Between joining one of Oakdale's first families on-screen and one of America's first families onstage, it's no wonder AS THE WORLD TURNS newcomer Matt Cavenaugh (Adam) needs some sleep (and maybe a shirt!).
Soap Opera Weekly: How have your first few months as Adam been?
Matt Cavenaugh: It's been good. Adam is certainly stirring up a little trouble — not necessarily intentionally. He's just going after what he thinks is best, trying to help Gwen produce her demo, albeit also trying to hide certain feelings he might have for her. It's been going well.
Weekly: But there's more trouble brewing, right?
Cavenaugh: Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what that is. A little bit of it has to do in terms of money. And there might be a bit of a relationship that's building between Adam and Gwen's mother.
Weekly: Adam's got a lot going on there with the ladies: Jade, Gwen and now Iris?
Cavenaugh: Yeah, there is a lot going on, but he's misunderstood. He's a nice guy!
Weekly: You were shirtless on your first day. What is there to misunderstand?
Cavenaugh: Second day, second day!(laughs)
Weekly: Was that nerve-wracking?
Cavenaugh: Unfortunately, no. I've done a pretty fair amount of that, so it's like, "Okay, here's the gig. Let's get to it."
Weekly: There was a lot of Love Crew shirtlessness at ONE LIFE TO LIVE when you played Mark (from 2004-'05).
Cavenaugh: Yeah, they always found a way. "Oh let's dig ditches!" or "Let's play basketball"!
(laughs)
Weekly: Did you have time to hit the gym before taking over from Matthew Morrison (ex-Adam)?
Cavenaugh: I actually read [for the role] beforehand, and there were some scheduling issues, because I'm doing a show. I wasn't available for them, and they went another way. Then, it happened to work out that Matt's schedule didn't allow him to do this anymore. That's when they called me. By that time my days were free because I was working at night. It's been a very busy few months.
Weekly: You must be exhausted.
Cavenaugh: Soon you'll see the circles under my eyes. I have to give kudos to our makeup department for hiding a lot of sleep deprivation.
Weekly: What show are you doing?
Cavenaugh: I'm doing GREY GARDENS on Broadway right now, which is great. I'm very thankful to have both gigs. I play Joe Kennedy Jr. in the first act, who is Little Edie's love interest. Then, in the second act, I play Jerry. It's a great ensemble piece. Christine Ebersole (Little Edie; ex-Maxie, OLTL) carries the show, and does it beautifully. It's a pretty grueling schedule.
Weekly: Is it hard to flip back and forth between Broadway and Oakdale?
Cavenaugh: Sometimes. I often just need to take a second to time out and breathe, to center myself. There are some days where I'll leave directly from AS THE WORLD TURNS, and the car will take me straight to the theater. But you just try to pace yourself.
Weekly: Is it fun to play a player like Adam?
Cavenaugh: He is a bit of a player. I will say he is a very sharp dresser, thanks to the wardrobe department — although those are my boots, so I'll take credit for the boots. He's able to connect with people easily (laughs). It is fun to play, and it's fun to play three different people right now. They're all written very differently, so it helps the actor out.
Weekly: Who are you most similar to?
Cavenaugh: It probably sounds cliché, but I think there's parts of me in all three characters. I don't know if I fully encompass any of these guys, but I share a lot of different traits with them. It's great to be involved in all these different storylines, to stir up a little bit of trouble.
Weekly: We can't wait to see what kind of trouble you stir up.
Cavenaugh: Me neither!
