The Brady Boys Q & A
THE BRADY BOYS
Days of Our Lives's Josh Taylor and Jensen Ackles Keep Things Like Father, Like Son in Salem
By Stephanie Sloane
In July, 1997, DAYS OF OUR LIVES's presumed-dead Roman Brady returned to Salem with a grave illness that threatened his life. Finally, a catastrophe bad enough to lure the long-absent Eric Brady back from Colorado. (His mother's battle with Satan in 1995 didn't do it.) Newcomer Jensen Ackles (Eric) found an instant pal in on-screen pop, Josh Taylor (Roman), who had recently returned to DAYS after a successful stint as Chris Kositchek that ended 10 years earlier.
Digest:You have a very good rapport onscreen. How is it personally?
Josh Taylor:I think we hit it off from the get-go.
Jensen Ackles:Yeah. We did. It was one of those things.
Taylor:What I've always liked about Jensen is that he's a hard worker and he's always perpared. We'd come in and run lines and rehearse and we got to know each other that way. Then the conversation got to one thing or another and we got to our likes and dislikes and I told him I could make him a hell of a quarterback....
Ackles:I wish he'd been around down in Texas, where the guys were like twice my size, so..
Taylor:Oh, he's big enough to play. I'm always kidding and taking every credit, everything he's ever done.
Ackles:He reminds me of my real dad, which is cool. I kinda of consider him my Californina dad.
Taylor:It was great. I met his dad and his whole family at the Soap Opera Digest Awards. His dad and I got a chance to talk and spend some time together. I told his dad that I 'm giving Jensen such good press, I want 15 percent! I always had this feeling that his parents are good peopel, and after meeting his dad -- his dad is just incredible and his mom is gorgeous. I didn't get a chance to talk to her, but his dad and I had a picture taken together and it's up on my "wall of honor."
Digest:That's nice. Your characters have a different relationship than either of you have with Carrie and Sami. There is a different dynamic between the two of you than with them.
Taylor:I think what I like is that they brought us in at the same time. We both came in on an even keel. We both got that traveling kind of thing, that we'd been to places, so I think that that worked real well. And then I think the fact that he's been the one I trusted, the one I kind of depended on.
Ackles:It was cool. I came on and immediately went to bat for this guy. Roman was sick, so Eric just took up the slack and tried to do all he could for him, so that immediately forged a camaraderie, both on-screen and off.
Digest:You're really the only two who get those kind of parent/child scenes.
Taylor:Yeah.
Ackles:It's really cool.
Digest:They don't really have them with anybody else. They'll have Kate and Billie scheming, not having heart-to-heart conversations.
Ackles:And that's good stuff because that's real-life stuff. You're going to have that kind of rapport with you real father.
Taylor:I think what's great is that it comes out father/son, but it also comes out that we're good buddies. There's an equal thing, there's that camaraderie.
Ackles:He's not only my father, but my friend.
Taylor:I love the relationship. They would jog and stuff like that. Toss the football. It will be interesting to see how they get us intertwined in each other's problems. I think it would be great if we got involved in an undercover operation.
Ackles:Oh Yeah! I'd love that, man. Love that!
Taylor:That would be kind of interesting.
Digest:Jensen, do you go to Josh for advice?
Ackles:Yeah. This guy taught me so much when I got here because this is the first daytime stuff I've ever done. Between him and Deidre {Hall, Marlena} and Drake {Hogestyn, John}, if you're gonna learn, you might as well learn from the best. He gave me a lot of pointers, I run ideas by him that I've got. He helps me out.
Taylor:He came in very prepared and very confident. He didn't come blowing in; he was very willing to listen. So it wasn't like a rookie, to use a football term, that you bring along. It was like all of a sudden you could throw him a starting line-up and he was going to play that position well. You could trust that position. I think everybody took an immediate liking to him, and like I said, I took the credit for every single thing....and will continue to do so {laughs}!
Ackles:That's always a good answer. They keep me going on the right track.
Taylor:He's very popular here. Everbody thinks a good deal of him. This young man, who could ask for a lot more?
Digest:Have you learned things from each other?
Taylor:Very much so. It's always a joy when I get a script. It's fun to play together.
Digest:Roman seems to be the only one who puts Eric in his place.
Taylor:Which I like. Basically, I was glad when I was able to say to him, "Get your own life. It's time for you to focus. I'm letting you go. I'm letting you off that." So now he's got a good-looking lady to play with, and now he's got a chance for his sexuality to come out. He hadn't had a chance to do that.
Ackles:That was because I hadn't had that aspect of the character yet. It was months and months of my family life. That's all it was about. That's all I had to deal with. So now I'm getting a different scenario. It's very cool.
Taylor:It's kind of funny, we're actually being let out at the same time a little bit. I felt a little celibate for a while.
Ackles:He's playing the field now!
Taylor:(sarcastically):With Krista {Allen-Moritt, Billie}, that's real tough duty. That's real hard work. Seriously, we've been having a ball together. Because of the history.
Ackles:We had to hold your hand on that one!
Taylor:I've said this before: If I ever had a son, I very much wish it would be like this one. I guess I kind of get that feeling.
Digest:Jensen, did you expect to have this kind of relationship with Josh?
Ackles:No, I didn't know anything going into this. As I said, he reminded me of my dad and I think the world over and over of my dad, so when I met this guy here, it was immediate how cool it was. I didn't feel like an outsider, I wasn't sure how I would be taken, being the new guy and all, but everyone welcomed me with open arms. So it was really nice to have that.
Taylor:I think we're both pretty easygoing. What you see is what you get. We have the same quality.
Ackles:Exactly.
Digest:You say you have some common interests.
Ackles:We both grew up playing sports. We're both jocks, big jocks. We like to play on the weekends and I love it. That's what my first love is -- sports.
Taylor:My dad was a coach. Obviously, I grew up with it. That's why I told him we have to get out there and throw a ball around.
Digest:Have you spent any time with each other off-set?
Taylor:No, we haven't. We almost went to a ball game one night. Then couldn't make it, but we'll get to that soon.
Digest:Any final thoughts?
Taylor:Here's a story from the Soap Opera Digest Awards. Ali {Sweeney, who plays Eric's twin sister, Sami} gets up and she wins her awards, then Jensen gets up and wins his. I turned to Lauren Koslow {Kate} and said, "My kids. It's the genes."
From Soap Opera Digest..
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