Many of us 'old timers' and movie buffs remember the days when an actor not only had to wow you with his acting he had to floor you with his singing and get your toes tapping watching him pound out a round or two with magical feet that just seemed to know where to go. These were stars. These were the men and women who made Broadway and Hollywood what they are today. Gene Kelly. Dean Martin. Bing Crosby. All men who were famous because they had the “Triple Threat”; they could act, sing, and dance. A must in Hollywood years ago if an actor meant to go anywhere other than the cafeteria leading tour groups to see where John Wayne ate. These mavericks are few and far between in Hollywood today, yet the soap opera world can count Emmy nominated Jack Wagner as just that kind of “Triple Threat”.

Jack Wagner deserves recognition as one of the most talented men on soaps today. With 20 years of entertainment history under his belt, Jack has earned the right to be spoken of in the same circles as Danny Kaye, Richard Gere and Jerry Lewis, men who had natural comedic talent and could sing and dance as well. Wagner has enthralled audiences on Broadway with his rendition of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, he's captivated the public nationwide in tours of West Side Story playing Tony, and Grease starring as Danny. Adding to his long list of credits are appearances in many prime-time shows as well as guest-starring in over 15 movies. These accomplishments alone are amazing but when you consider he's managed to have several hit records, one being second only to Madonna back in the early 80s, you have to simply be in awe of such a great talent. “All I Need” shot Jack Wagner to instant fame, led him to record more albums and gave him an even greater love for music. But we know him as one of the best soap actors around.

While soap acting may not be given the credit it's due by the entertainment industry, soap actors have a very strict discipline, a remarkable skill for memorizing over 30 pages of script within a few hours, and work tirelessly to get an episode a day shot, sometimes two. Wagner has that dedicated skill, earned, he says, by years of practice and training. Asked what he felt was the hardest area of acting, he was confident of his answer. “No question, its soap. Not even close. The rehearsal time from beginning, middle and end for theater is 4 to 6 weeks, minimum, and in film, it can go as much as a month or more. Yesterday, I had eleven scenes to do from a script handed to us just the day before. Some of my scenes were drama, action scenes, and some were comedy. By the end of the day, I sat in the dressing room reviewing everything I'd done. As an actor, I'm extremely grateful to be able to utilize the skills needed to be in a soap opera. You have to use all of your instruments, be able to memorize 20+ pages of script per day, sit through blocking, go over changes in the script the day of shooting. It's an acquired skill that takes time to perfect, and everyone on our crew does such a wonderful job with it. I'm truly blessed to be working with such a great cast and crew. People like Dustin Hoffman, movies and plays are easy for him, but to tape eleven scenes in one day, many just can't do it. They can't keep up the pace. I've seen many character actors that couldn't cut it. They get overwhelmed, even though they're good actors. It's not a pat on my back, but daytime actors are specifically trained to deal with the pressure. It's really incredible how much you really put into doing soaps, your memory muscle kinda gets worked pretty heavy. You have to be totally focused and do your rehearsals. That's the key to a believable performance.”

This multi-talented actor has that “memory muscle” working overtime and like a 'tight ship', to coin a phrase from the sea captain he portrays on Bold and Beautiful. Fans should be interested to know that in real life, Jack Wagner is as funny, comfortable and “Big Brotherish” as the very character he plays, Nick Payne. I asked him which of his more famous roles he felt he was most like. “I'd say Peter Burns on Melrose Place was more me, he had a dark side, a sort of evil past but he was redeemed and he was fun to play. Not that I'm evil, I don't have any evil qualities, but playing Peter was fun. Frisco was a rocker, a go-getter, all around hero. Nick, now, I like the guy I play in Nick Payne. I'm actually loving this character, I can so get into this part. He's got a twisted sense of comedy, dry and wry, it's all black and white with Nick. It brings a whole different feel to the show, since it's about core families like the Spectras and the Forresters. The show is about the fashion world and my guy brings in a down-home touch, he's brought a feel to the show. My guy lives on boat, I get to wear jeans, dress kinda scruffy with that 'seaman' kind of look,  they even built a bar for Nick, a peanut-shell place where you can let your hair down and not be so formal where the other characters can come and visit him.”

Wagner continues, “He's really brought depth to the show. It was a goal of mine when I came on, to bring something new to the show, a down-to-earth element that tie in with the Forrester Family. Nick does that for the Forresters, he provides viewers with that comfortable 'guy next door' connection.”

