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11/18 SOW interview w/Nathaniel
Thanks to Ladyday@TCB and Jules@ ATB:
The editorial comments are Jules', not mine
***************************
Resurrection: Nathaniel Marston has a new lease on Life – as OLTL’s Al and in real life.
Viewers were shocked in July when ABC announced Nathaniel Marston had been fired from OLTL for storyline reasons. His character, Al, once a sap, was gaining popularity and Al and Marcie were the show’s (if not daytime’s) hottest new couple. Quickly, that shock turned to anger and the audience let ABC know that OLTL without Marston’s Al was unacceptable. To its credit, the network listened. Marston was rehired just 2 months after his firing and resurrected in a Heaven Can Wait storyline. Marston admits he had the same reaction as the fans: ABC was making a huge mistake. And like his followers, he let the brass know it. Here’s how Marston got his job back, how he plans to keep it (hint: he’s had to hire a nanny) and what has changed for the better in his life from the whole experience.
SPW: First of all, congratulations. It’s quite a feat to get fired and rehired so fast on daytime.
NM: Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I think it has to do with the fact that people kept on writing. I’ve been told there was wild support – there was one woman who was stopping people on the street! All I have to say is, ‘Wow.’ It’s strange to think that getting fired could be one of the best things that has ever happened to me.
SPW: How’s that?
NM: My focus is much better. It opened my eyes to the fact that employment is fleeting and a privilege in this business, and it’s not to be taken for granted. At the same time I got to see how much of an effect I have on people. If this had never happened I would have never known how devoted or special these fans are. I would like to thank them for the outpouring of love that followed my being let go.
SPW: They didn’t want you back as anyone else.
NM: They wanted Al. The writers took Al in a lot of different directions: he was bad, he was good, he fell in love with Marcie. He became a real person.
SPW: Certainly your connection with Kathy Brier and Al and Marcie’s love story helped.
NM: Kathy is an unbelievable talent, really professional, a sweetheart all the way around. That comes out of what she does.
SPW: I heard that at the fan club luncheon (8/9) you and Kathy encouraged fans to write in to bring you back. Did you think you had a chance?
NM: Absolutely. If there’s one thing I understand it’s that money talks. Whenever there’s a fear of a loss…the same thing that can get you fired, can also be the catalyst for keeping your job. If you company is afraid they might lose money on you, they’ll back away really quick. If a company thinks they can make money, then they’re going to stick with you. It all boils down to economic gain.
SPW: Did ABC underestimate Al and Marcie’s popularity?
NM: Absolutely. The funny thing about it is for a little while there before I got fired, I kept hearing ‘They’ve never gotten a response like this to a couple.’ I’m hearing it from executives on the show and people at ABC. I’m like, ‘All right, this is cool.’ I didn’t believe it at first, but then I started seeing how much people were into this. I said when I was fired, ‘I think you’re making a really big mistake and that you’re going to give me my job back.’
SPW: You said that to Frank (Valentini, executive producer)?
NM: I said it to a person who would be making the decision somewhere along the line. I’m not one for mentioning names, it’s just not smart. But I did say to what they call ‘The Powers That Be” that I think they’re making a huge mistake, I think my exact statement was, ‘I wouldn’t stay if you begged me to.’ Because I was hurt and I was acting out of my own sort of pain.
SPW: But then you came back.
NM: When it came right down to it, when that many fans rally and get behind you, if you turn around and say ‘No,’ that would be the ultimate slap in the face. The primary reason for coming back was the fans. They got me my job back. They wanted to see me there. I could say ‘no’ to the network, but I couldn’t say ‘no’ to the fans. Also, in retrospect, passing on a chance to get back into a situation where I’m working with Kathy Brier on a daily basis would have been stupid. Obviously, I didn’t ask for any more money, because I thought it would be inappropriate given the circumstances – nor did they offer any (laughs). But I worked on outs: being able to get out to do pilots, films, things of that nature.
SPW: You‘ve been very open about your past issues with anger management. Did that come up when you were fired?
