ALL MY CHILDREN's Justin Bruening (Jamie) discusses Jamie's occupation (or lack thereof), being married to co-star Alexa Havins (Babe) and the one thing you would be surprised to know about him.
Soap Opera Weekly: You celebrated your three-year anniversary on AMC in June. How has Jamie changed?
Justin Bruening: When I first started, I hated him because he was stupid and naive. I'd read a script and be like, "Why are you chasing Babe? She obviously doesn't like you." Now I love Jamie as a character because he's actually very complex. He's so much more enjoyable because he's so much more real. And it's fun because I play a very intelligent character.
Weekly: So intelligent that he doesn’t even need to go to medical school to practice medicine!
Bruening: Just put glasses on (laughs)! Technically, he's not a doctor.
Weekly: An intern?
Bruening: He's not an intern, either.
Weekly: Umm, well, what is he?
Bruening: I have no idea what he is. I'm being completely honest. He doesn't even have a name tag. I'm like, "What the hell do I do there?" I don't understand. He walks around with charts and he's pulling things out. My mom was a nurse, so I know a lot about the medical field. He can't do that! They never show this stuff, but if somebody else is talking and Jamie's in the background looking at a chart, I'm scratching stuff out.
Weekly: The poor patients at Pine Valley Hospital! Let's talk about Alexa. How's married life?
Bruening: I was joking around with my friend one day. He was like, "So, how do you like being married?" I said, "How come you didn't tell me this was a full-time job? I thought it was part-time on the weekends" (laughs). No, it's great. If anything, I'm more calm and centered.
Weekly: Do you guys continue to pick on each other?
Bruening: Of course. In all fairness to her, I do a little bit more than I should. She's like, "I think it's a curse that we were friends first!"
Weekly: It's been reported that you are a bit of a romantic. Can you confirm or deny?
Bruening: I've always been a hopeless romantic. I don't do it on a daily basis. I'll do something big and then I'm like, "How the hell am I going to top that next year?" I start planning a year in advance. I'm already thinking about her birthday next year. I know she's the right girl because the things I plan actually work. I know her so well; I know exactly what she's going to say and do. I have it all planned out.
Weekly: Anything else readers would be surprised to know about you?
Bruening: I can decorate. My office is an "Ocean Room," because I love the ocean. It's like a sea-green/blue. I have two aquariums in there. It's more like my playroom. I've got my Game Boy and PlayStation stuff in there.
