I WANNA BE A SOAP STAR winner Mikey Jerome has been rolling with the punches ever since he began his 13-week run on ONE LIFE TO LIVE.
Soap Opera Weekly: What was your first day at OLTL like?
Mikey Jerome: I went through an orientation period. You meet a bunch of producers. You meet all the staff. Being the new guy, I was really nervous. This is my dream coming true and I've had to sneak through the back door for the last three or four months.
Weekly: I remember that.
Jerome: I think you were [on the set] one day when I was there. Lauri Hogan (OLTL's publicist) was like, "We've got to throw you in a room." But my first day that I actually got a chance to work, it was with Melissa Archer (Natalie) and Tobias (Truvillion, Vincent). I don't think there was a better way to come into an acting environment. They were really nice. I was nervous, but Tobias took me aside and told me how things are on OLTL and how lucky we are. And to come prepared, work hard and keep toning up your craft. I took a lot of his advice. I look up to him a lot.
Weekly: You're originally from nearby Long Island, N.Y., right?
Jerome: I grew up in Hicksville, Long Island, but I'd actually been living about 40 miles south of Los Angeles, in Orange County. You know that LAGUNA BEACH show? I lived about a town south of there, like five minutes away.
Weekly: Tell us a little about your character.
Jerome: His name is Ted. He used to be a cop. There's not much internal subtext. I've got my own subtext, but it changes as the writers give you different stuff. Basically, he's an ex-cop working for a businessman who bought out Cristian Vega's boxing contract. Ted is Vincent's right-hand man. Whatever Vincent needs done, Ted takes care of it.
Weekly: How was it watching yourself on the show for the first time?
Jerome: I was pretty happy with it. I want to be respectful, so every time I've done scenes I've tried to stay "in" the scene the whole time. I did a real good job. I was happy with the way everything came out.
Weekly: Did you enjoy your very first OLTL Fan Club event?
Jerome: It was just unbelievable. You think of yourself as a normal person, and then all of a sudden you're signing autographs for two hours and these people love you. It makes you feel like you're on top of the world. I called my mom and talked to her about it. I was like, "Mom I can't even believe this. It's crazy."