NM: Again, it’s the whole thing about how great this experience was. I wasn’t angry. I was hurt. At that moment, I was stunned, but I didn’t act out. I didn’t scream or yell. Through the whole thing I was really calm. I’ve finally grown up a little bit and started to understand that you take a bad situation and make it worse by behaving that way. I’ve recently become more focused on the Buddhist philosophies that I was raised with. Anger of that nature is a wasted emotion, a wasted energy. Not to say that I don’t get mad when I can’t get a lid off a jar of pickles. But when it comes down to real life things that require delicate handling, I’ve gotten a lot better.
SPW: You had to continue working after you were fired, right?
NM: I had to finish out the rest of my contract. They didn’t want to pay me for not being there. It was good, because if I hadn’t had that extra three months and they hadn’t written such a brilliant ending, people wouldn’t have kept writing. They were reminded of their loss each time they turned on the show. They’d turn off the TV and write another letter.
SPW: So you were fired but…
NM: I was never off the show (laughs)! [After I was fired] one of the notes I was given said, ‘If you could do us a favor, while you’re finishing out your last few weeks here, if you could be professional and cordial…’ and I scoffed. Then I thought: ‘Wow, I guess there is the potential for somebody to be a baby and not do their work.’ What [OLTL brass] neglect to understand is the only person that that reflects badly on is me. My feeling was: ‘I’ve got another three months to be on air while I’m auditioning. I’m going to come in and do the best work I ever did.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about me being professional. I’m going to come in here every day and blow the boards off this place – and you are going to give me my job back.’
SPW: Do you think the mature way you handled the firing helped you get rehired?
NM: Yeah. I think that had a lot to do with it. I think a lot of the network executives were looking at me going: ‘Wow, this kid doesn’t have a job and he’s working his ass off. If this kid can perform under that sort of stressful condition…maybe we’re making a mistake.’
SPW: You’ve always had a hard time waking up, which was a problem when you were on ATWT (ex-Eddie). Were there tardiness issues at OLTL?
NM: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have a thing with waking up. It’s just never gone away. It’s gotten better. I’ve actually hired a woman who comes into my home every morning to wake me up. Alarm clocks don’t work. I finally figured out that hiring somebody is the ultimate way to [wake up].
SPW: So you hired this woman when you got your job back?
NM: I actually had come up with that a week before I got fired. Fiona [Hutchison, Gabrielle] had offered to come to my house in the morning and wake me up. She was like, ‘I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you, especially for something so stupid and trivial. Should I come to your house and wake you up?’ I said, ‘That’s preposterous. There’s no way that I am going to have you…no.’ She and my mom came up with Fiona’s nanny. She was looking for some extra employment. She gets to my house every morning at 7, except for Saturday and Sunday, and she wakes me up. She does a little bit of stuff around the house, so that when I come home at the end of the day, I can sit down and study and focus on work rather than whether I was going to have clean underwear tomorrow. I hired myself a nanny (laughs), but I need it. In the long run, it’s going to end up saving me money.
SPW: Did the fact that you had addressed this problem help you get your job back?
NM: I don’t think that it affected their decision one way or the other, although they did say, ‘You’re going to keep this woman, right?’ I said, ‘By all means. Why tamper with a good thing.’
SPW: How have you changed from all this?
NM: I’m a lot more together. I’m healthier – physically stronger, mentally stronger, prepared with a new hunger to do great work.
SPW: Al’s resurrection has given you a new life.
NM: It’s a complete phoenix story, out of the ashes. I’m burning hot. I really am. I went out and I auditioned for a lot of things while I didn’t have my job, and I did really well. It light that fire: ‘Wait a second, I’m an actor. Holy crap, I can do this!’ It erases that fear, and it’s a lot easier to go through life without that burden of fear. I’m not afraid of losing my job, especially now that I’m completely on the ball and doing the right thing. Even if I walked in there tomorrow and found out that I didn’t have my job, I’d be OK. That’s the most important part of the whole thing.
[ed. For the Marcie/Al fans! Wow, interesting read…I thought I had problems waking up in the morning! But I’m glad he is doing something about it and is handling stressful situations in a more mature way. I hope this storyline works out for him, and the fans.]
NM is such a regular guy. He actually reminds me a lot of my brother. I used to bang on his door, call, spray water on him and hit him and we would sleep through it all. NM just laid it all bare. To admit that he has a problem that effected his career, get help and then talk about it...Let's just say men are not encouraged to talk about needing anything short of sex and food in this day and age. And he does it. Just honest and I respect him for it.
