A Martinez Answers His Mail

Soap Opera Update, 1/91

Thanks to Anne in Australia!

What do you like to do when you're not working?

    I like to spend time with my family.  That's my only regret about this job.  It takes a lot of hours.  But I also write music.  My leisure time that isn't devoted to my family is spent writing.

How much are you like Cruz Castillo?

    I figure I'm not as brave as Cruz but on the other hand, I'm a little smarter.  Cruz doesn't always pick up on all the clues as quickly as he should.  The writers explained to me that if he did, then the stories wouldn't last long enough.  Before Lane Davies left, he used to get a lot of mileage out of mocking Cruz's foolishness in front of the crew.

How old are your kids now and do you plan on having any more?

    Cody is four and Devon is 18 months..  Whether we have more kids depends largely on whether Leslie wants to go through it again.  It's something that we think about and talk about a lot.  There are so many things to consider.  They're both remarkable little people.  I say that, I think, fairly objectively.  It sort of seems that we have the knack, so maybe we should extend our efforts a little further.  On the other hand, the more you have, the less time you have for each of them.  If I had to guess, I would say I'd imagine we'll end up having at least another one.

Is it difficult juggling career and family?

    Yes it is.  And right now it's not as bad as it's going to get because they don't go to school regularly, Cody goes to nursery school on a part-time basis.  But they stay up late as a result.  So I see a lot of them.  I see them almost every night.  When it gets to a point where they're going to school, that will be more difficult to pull off.  It is hard.  My wife is just such a cool person.  She does a lot of accommodating for things.  I can't imagine things working as well as they do if not for the fact that she's so capable.  She's got a great independent strength to her.  She's such as class act.

You have an incredible reputation of being a nice guy.  Are you?

    I certainly would prefer being thought of as a nice guy than the opposite.  I was raised in a household comprised of good manners and being considerate to other people.  It was impressed on me that if you live your life more or less in accordance to the 'golden rule' you will be rewarded for adhering to it.  I think it's just my nature to function better in a harmonious environment.

What has kept you on Santa Barbara for so long?

    I like having a steady job.  A lot!  It has generally stayed fun.  Some of the constant political turmoil that has seemed to hover over the show since the beginning is difficult, but the 'floor' is still a fun place to be.  We have a lot of laughs out here.  The work that Marcy and I do together now is as good as it's ever been.  That definitely makes it easier to keep plugging.

How does your wife handle your love scenes with Marcy?

    She came to work one time without me knowing.  It was on a day that Marcy and I had a whole bunch of love scenes.  it just so happened that on that day, because we were at the end of the schedule and it was a complicated show, we never got to rehearse the stuff on stage.  They just saved us until the end of the day when everything else was done.  We went out on stage and blocked, dressed and taped those four or five scenes.  Leslie came and just happened to walk in the makeup room where there is a monitor.  She sat down and watched us put together those scenes. It was a real clear illustration of how much work went into making it look effortless.  That really helped her.  Beyond that, it was a lot to get used to.  I'm not sure I would have made peace with it anywhere as easily as she has been able to.  We have a great level of communication that we have guarded ferociously.

Cruz and Eden have been through so much together.  What, if anything, could split them up?  Or will they live happily ever after?

    I imagine we'll split up when one of us leaves the show.  I don't know, but I imagine.  There has been a lot of talk about that lately since both of us have been looping out into other projects.  I've heard rumors of 'We'll have to find a way to recast.'  I think it just seems silly to me.  I suppose that I'm speaking out from my heart more than anything.  My fantasy is that one of us would leave and that would be the end of the relationship.  But I don't know.

We see you in a lot of other projects.  Do you just need a change of scenery every now and then?

    Nothing lasts forever and I think the fact that I've been able to do outside stuff for the last couple of years has made it, hopefully, easier for me to accept the day -- when it does come -- that SB is no longer a part of my life.  It will be hard under any circumstances because I really love this character and this show.  It's meant more to me than anything else that has happened in my career by a long shot.

If Marcy Walker were to leave the show, would you follow?

    Inevitably, when she's not here, I'm already diminished on all levels.  But whether I can say it in those terms depends on a lot of things that are outside of my control.  I'd love to have us leave together.  I think it would serve the characters in some way.  But I also have to think about my children.  If she left three weeks from now, it would be different than if she left nine months from now.  There's just no way of telling.  It's not outside the realm of possibility that, to flash forward quite a ways, that we would still be doing it (playing Cruz and Eden).  Who knows?

What's the next outside project we will be able to see you in?

    A CBS movie of the week called 'Not of This World'.  My understanding is that it will be out in February.  It's a science fiction movie, so there is a lot of post-production to be done with the special effects.  It was a great experience.  And I got to play leading man to Lisa Hartman.  The film is about the arrival in a small Missouri town of a life force from somewhere else in the solar system.  This particular 'thing' arrives in a meteor shower.  You watch what happens to this town as they realize that an alien has shown up.  I'm the sheriff of the town.  The director, John Hess, doesn't see things with the typical 'Movie of the Week' eyes.  He goes for the more interesting choices.  Alex Rambaldi, whose father did 'E.T.' and 'Alien' did the special effects.  He designed quite an interesting series of creatures for the film.

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