by Rosemary Rossi, SOU, 1987
Thanks to Rosie in Australia!
"Doing this show was the best thing that ever happened to my career. Right now I feel like I'm in the sweet spot in terms of my life. I love this part. I feel comfortable about doing it. And I'm still interested in it. It is a nice state of grace to be passing through."
With a career that has spanned over eighteen years, "Santa Barbara's" A Martinez has finally been faced with a role that puts his dark, virile looks and polished skills up for display.
As Cruz Castillo on NBC's three-year-old daytime hit, Martinez was propelled from a "familiar face" to television and motion picture audiences into one of soap opera's most irresistible romantic heroes. But deciding to switch to daytime TV almost didn't happen.
"I was originally very fearful of daytime. I had an image of daytime from many years ago. I had this horrible cringing feeling about actors wearing egg all over their face. Disgusting organ music. Bad acting and writing and sets. Stupid looks. I was aghast that my agent would suggest that I get involved in it. But I was convinced by people who were smarter than I was that it would give me a chance to become a leading man. It really freed me as an actor to a degree that I hadn't perceived before."
Though his lengthy career has allowed him to work opposite motion picture legends like John Wayne, Henry Fonda and Elvis Presley, learning how to do a soap was a real challenge. "It was tough. I suppose because we were a new show there was so much tension and pressure everywhere. My heart used to literally accelerate when I walked into this building."
Looking back at the early days, Martinez remembers a cutback in the number of working actors to a bare minimum to compensate for a financial problem. "The amount of dialogue we had to handle in those days was stupefying. It was the most difficult passage I've been through as an actor. You run off of your fear of failure."
All that has passed, and now "Cruz" has become one of today's hottest soap heroes.
"Cruz was originally written and executed as more idealistic and much more serious about almost everything. The original care that was taken to make him such a 'paragon of virtue' has slipped a bit. I think it is inevitable in a soap that the outrageous demands of keeping a plot rolling month after month, this constant assault of new threat and crisis, bends the character. He's perceived to be a hero these days because of an accumulation of things that have happened, rather than his current level of effectiveness. When you stop and analyze it, a lot of times Cruz will promise someone he'll take care of them and you can bet that within a week they'll be dead." Martinez laughs.
Most viewers would agree that "Santa Barbara's" biggest drawing card is the magnetic combination of "Cruz and Eden." Keeping the havoc-plagued couple apart much longer could prove to be a mistake. Recently they decided to, once again, get married. But, oddly enough, this time they did. "I think it's a bit overdue that we got together and I'm really happy that it came to pass."
It's a well-known fact that soap operas rarely have happy endings. This romantic twosome has been hit with tragedy after tragedy. What is in store for "Mr. and Mrs. Castillo?"
"I would love to see the marriage remain strong and have the crisis that befall them be an individual crisis. To see them struggle with their own genuine troubles and be able to still depend on each other for support. It would be so much more valuable as an image for people to identify with." Martinez sits back and thinks realistically. "Probably what will happen is that the relationship will be in jeopardy because of the baby Cruz had with Tori but doesn't know about."
Martinez has nothing but wonderful things to say about his TV leading lady: "Basically, Marcy is smart and brave, talented, funny and beautiful. And other than that, she's got nothing going for herself."
Although visually they make for an odd looking couple, with Marcy's "white bread" beauty and A's ethnic virility, their chemistry makes for one endearing match.
"I think the single most important thing about our success is just the dumb luck of approaching acting from similar points of view. That's something that just happens. It lays the groundwork. Immediately, we understood each other's language about it and had an appreciation for each other's rhythms. Our work seems to have a momentum that doesn't happen too often."
The real leading lady in Martinez's life is his wife, Leslie. When he speaks of their relationship his eyes light up. "Leslie was the best thing that ever happened to me." They met while doing a student film for the American Film Institute. A was the lead actor and Leslie operated the camera. At the time they met they were both involved with other people so they didn't get close. "But we noticed each other in a real profound way," Martinez smiles. About a year and a half later, A found himself unattached and thinking of her. At that time they embarked in a real slow coming together.
"I really liked her, but she was careful with me. She kept me at an arms length. It was difficult to get a sense from her that she would ever be willing to commit." Finally she went away. Absence made Leslie's heart grow fonder. "When she was away she missed seeing me and she told me that when she got back. But when we finally spent the night together and really took a chance with each other, it became obvious. From that moment on I was talking about children, which, for me, was way out of character."
The happy couple now have a year and a half old son, Dakota Lee, nicknamed Cody, who is the apple of his daddy's eye. "I was intimidated by the idea of becoming a parent at first. But knowing what I know now, I'm sorry I didn't try making it happen sooner. I love it and so does my wife. Leslie turned to me a couple of months ago and said, 'Thank God I became a parent.' It has just put everything into a different perspective. We don't hold any of our other concerns in a very high position anymore. We see the problems we run into in our careers and in our dealings with the financial world as being relatively unimportant compared to his progress."
Martinez is right. He is in the "sweet spot" in his life. "I've been very fortunate the way my life has unfolded. The times when terrible things happened, I've been able to bounce back. The bad times didn't last too long and the good times have been very good."
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