Jason Brooks

May 10, 2000

Ladies and gentlemen, I am very pleased to introduce you at this time to our very special guest this evening – you knew him as Peter Blake on the hit daytime drama, “Days of Our Lives” and now you see him as Sean Monroe on the worldwide sensation “Baywatch Hawaii.”

Q: I don’t currently watch “Baywatch Hawaii”, but would be interested in tuning in to see it! Who is your character on the show and who is the show different from the original “Baywatch”?

Jason: My character is named Sean Monroe and I head up the team the Elite Lifeguards at the International Training Center, and the easiest way to describe the difference between Baywatch and Baywatch Hawaii is to say that I believe Baywatch was essentially a two-pronged show –that is, action and aesthetics… or beautiful people! Now, we are making the main focus of our show storylines, and character development. However, we still have even more action and even more beautiful people, myself excluded, and we’re in a much, much more beautiful place, because of how dangerous it is in Hawaii allows for many more exciting scenarios… if I talk anymore, my whole chat will be spent answering this one question!

Q: Are you enjoying Hawaii?

Jason: Yes, immensely, but if I eat any more papaya or mango, I am going to have to be hospitalised.

Q: LOL! How did you enjoy working on “Days of Our Lives”? How does it differ from your current experiences on “Baywatch Hawaii”?

Jason: Yes, I loved working on Days… it will always have a special place in my heart! In addition to being a great training ground, I also met some lifelong friends. The difference between this and Baywatch Hawaii is that on Days, 99% of my time, I was indoors in the studio and on Baywatch Hawaii, it’s been 99% of my time outdoors doing action.

Jason: Next question :)

Q: Do you find working outside all the time, and in the water, tough on the skin?

Jason: Yes!

Q: Do all of you take precautions? We don’t want you aging before your time.

Jason: I now have sympathy for that old leather football that is in my closet… it’s not only tough on the skin, but it’s exhausting!

I can imagine! Please do be careful!

Jason: Yes, all of us live, eat and breath sunscreen #50, and any time I see five inches of shade, I jam my 6’1” 205 pond frame into it.

Q: What motivated you to enter the acting profession? Did you study acting while in school?

Jason: I think acting is something that I always wanted to do, ever since I was a little kid. It just took me a while for many reasons before I allowed myself to jump into it. Yes I did take a little bit of acting classes in high school, but that was only because the girl that I had a crush on was in the drama class.

Q: What was your first acting job?

Jason: My first acting job: I was Spy Guy #2 in a movie called “Captain America” about nine years ago… Unfortunately, my part ended up on the cutting room floor, as they say.

Q: Did you ever do modelling or commercials?

Jason: I never did modelling… probably because I wasn’t good looking enough – that’s probably because my nose had been broken about four times, but I did do some commercials.

Q: How did you break your nose… sports? Hockey?

Jason: Twice, I was punched… once, I was his with a tennis racquet, and once, I bashed it on a rock, while rolling in the ivy as a kid.

Q: What interests/hobbies do you have off the set?

Jason: None! I live for Baywatch Hawaii… I have a wife and a 14 month old son. They occupy most of my time… otherwise I play sports – my wife and I are big movie buffs, but we don’t get out much anymore because of the baby... but that’s just fine with me. Basically, pretty much with all of my free time, I change diapers.

Hey, it’s great that you help with that duty!

Jason: Thanks – I’ll let my wife know! :) Actually, you can let my wife know youself…

Wife, you are VERY lucky :)

Q: Was it hard to learn all of the lines that you were given to learn on “Days of Our Lives”? It seems like such hard work! Did you do anything in particular to help remember them?

Jason: It is hard work, but line memorization is one of the easiest parts of it, believe it or not. It’s like any other muscle that you exercise… and it gets better as you go along. When I first got on the show, something that would take me one and a half hours to memorize can now take me twenty minutes. As an actor, I was trained not to focus on the words themselves, rather the tension and emotion behind them, and if it’s written semi-decently, words should almost fall into place… if they don’t, then it’s more difficult.

Q: I saw the actress that played Billie on Days on Baywatch Hawaii last week. Is she a regular?

Jason: Yes, actually, her real name is Krista Allen, and she has just now been made a regular on the show. Last year, she was just recurring.

Q: You look younger on Baywatch than you did on Days. What’s different?

