know in the process of some pretty badass material we each had.  It’s called Darkness of Man,which James Cullen Bressack directed.

A great film coming up will be one based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe; it’s currently entitled The Raven.  It consists of poems including “The Raven,” “Annabel Lee,” “Lenore” and more, which Gregori J. Martin masterfully pieced together as one collective feature length film; a madly passion-driven story that keeps you wondering as it all unfolds.  It also stars horror legend Tony Todd (CANDYMAN), Rae Don Chong, Victoria Baldesarra, Mike Manning, Precious Mayes and my beloved sister Celeste Fianna.  I really enjoyed the process and people, and my God it was a heavy role; so much heart, sadness, and psychological stamina was necessary.  I had to put great focus on processing that one out afterwards. I’m hearing it’s looking amazing and look forward to audiences experiencing it.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of the work you’ve done on this special series?

A) Thank you for staying tuned and your support really means a lot!  Anyone who knows the show deeply, knows how much work driven from pure passion goes into this series.  It puts a great deal of wind in our sails as we put our all into the work and tread forward, to feel your support.