Cruz Control

Will A Martinez Stay With Santa Barbara?

by Richard Spencer, SOU, 1991?

(Thanks to Anne in Australia!)

    Don't take anything for granted.  That's what A Martinez is learning as he approaches the time for his contract to be renewed. 

    "My last air date is the 9th or 11th of July, something like that," A reveals, "so my last tape date is probably the last week in June."

    Although A's comments seem to reflect a firm decision to leave Santa Barbara, that's not the case.

    "I haven't made any decision yet, and I haven't been approached by New World (which produces Santa Barbara).  It's all very much up in the air."

    Feeling as though he might not be asked to stay, is A Martinez just being humble?  After all, Cruz and Eden have long been the core of the show -- the only sure thing in an unending series of changes for the low-rated soap.  Not asking A Martinez to stay with the show would be like not asking General Schwarzkopf to stay with the military.

    But A Martinez is being realistic.  "I would hope that New World would approach me, but all bets are off where daytime is concerned.  It seems like assumptions that you could depend on three years ago are no longer true.  It's part of the revolution in entertainment in general -- it's going to leave no corner of the industry unscathed. I'm not taking it for granted that I will be offered a contract."

    Adding a serious stipulation to Cruz's future, is what A's co-star Marcy Walker has planned.  Marcy very recently completed a pilot, and if the show is sold, she will be leaving around the same time that A's contract is up.  Marcy's contract expires in August.

    "But I think she has it built into her contract that six weeks after the pick-up date of a new project, she's out of here," A relays.  "I could see that New World might decide that she's already gone, why should we reinvest in him, why shouldn't we go elsewhere?  I don't pretend to know, and I don't pretend to know what's the best thing to do in the long run, but what most informs my emotions right now is hanging on to what's going to happen with her."

    And it's been no secret that A has always hoped that if he and Marcy were to leave the show, that they could leave together.

    "That's exactly what I've wanted to do."  Sadness enters A's voice.  "It just changes the entire makeup of this job when she's not around."

    But still the question remains:  Is there anything that would keep A on Santa Barbara?

    "I really enjoy doing Santa Barbara, and if there was nothing else for me to do, I can't see any compelling reason for me not to continue to do it.  It seems like the benefits of being here, so far, outweigh any kind of drawback."  A pauses.  " I could use some rest, I suppose.  I would like to be able to take enough time off to seriously pursue my music.  It's all up in the air."

    All of these variables in the life of a man who has no home.

    "We are building," A reassures.  "The entire project has taken three-and-a-half years.  That's how long it's been since we first got the bright idea to do this.  We designed an entire house and had all the geological surveys done, and then after going through the entire process which took about a year-and-a-half, the coastal commission told us we could not build it; that we had made a couple of design decisions early on that we wished we could undo later, but by then it was impossible."

    To make a long story short, "We're hopeful to get in by Christmas, " A projects.  "Right now it looks like we're not going to make it in time, but we'll be close."

    But a home is not the only thing that A Martinez is building.  "Jill Phelps (a former SB producer) and I just formed a production company, Devon Court (named after A's daughter Devon and Jill's daughter Courtney).  We're hoping we can turn a few projects that we're acquiring into modestly-budgeted films, and therefore go into having deeply successful artistic careers."  A laughs at his own description.

    Meanwhile back at Santa Barbara, how has the mood changed since the soap's creators Bridget and Jerome Dobson have returned?

    "I think people are happy about it," A shares.

    Is A happy about it?

    "Yeah, I am.  I think that the mail reflects a positive feeling about it.  There was a certain unique sensibility that they brought to the show that simply has not been here when they were gone.  It's what put us on the map and made us seem," A puts it into perfect perspective..."like a tasty morsel.  I don't know to what degree it's possible to relight the fire.  I don't pretend to know what the final outcome will be."

    What we're talking about here is the future of Santa Barbara.  The very vulnerable future of Santa Barbara.  If A and Marcy were both to leave, along with Carrington Garland and Roscoe Born, has it ever entered A's mind that the reason New World hasn't contacted him is because the show's future is undetermined?

