Post by soraya on Nov 23, 2007 11:26:59 GMT
Cop Culture
Who knew that BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL's Lt. Baker had a son — a hunky, grown son who's also a police detective? We recently saw Charlie Baker when he showed up with his dad to investigate Stephanie's shooting [Read all about it on page 36 of the November 27 Digest.] Here, you get to meet his portrayer, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, who was the first winner of I WANNA BE A SOAP STAR and briefly played Officer Byron Murphy on GENERAL HOSPITAL.
Mykel Shannon Jenkins (Charlie Baker, B&B)
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: Welcome back to daytime. After taking a spin in prime-time, what lured you back to soaps?
JENKINS: It's a superb role. Some people say they wouldn't go back to something unless it was the right thing and this was the right thing. The screen test was wonderfully written. It was 12 pages long and it had all of the things that I like in storytelling. I loved the scene so much that I would to do it as many times as they wanted me to do it.
DIGEST: Was your screen test alone or did you have a scene partner?
JENKINS: I had Dan Martin [Lt. Brad Baker] with me.
DIGEST: What do you think of Dan?
JENKINS: He's not only a great guy, but he's a serious actor. He's a craftsman. He doesn't mind me knocking on his door. I want to make it fun for him. I always wanted to make my own father proud and Dan reminds me a lot of him. Lt. Baker will say, "Good job, Charlie" and I have to stop to bathe in that for a minute because it means everything to me to hear my own father say that.
DIGEST: What's your take on Charlie?
JENKINS: He's a man trying to find a place outside of his father and stand on his own. The most important thing to him is to make his dad proud. Charlie followed in his footsteps as a cop, but it's cost him too because that's why he has no wife or children. But Charlie is at that age where he wants more now and I think there's conflict coming. I can feel it in the scenes. Charlie is eager to wrap things up but his dad is going, "Hold up. Wait a minute We need to re-examine that."
DIGEST: What was your first day like?
JENKINS: Fantastic. The actors here aren't scared by the new kid. They rolled out the red carpet for me.
DIGEST: You recently played a straight fashion designer pretending to be gay on UGLY BETTY. How was that?
JENKINS: I loved it, but Tavares scared me to death.
Dan Martin (L. Baker, l.) and Jenkins
DIGEST: Why was that?
JENKINS: I didn't think I was capable of doing the role justice. I have a lot of gay friends, so I went to them and said, "The most difficult part of this is to represent Tavares honestly so people buy into him before he discloses he's straight." They told me, "Just be yourself." So, I walked into the audition and I just felt like something was going to happen. I read for that thing seven times. Then, I got the part. How wonderful was that?
DIGEST: Is there a possibility of reprising the character?
JENKINS: There was a chance, but B&B got bold and I thought, "This is just too beautiful."
DIGEST: How did your agents really feel about you going back to daytime?
JENKINS: They wanted to steer me away from soaps because once you get into prime-time, then you want to keep going with it. At first, Charlie was supposed to be a recurring role, so my agents were okay with that. They said go for it because they thought I would be free for pilot season. But after I read for the role, B&B called and said they were interested in me for a contract. I had to tell my agents, "I want to play this as many times as they want to see it." My agents know I'm passionate, so it was cool.
DIGEST: You're the first black leading man B&B has had in a lo-o-o-ng time.
JENKINS: And I want to do it right. I want to help define how people look at African-American men and I can do that on a show that commands as much respect as this one does. It is a huge responsibility that I plan to take very seriously.
DIGEST: How do you like B&B's work schedule?
JENKINS: Everybody must have families here because they turn out the lights at 5 o'clock! It's hard to believe they can do what they do in such a short period of time. I look at my schedule and it says 10-3 and I think, "How can that be?" I can still pick up my son from school.
DIGEST: How old is your son now?
JENKINS: Six and his name is Bryce. I have a beautiful little girl, too. She just turned 1.
DIGEST: What is her name?
JENKINS: Mykela. I told my wife [Tracy] the second one would be named after me.
DIGEST: Will your wife be okay with you doing love scenes?
JENKINS: It's all legal [laughs]. I tell her, "It's in the script!" But I can still go home, kiss the children and keep it real. I get in my car and race home. No stopping at Starbucks or 7-11. Tomorrow morning, I can return to Fantasyland.
DIGEST: Are there any B&B ladies who catch Charlie's eye?
JENKINS: They're all suspects, so he's too busy taking care of business.
DIGEST: What would you say if you were told later, "Well, Charlie's the one who shot Stephanie because he's mad that his dad could never make one Forrester pay for their crimes?" ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
JENKINS: I would actually get extremely excited because that would be a whole lot of fun. I'm down for however they spin it.