Jason: This question must be coming from my mom. That’s very nice of you to say… it’s probably just because I’m tanned or something

Could be, but you sure look younger.

Jason: Next question :)

Q: Did you need to do anything special to prepare for your role on “Baywatch Hawaii”? How do you keep in such great shape?

Jason: Why, thank you, first of all! :) And second, thank you again… and third of all… I had to do a lot of swimming, and basically, the demands of the show itself keep you in pretty good shape, once you get there, that is. For me to get there, I just watch what I eat… I watch it go from my plate to my mouth, and I try to exercise as much as possible.

Q: Have you acted on stage? How does it compare to television and films? Do you like it more or less?

Jason: I was actually trained in the theatre. There is no comparison whatsoever… stage is the best. Unfortunately, very few make a living doing that.

Q: What about sharks in the water? What type of safety procedures are in place during filming to prevent any accidents in the water, etc.? Like sharks.

Jason: This is a very difficult question to answer… I try not to think about it, or talk about it.

Q: You trained on stage… have you done any Broadway or off Broadway that we might recognise?

Jason: No, most of my stuff has been done local L.A. theatre.

Q: Everybody looks so great underwater. What kind of makeup do they wear that can hold up to that?

Jason: You know, I don’t even know… I would assume waterproof of some sort.

Thanks… (This from a Max Factor user)

Jason: It probably is Max Factor… I generally only worry about my makeup on Saturday nights, but that’s another story.

Q: Have you been featured in any motion pictures? Do you have any aspirations to pursue a film career?

Jason: As an actor, my biggest concern is the material, and not necessarily the medium. If I can find good material on television, that’s fine – if I have to do film to find it, that’s fine too. Most of my film work thus far has been small, independent features.

Q: Would we know any of those small films?

Jason: I doubt it. I was in a movie called Bloodmatch… a movie called Making It Home and a movie called Whatever… all of which didn’t have a release – direct to video.

Q: Do you mind answer questions about your time on Days? Like… how was it working with the cast and is Frances Reid the little doll she appears? I love that woman.

Jason: The cast was great… it was like a happy family, and Frances was absolutely delightful. She was like everyone’s grandmother and she has a wonderful sense of humour.

Q: Has it been difficult to adjust to working in Hawaii? Do you live there year-round?

Jason: I live in Hawaii six months, and Los Angeles six months… if you have to work, most of us do – there’s no better place than Hawaii… it’s like paradise, but it is difficult to just close up your shop and move your wife and child and pets (I have a cat and a dog), close your house, and go to Hawaii, but it’s worth it.

Q: What island is the show filmed on? Or do you move around?

Jason: We shoot mostly in Oahu, but this past season, we also shot in Hawaii, the big island, and a tiny bit in Maui. Hopefully, this season, we’ll be able to hit some of the other islands.

Q: Do you plan on having some of the Days cast as guest stars on Baywatch Hawaii anytime in the future? (Or ex-Days stars?)

Jason: It’s possible! If it was up to me, I’d ship them all out… but we’ll see! :)

I’d love to see Joe Mascolo on Baywatch… but only as a guest! Wouldn’t want to lose him too.

Jason: What would he do? Be the lifeguard form Transylvania?

Q: What was it like working on your episode of “Friends”? How do you feel about the current situation regarding the cast’s contracts?

Jason: Working with that cast on that show was an absolute blast! They are all very professional… extremely talented and nice! Coincidentally, I want to grammar school with David Schwimmer. Regarding their current contract dispute, I think they’re entitled to a portion of the show’s extraordinary success. How big a portion will have to be determined by accountants and not the lead of Baywatch Hawaii :) But if I speak out in favour of them, and they’ll send me some money, then yes.

Q: Is David Hasselhoff joining the show, now that his other series didn’t work out? Joining… re-joining?

Jason: That, I don’t know!

Q: Is it true that you’re getting to work with one of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends?

Jason: Probably, you’re referring to Brandy Roderick, who has just been added to the cast. Whether she’s Hugh Hefner’s girlfriend or not, I don’t know.

Q: Are any of your family members in the entertainment business?

Jason: No, I am the sole black sheep of the family! :) My brother and father are in science, my sister is in business, and my mother was an attorney. They only just started talking to me last month.

Jason: I’d like to thank you very much for chatting with me… I enjoyed myself immensely, and tune in! Good night!