Block: You’ve been reluctant to give interviews. Why?
Block: My personal life is personal. I know nothing more about the plot of this show than anyone else. And, my recipes are secret.Block: Even the casserole?
Block: Especially the casserole.
Block: So, why now?
Block: I didn’t want my egg dishes to become an issue.Block: How do you like working on GUIDING LIGHT?
Block: There are a lot of talented people here who work their tails off every day trying to make something compelling, entertaining. Of course, it always has to be done by yesterday, so usually, we’re one ring short of a circus (without the jokes). Still, I take a lot of pride in working hard.Block: Do you have any say in what goes on?
Block: I’m just a mouthpiece. I do what I’m told. I play a character in a story.Block: What do you think of your character?
Block: For a guy who was given away as an infant; who, from that primal pain, hardened himself to be untouchable, a shark, a predator, he seems to listen to a lot of Johnny Mathis.Block: You don’t think sharks respond to Johnny Mathis?
Block: Sharks respond to their mates, offspring and blood in the water.Block: How do you like your workmates?
Block: Like any crowd, we at the GUIDING LIGHT Feeling Factory are a bunch of artists, artisans, lunatics, blowhards, whores, dancers, capitalists, posers, angels, deviants, paranoid-schizophrenics, schemers, clowns, heroes, princesses, self-obsessed pigs, parents, children, punks, slags, etc.Block: What are you?
Block: A face in the crowd.Block: We’re noticing an empty vodka bottle.
Block: I take a lot of empty drinks.Block: Why?
Block: I find I have to pretend I’m drunk most of the time to explain Ben Warren’s behavior.Block: Has that been a problem?
Block: I have been developing artificial complications of the liver. Someday, I’m going to have to pretend to dry out.Block: We’ve noticed that there aren’t a lot of windows here.
Block: First of all, it’s a privilege for any actor to be in a dressing room. That said, I’m better off in the dark. If I knew what time of day it was, I’d probably get depressed, and that might interfere with my aggravation preparations.Block: What part of Ben has been left unspoken?
Block: His quiet side…. Never mind. His past. He locked himself up emotionally early on. Control and deny the pain, and it can’t hurt. So, what does he really care about? We don’t know. He’s already rich, famous, powerful, persuasive. Most of his life is just a game now. The holes are in the past: his father, his children, abusive adoptive parents, old girlfriends, associates, friends, clients, pets, golf game, etc. So much is buried. Pity.Block: We see that you like to talk … sometimes. Do you ad-lib lines?
Block: Rarely. This ain’t the place. There ain’t the time.Block: Do you speak in tongues?
Block: I only speak with a tongue.Block: You all spend a lot of time at the studio. Has anyone ever died there?
Block: Of course.Block: Anyone born?
Block: Not to my knowledge. When I arrived, I shared an air shaft with a couple of castmates who liked to have sex during lunch.Block: That must have been a distraction.
Block: It made my memorization harder. I am pro-love.Block: Are you having fun on GUIDING LIGHT?
Block: You betcha! Of course, on various occasions, I have been instructed not to smile, laugh, sing, hum, jump, eat, drink, breathe, grunt, bite, lick, grimace, dance, get too mad, act too sober, act too drunk, and no hands in pockets, ever. Add that to my considerable natural limitations and, well, you have to be resourceful.Block: What does that mean?
Block: Boxer shorts come in a lot of wacky patterns.Block: Have you made a lot of friends?
Block: There are some really great people at GUIDING LIGHT.Block: Where exactly is Springfield?
Block: I don’t think anyone knows.Block: What’s your favorite egg dish?
Block: Just a second….Block: We had to try.
Block: We all have to try.This article originally appeared in the August 17, 1999 issue of Soap Opera Digest.