Quote: ‘I’ve got another three months to be on air while I’m auditioning. I’m going to come in and do the best work I ever did.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about me being professional. I’m going to come in here every day and blow the boards off this place – and you are going to give me my job back.’
How many times on the boards did people say something like, "He was so amazing today. I am going to call/write/email?" or "He was fired and he just keeps getting better and better." NM's maturity, diligence, and reflection paid off.
Quote:I could say ‘no’ to the network, but I couldn’t say ‘no’ to the fans.
This is my kind of star.
Quote:SPW: Did ABC underestimate Al and Marcie’s popularity?
NM: Absolutely. The funny thing about it is for a little while there before I got fired, I kept hearing ‘They’ve never gotten a response like this to a couple.’ I’m hearing it from executives on the show and people at ABC.
I consider this solid proof that TPTB knew-they knew-that Marcal was the shiznit and fired him anyway. What biz intentionally does the opposite of what their customers want??? Their are morons. And if not for the fact that they brought him back daytime tv honchos would be named mud in my mind. And mud spelled backwards is dum.(Did that go over? Bugs use to pull it off so well.)
Anyhoo, a fabulous, honest to the bone interview that gives even more insight to this interesting man. My last and final words are that the man is still hot. Owwww!!
katjam007 Registered User
Posts: 76
(11/8/03 8:26 am) Reply
Re: 11/18 SOW interview w/Nathaniel
Nathaniel Marston's top five smart things to say during an interview.
Quote:Kathy is an unbelievable talent, really professional, a sweetheart all the way around. That comes out of what she does.
Smart thing #1- compliment your leading lady any chance you get.
Quote:If this had never happened I would have never known how devoted or special these fans are. I would like to thank them for the outpouring of love that followed my being let go.
Smart thing #2- Compliment and thank your fan base in public on a regular basis
Quote:Because I was hurt and I was acting out of my own sort of pain.
Quote:Were there tardiness issues at OLTL?
NM: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have a thing with waking up. It’s just never gone away. It’s gotten better. I’ve actually hired a woman who comes into my home every morning to wake me up. Alarm clocks don’t work. I finally figured out that hiring somebody is the ultimate way to [wake up].
Smart thing #3- Admit your failings, making you seem more human and endearing
Quote:‘Don’t worry about me being professional. I’m going to come in here every day and blow the boards off this place – and you are going to give me my job back.’
Smart thing #4- Put aside negative emotions and make it all about the work, pour your heart and soul into your scenes and make everyone stand up and take notice.
Quote:It light that fire: ‘Wait a second, I’m an actor. Holy crap, I can do this!’ It erases that fear, and it’s a lot easier to go through life without that burden of fear.
Smart thing #5- Talk about fear, an emotion everyone experiences no matter what their profession, giving you and the audience/reader a common bond.
Yep, our boy is a genius.
kathy
Al to Luna: I may be dead, but I still have some fight left in me.
Keeper of the Wing at St. Anne's for the Nuts for Nathaniel
DNMF#2
Smitten Kitten
Posts: 708
(11/8/03 4:17 pm) Reply
Re: 11/18 SOW interview w/Nathaniel
Quote:Yep, our boy is a genius.
He's a smart cookie alright. I really love how you broke it down. I guess I don't need to ask him at the chat if the whole experience helped him grow as a person. I guess I can trust my own instinct, as I mentioned that he seemed more spiritual when I saw him at the luncheon. What a trip to see him say it, and what a trip that I mentioned the SSW Coffee talk where he admitted his sleeping late shortcoming in a different context, right before we'd read this. I guess its time to embrace whatever it is that ends up in all these strange coincidences, and stop worrying about it. Its a trip and so is he.
I want to add something about him being a smart cookie... you know... as much as he's talented enough to be a big time screen star, he's really good at being a soap hunk, not an easy responsibility, and this is proof. He doesn't seem to have any problem with the idea that there's a game to play, and he has to know that women see him as their fictional boyfriend, via Marcie... he seems to embrace it and not judge. Its creepy when you stop to think about the position he's in, but he's a guy who can handle it, and well.