Who knew that BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL's Lt. Baker had a son — a hunky, grown son who's also a police detective? We recently saw Charlie Baker when he showed up with his dad to investigate Stephanie's shooting [Read all about it on page 36 of the November 27 Digest.] Here, you get to meet his portrayer, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, who was the first winner of I WANNA BE A SOAP STAR and briefly played Officer Byron Murphy on GENERAL HOSPITAL.
Mykel Shannon Jenkins (Charlie Baker, B&B)
SOAP OPERA DIGEST: Welcome back to daytime. After taking a spin in prime-time, what lured you back to soaps?
JENKINS: It's a superb role. Some people say they wouldn't go back to something unless it was the right thing and this was the right thing. The screen test was wonderfully written. It was 12 pages long and it had all of the things that I like in storytelling. I loved the scene so much that I would to do it as many times as they wanted me to do it.
DIGEST: Was your screen test alone or did you have a scene partner?
JENKINS: I had Dan Martin [Lt. Brad Baker] with me.
DIGEST: What do you think of Dan?
JENKINS: He's not only a great guy, but he's a serious actor. He's a craftsman. He doesn't mind me knocking on his door. I want to make it fun for him. I always wanted to make my own father proud and Dan reminds me a lot of him. Lt. Baker will say, "Good job, Charlie" and I have to stop to bathe in that for a minute because it means everything to me to hear my own father say that.
DIGEST: What's your take on Charlie?
JENKINS: He's a man trying to find a place outside of his father and stand on his own. The most important thing to him is to make his dad proud. Charlie followed in his footsteps as a cop, but it's cost him too because that's why he has no wife or children. But Charlie is at that age where he wants more now and I think there's conflict coming. I can feel it in the scenes. Charlie is eager to wrap things up but his dad is going, "Hold up. Wait a minute We need to re-examine that."
DIGEST: What was your first day like?
JENKINS: Fantastic. The actors here aren't scared by the new kid. They rolled out the red carpet for me.
DIGEST: You recently played a straight fashion designer pretending to be gay on UGLY BETTY. How was that?
JENKINS: I loved it, but Tavares scared me to death.
Dan Martin (L. Baker, l.) and Jenkins
DIGEST: Why was that?
JENKINS: I didn't think I was capable of doing the role justice. I have a lot of gay friends, so I went to them and said, "The most difficult part of this is to represent Tavares honestly so people buy into him before he discloses he's straight." They told me, "Just be yourself." So, I walked into the audition and I just felt like something was going to happen. I read for that thing seven times. Then, I got the part. How wonderful was that?
DIGEST: Is there a possibility of reprising the character?
JENKINS: There was a chance, but B&B got bold and I thought, "This is just too beautiful."
DIGEST: How did your agents really feel about you going back to daytime?
JENKINS: They wanted to steer me away from soaps because once you get into prime-time, then you want to keep going with it. At first, Charlie was supposed to be a recurring role, so my agents were okay with that. They said go for it because they thought I would be free for pilot season. But after I read for the role, B&B called and said they were interested in me for a contract. I had to tell my agents, "I want to play this as many times as they want to see it." My agents know I'm passionate, so it was cool.
DIGEST: You're the first black leading man B&B has had in a lo-o-o-ng time.
JENKINS: And I want to do it right. I want to help define how people look at African-American men and I can do that on a show that commands as much respect as this one does. It is a huge responsibility that I plan to take very seriously.
DIGEST: How do you like B&B's work schedule?
JENKINS: Everybody must have families here because they turn out the lights at 5 o'clock! It's hard to believe they can do what they do in such a short period of time. I look at my schedule and it says 10-3 and I think, "How can that be?" I can still pick up my son from school.
DIGEST: How old is your son now?
JENKINS: Six and his name is Bryce. I have a beautiful little girl, too. She just turned 1.
DIGEST: What is her name?
JENKINS: Mykela. I told my wife [Tracy] the second one would be named after me.
DIGEST: Will your wife be okay with you doing love scenes?
JENKINS: It's all legal [laughs]. I tell her, "It's in the script!" But I can still go home, kiss the children and keep it real. I get in my car and race home. No stopping at Starbucks or 7-11. Tomorrow morning, I can return to Fantasyland.
DIGEST: Are there any B&B ladies who catch Charlie's eye?
JENKINS: They're all suspects, so he's too busy taking care of business.
DIGEST: What would you say if you were told later, "Well, Charlie's the one who shot Stephanie because he's mad that his dad could never make one Forrester pay for their crimes?" ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
JENKINS: I would actually get extremely excited because that would be a whole lot of fun. I'm down for however they spin it.