I commented to Mr. Wagner that he definitely had that part down to a “T” and the Emmy nomination only proved that point. Asking him if he planned on going to the awards, he was obviously very excited about it. “Of course! Absolutely! I'm looking forward to meeting my competition and taking home the award! I have to say though, the other nominees are also extremely talented men and I'm just glad to be in the running with them.” Laughing together, it was clear that Mr. Wagner was indeed humbled by the nomination, which only strengthened my belief that this was a truly gifted artist. Many of us remember when his first single, “All I Need” came out, and I have to admit I was on cloud 9 when Mr. Wagner belted out a line from one of his albums right there during our interview. I asked him about his newest album coming out, anxious to purchase it myself. “It's called 'Dancing in the Moonlight', Jack offered, “It's a title cut from King Harvest. See, Brad Bell came to me and asked me if I'd consider doing music again for the show, something like a sea captain who had lots of time on his hands and learned to play the guitar and write music. Every song I've done on the show is about the story-line I happen to be in at the time, and right now, 'Dancing in the Moonlight' is about Nick and Bridget. I'm also doing a concert tour, on the East Coast, in Connecticut and the Westbury Music Fair in Long Island, NY. I'm looking to play more weekend dates throughout the year. My concert is quite a lot like my album, there's lots of acoustics, lots of good old-fashioned southern rock and roll, and we've even added lots of great dance moves. I absolutely love doing live concerts, I adore the fans and it's always a blast being on stage. I owe all of this to Bold and Beautiful and Brad Bell, I had never envisioned recording again. I mean, music has changed you know? Punk, hard rock, head banging stuff all seems foreign to me.  I think music has a weird direction, I guess it's because I'm older. I still love the old southern rock and roll. Even my son is into some of the oldies, you know, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, all the music I still love. Music is the main reason I love doing Nick Payne so much, I was able to reconnect to my first love. Now I get to do both!” he laughed.

With so much going on right now, his musical career, concerts, and playing Nick Payne I asked Mr. Wagner about his future, if one day we could see him in another Broadway production. “Probably not, although Broadway was my pinnacle. Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde was a great part, a period piece that I could sink my teeth into. It was a big chore as an actor but after a while you really have to work to stay focused. I still love live more than anything else, but with summer coming and some sizzling stories about to happen on Bold, with my concerts, the CD coming out, I really don't have time to do any Broadway in the near future. The story-lines on Bold are going to start steaming up, Nick will be pivotal this summer with quite a few twists and turns. It's exciting, but it's going to keep me extremely busy.” Indeed, I thought. With all that going on - the soap, the concert, the CD, it simply made my mind swirl thinking about the full plate Mr. Wagner had in front of him. A very intelligent man, though, once said “The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play.”, so I asked Mr. Wagner what he did for play, to relax from such a busy schedule, and if he ever got to tease and have fun with his co-workers during takes. Laughing, I could almost see the mischievous look in his eyes. “Who said that? he quizzed. “That is such a great line! Well, I do love to leave messages for Katherine Kelly Lang on the monitors in the dressing rooms, teasing her, 'You're having a bad hair day today', or 'Your lipstick is good!', she knows I’m kidding around with her, I do it to get her to smile. I do the same thing to Ashley Jones, because these are the two ladies that I work with most of the time. I love teasing them, they are such talented actresses and I really enjoy working with them. We have a blast together.

But let me ask YOU a question,” Mr. Wagner chuckled, “How do the fans feel about Nick and Bridget? What kind of feedback are you getting from the public? Do people like them together?” A quick burst of laughter from me and we were both delving into territory that is obviously the highlight of messages boards all over the nation. “HHMMM,” I answered the obviously amused Mr. Wagner, “Nick and Bridget are like Brooke and Ridge are. You either hate them together or you love them together. They're stirring up passion everywhere, and we know Brad Bell loves to do that. Even I know Bell's motto, 'An enraged audience is an engaged audience.' It's rather running 50/50 in the 'love/hate' thing right now, I have to admit Nick and Bridget are cute together, but then again, Nick is cute with anybody. But many of my readers are still hoping for a Brooke/Nick reunion. Is that something you think may be a possibility?” I teased as I turned the tables back on him. “AHHhhh,” he laughed, “Anything's possible! Tell the viewers that I certainly believe it could happen. We all know Brad Bell. I'd say there's a chance Brooke and Nick will end up together again, for how long or when, nobody knows. I absolutely love working with both Katherine Kelly and Ashley Jones, so I'm happy either way.”

Agreeing with Mr. Wagner, it's obvious to all of us who've followed Brad Bell's brilliant twists, turns and cave-ins for so many years that indeed another Brick could happen. Look what he did with Taylor/Ridge/Brooke. An entire decade of back and forth, keeping viewers riveted to the screen. But does Nick Payne have what it takes to keep viewers so interested that they don't care who he's with as long as he's on screen? Does Jack Wagner have the style and believability to make us cry and root for him? The resounding “OH HEEEECK YES!!!” answer to that could be picked up on Mars during a thunderstorm from the sea of fans that simply adore Jack Wagner. And they can add me to the head of that list.

Mr. Wagner, you're one in a million. Here's to another decade of Dominick Payne Marone.