Char
Ran across article I wrote for online rag that never took hold, while taking inventory of disks of saved things over the years. Excerpt:
"Someone once told me in the OLTL chatroom that they don't miss a day of OLTL because a day without OLTL could feel like a cold day without putting on their warm fuzzy slippers. What did this fan mean? Perhaps she was referring to watching Carlotta doing quite a job "cleaning up" at the poker table, listening to Smokey Robinson put out the old school jams. Or maybe this fan meant that watching an intense moment on our favorite soap listening to a dramatic fluty piece of music in the background can make us sense a fresh and innocent feeling in the air. Well, this is a soap OPERA after all.
I've heard it said that OLTL can feel like the rain that pours or the lightening that crashes, as the band, Live, would sing. Whether we're being provoked to tears while watching Max grieve for Luna with their song "I Still Believe in You" playing... or to blows hearing the sound of Delores O'Riordan's voice (of the Cranberries) reverberating "What's in Your Head" from "Zombie" reverberating throughout Rodi's as Blair blasts Max for dirty dealing, OLTL has been hitting the mark for awhile now...
Perhaps some of the most gripping music selections is yet to come for those of us who are romantics. My personal recommendation is to keep an ear open to Natalie Merchant's introspective songs that have been floating around Llanview. I dedicate "Wonder" to baby Starr."Edited by: Ladyeevil at: 11/8/03 4:25 pm
Ladyeevil Keeper of the Wing at St. Anne's for the Nuts for Nathaniel
DNMF#2
Smitten Kitten
Posts: 720
(11/9/03 7:39 am) Reply
"changed for the better in his life from the whole expe
Quote:what has changed for the better in his life from the whole experience.
This was the question I was going to ask him at the chat, but I guess I don't need to ask. I sensed it did and this article cements it.
Quote:I’ve finally grown up a little bit
Not too much I hope! I hope he doesn't lose that edge! Its good to grow up in the department of making wise decisions and handling emotional issues well, but I had to learn the hard way that you have to work with who you are, and that is the road to happiness.. balancing yin and yang baby. Thats something I found out about myself when he inspired me, though there is far more to it.
Quote:I’m a lot more together. I’m healthier – physically stronger, mentally stronger, prepared with a new hunger to do great work.
This is the path I've been on since SSW when I changed my life.
Quote:I can do this!’ It erases that fear, and it’s a lot easier to go through life without that burden of fear.
This was exactly what I went through too... letting go of the fear, and taking the steps toward something far greater.
Wow... parallel with the person who inspired me... all I have to say is WOW. I guess all I can do is embrace it and not try to figure out why.
Ladyeevil Keeper of the Wing at St. Anne's for the Nuts for Nathaniel
DNMF#2
Smitten Kitten
Posts: 721
(11/9/03 8:07 am) Reply
NATHANIEL DOESN'T READ THESE BOARDS!!!!!
THANKFULLY!
Quote:I’ve been told there was wild support – there was one woman who was stopping people on the street!
Hold the phone! A magazine article mentioned a woman who did that but, in fact, this was part of the "SAVE OUR VOICE" campaign, and many fans took it to the streets, including me. Supermarkets all over this country were stirring with talk about Nathaniel, each time an opportunity arised with a magazine. And there were stories about people talking to their neighbors, and I told my story about making signs I put on my vehicle, to bring up conversation, and be a billboard, as I drive all over the Bay Area for a living. He doesn't read all this stuff, and neither does anyone he knows, or he'd know there was FAR more to the "taking it to the streets"
katjam007 Registered User
Posts: 83
(11/9/03 1:49 pm) Reply
Re: NATHANIEL DOESN'T READ THESE BOARDS!!!!!
Well, I doubt he does read any of this, but I kinda assumed that before the article came out. There's always a slim hope that maybe he or someone close to him lurks around here or other places. Then again, its probably just as well. I know a few authors who are very active within their fan bases--they host message boards on their websites and actively post there, for example. But I think most high profile people like to keep a good amount of distance between their fans and use the "proper" channels, like autographed pictures, fan clubs, public gatherings, etc. It's just smart, imo.
kathy
Al to Luna: I may be dead, but I still have some fight left in me.