    "Yeah, that's entered my mind," he admits.  "I think it's impossible to know what's in store."  On the other hand, A adds:  "It's also historically in keeping with the way things have worked around here, with me.  I've usually been approached fairly early in terms of a contract.  I think that has been a product of the fact that I've had other things going that seemed possibly ready to take me out of here.  I've had a development deal with NBC that seemed likely for a while to lead to a pilot of a nighttime show.  It seems less likely that it's going to do that now.

    "Basically the network has been unable to come up with a project that would be mutually exciting.  So right now it seems like it's not going to be an issue, where a few weeks ago there was a big stir around here where people assumed this deal would make me leave, but I had to point out that wasn't the case," A laughs.  "Now I can say for sure that's probably not the case."

    One more curve in the road for A Martinez!  How have these numerous changes affected him over the years?

    "I think I've become a lot more conscious of what I need to do to be at my best, mentally and physically.  I think having children has deepened the bond that I have with my wife Leslie.  The sense of having done one thing that was undeniably correct has come to me from parenthood, and that has been satisfying on a level that is hard to describe in words."

    Try.

    "It's amazing when you are blessed with some particularly luscious moment.  Your little girl will say something cute or some silly thing, or Cody will say, 'I really do love you daddy in my heart, and even when you're mad at me, you really do love me in your heart.'  Those kinds of things basically eliminate, temporarily, every shred of misgiving you might have about the course of your career or your purpose on the earth."

    If there does come a time when A Martinez's life settles down -- people aren't calling for interviews and people don't want to take his picture, his days are quiet -- what will he find out about himself?

    "I think I'll find out how much it mattered to me.  That's something I think about a lot, actually.  Actors ride this roller coaster of outside judgments, and it's awfully difficult not to invade your sense of yourself.  I'm aware of that, and I try real hard not to let it get to me, but it probably has a lot more power over me than I am conscious of or would like to admit.  I'm worried, but I think if I have a nice, long run and am lucky enough to come to the end of it with my health intact and a little money in the bank, I'll probably feel a lot better about it than if it were to happen right now -- especially having had kids a little bit later in life.  I definitely want to be a force to be reckoned with until they're on their own."

    Of course we haven't even mentioned what part movies will play in A's future.

    "I still don't feel like I've had the chance to show my stuff to my best advantage.  The closest that I've probably come is a film called 'Shoot the Sun Down' which I made about 13 years ago with Christopher Walken.  I played a Navajo medicine man and I didn't speak a word of English.  I think there was a certain mystical quality about that character that I got close to.  There are a couple of scripts that Jill and I have our hands on right now that would go a long way towards making me feel better about myself as an actor in films.  I'll keep my fingers crossed," A says with humility instead of aggression.

    Let's switch gears again.  Back to the music.  There's got to be a game plan.

    "I want to make a record," A states matter-of-factly.  "I have found that trying to get that down and still maintaining control over the project is a real difficult thing to do, especially for someone in my position who has no track record to speak of as a recording artist.  It means nothing to be a soap star in the music industry, and that's basically the way I want it to be anyway.  My career as a musician was always playing in bars and it's real simple -- it doesn't lead anywhere, but it's clean.  It's your music, it's your friends, and much more satisfying than when you try to engage corporations."

    It becomes obvious that perhaps A Martinez will create something of merit on Santa Barbara in the future, or with his production company, or his house or his music or any project that he controls.  It won't be a coincidence that this success will happen to one of the industry's most genuinely honest and considerate performers.

    But no matter what develops with Santa Barbara, what would A Martinez like people to remember about his work on the show?  "I would like people to remember that Cruz and Eden stood for the idea that you can overcome anything if you care for one another.  I think we really provided...God, I'm talking in the past tense...I think we provided an ideal that is in relatively short supply.  You really get the sense that the characters would do just about anything for one another, and all the years of trials and familiarity that time has bred has failed to erode their basic commitment...and I think that is something to be admired."

  Return to Interviews/Articles page