Keeper of the Wing at St. Anne's for the Nuts for Nathaniel
DNMF#2
Smitten Kitten
Posts: 735
(11/9/03 3:02 pm) Reply
Re: NATHANIEL DOESN'T READ THESE BOARDS!!!!!
Quote:Well, I doubt he does read any of this, but I kinda assumed that before the article came out. There's always a slim hope that maybe he or someone close to him lurks around here or other places
I'm sorry I gave any other impression. Other than maybe once to see it out of curiousity, I never thought he came here... But I worried that someone he knows reads it and gives him updates... I once wished he knew all the great things we write about him for an ego boost if he needed one, but then I thought about how the things I write could be misrepresented, or taken out of context, and he'd get a bad impression of me... so I hoped that no one he knows comes here.
Excerpt I love from Luisa Valenzuela's The Lizard's Tale: I have my obsessions, I have my fear that drags me along. I’ve been woven into a network of fears, they cross back and forth over my head, they close me in like an enormous web spun by a spider in the reeds, black and precise, malefically beautiful. This net of fears, this geometric pattern, I go on weaving it too without knowing why, without understanding it. I would like to decipher a small end of it at least, a point in the web, so as to go along unwinding the infernal plot, but I’m not permitted that either. Some of my dearest friends have been… running all kinds of risks, and here I am messing around, talking about a spiderweb that entraps me, putting myself into poetic images. The worst thing is that I can glimpse it so clearly, something woven by clusters of black spiders, crouching in wait for their prey, a broad, mile-wise web with us as the prey, and the spiders too.
This is a picture of a wall at the OLTL studio back in 95. My picture is the one on the right, 3rd up from the bottom. These pictures were up at the studio because the stage manager wanted to show everyone who they were talking to online. In those days, with AOL, people at the studio got to talk to us, even the actors would stop by the chat room.
katjam007 Registered User
Posts: 85
(11/9/03 3:13 pm) Reply
Re: NATHANIEL DOESN'T READ THESE BOARDS!!!!!
No, Char you didn't give me any impression other than the one you intended. I'm just generalizing my comments, I'm sorry if they seemed directed at you, they weren't really. Just using your post as a jumping off point, which I tend to do. I'll be clearer next time.
kathy
Al to Luna: I may be dead, but I still have some fight left in me.
Quote:My focus is much better. It opened my eyes to the fact that employment is fleeting and a privilege in this business, and it’s not to be taken for granted. At the same time I got to see how much of an effect I have on people. If this had never happened I would have never known how devoted or special these fans are. I would like to thank them for the outpouring of love that followed my being let go.
Quote: When it came right down to it, when that many fans rally and get behind you, if you turn around and say ‘No,’ that would be the ultimate slap in the face. The primary reason for coming back was the fans. They got me my job back. They wanted to see me there. I could say ‘no’ to the network, but I couldn’t say ‘no’ to the fans.
I have never experienced anyone who was so thankful and appreciative of their fans. I mean people are usually thankful to a point but never have I seen it at this level. It's just amazing It has become ever apparent why Nathaniel of all soap opera actors was the one that I was drawn too. and my response to his comment would be, you definitely worth the fight.
Quote:My feeling was: ‘I’ve got another three months to be on air while I’m auditioning. I’m going to come in and do the best work I ever did.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about me being professional. I’m going to come in here every day and blow the boards off this place – and you are going to give me my job back.’
You just have to be impressed with how professionally he dealt with the situation. Even after being fired he still went out a performed his butt off. I don't know how many people would have been able to do that and he did it and did it well
Quote:I hired myself a nanny (laughs), but I need it
Definitely smiled when I read this, he always manages to add in the funny comment and always manages to put a smile on my face. It's funny to think of a grown man with a "nanny" but if he needs someone to help him out then I'm all for it. It was also nice to see Fiona stepping in and being motherly towards him and wanting to help him out, actually willing to go and wake him up herself.
Jen
aka whitetiger or Eevil Awakening -On the outside I may look like a sweet little cat but beware because underneath it all is a ferocious tiger ready to pounce at a moments notice.
Natalie: "Al, when are you gonna realize that love isn't supposed to be this hard? When it's meant to be, it just happens."
Al: "Oh, whatever, in what fairy tale?"
or Eevil Awakening 
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