paul anthony stewart

 oh danny boy

 cbs soaps in depth (jan. 18, 2000)

Paul Anthony Stewart attracts a mob of admirers playing gangster Danny Santos.

Paul Anthony Stewart is a ham. Let's get that established right now. From the second that he sits down to do this interview, the charm is on, and the sarcasm flows freely. But underneath his sharp wit and zingy one-liners lies an unassuming man who, even after a year of being one half of Springfield's hottest couple, still is amazed by his character's intense popularity.  

Case in point: When asked at what moment did he realize that junior mobster Danny and his reluctant bride, Michelle Bauer, had exploded, Stewart replies, "Literally exploded? Like our heads exploded and blood and guts were all over the screen?"

Once the chuckles of those seated at the table subside, Stewart offers this anecdote about his first public appearance as Danny. "There were all these people," he recalls. "Who knew? I was shocked. When I was on LOVING [playing doomed photographer Casey Bowman from 1992 to 1995], we were struggling for viewers. And the one appearance I was asked to do back then, I think I had to pay myself to get there. So I had no idea what to expect when I went on this appearance [for GL]. It was pretty intense. I thought, Ingo Rademacher (GENERAL HOSPITAL'S Jax) must be scheduled to show up at any moment! I had no idea they were there to see me."

Better Loving Through Chemistry

But sure enough, they were. Immediately upon his debut in November 1998, when Danny arrived in town searching for his brother's killer, fans were all over Stewart and his on-screen better half, Joie Lenz, like white on rice, and GL's supercouple of the 90's was born. "A supercouple?" Stewart questions. "So we have little capes, and we're out to fight dark forces?"

"What viewers have said to me," he continues, on a more serious note, "is that they like our chemistry. Whatever that is. Chemistry is such a nebulous, mysterious thing that can't be predicted. It either happens or it doesn't. Joie and I were very fortunate. Maybe it's because we disagree on just about everything, and that always makes for combustibility!"

The fact that Danny and Michelle have been jumping hurdles in their romance since day one, Stewart muses, has much to do with their popularity as well. "People like to see characters overcome obstacles. And Michelle and Danny certainly have obstacles everywhere they turn," he points out. "You know, as soon as a couple is in paradise and happy together, it's Horrorsville. They're boring." While fans were quick to notice the spark between Stewart and Lenz, the actor says that he too realized their connection in the early stages of Michelle and Danny's relationship. "The first thing that leaps to mind is the day that Danny showed up in Michelle's psych class and was really messing with her," he recalls. "And Joie, as Michelle, was sassy back. I like sassiness, and I think Danny does too. You can't force that kind of chemistry. We just got lucky."

Me, Myself & I

Despite his legions of fans—and there are legions, if the number of Web pages devoted to "Manny," as Michelle and Danny are nicknamed, are any indication—Stewart can venture out into the streets of Manhattan with little interruption. "I'm not recognized all the time, but I'd say it's not too much, and not never," he reports. "I personally don't think I look like Danny. He's a little more coiffed. I think Danny gets a manicure every month!"

The man behind the man, however, requires much less maintenance. "This is me," Stewart pronounces, motioning to his sweat pants and adjusting the bandanna covering his head of curls. "If I can go without shaving all week, I will. If I could go without taking a shower, I will." After a hearty laugh, Stewart continues: "Until Joie says, 'Yo, you stink — take a bath,' I hold out as long as possible. I'm sure that's really turning your readers on. Hey, it worked for Brad Pitt, so I figure 'Why not?'"

Anywhere I Roam

What is working for Stewart is his current gig in Springfield: He originally thought his role would be for six months, but then it rapidly expanded and the show threw him onto the frontburner. Yet while he enjoys the work that he's been able to do with Danny, he is looking forward to a bit of downtime. "I didn't anticipate at all where this was going to go," he admits. "This first year has just been a whirlwind. I didn't think I'd be working as much as I have. I've got a lot of projects that I had to put on hold; I haven't been able to sing as much as I'd like to. I'm not complaining—I love the work. But everybody needs a little break now and then."

Following his departure from LOVING, Stewart took a three-year break from daytime before joining the cast of GL last year. "Oh, I can't believe that it's been that long!" he grimaces. "The facts are incorrect! LOVING was just last year!"

During his hiatus, Stewart took time to travel, do stage work ("I grew up doing theater; I was really missing that") and, perhaps most important of all, "just broadening my experiences. I wanted a change of scene. LOVING was such a rigorous schedule that I didn't have time to do anything else. And I get very restless. When the spirit moves me, I'm off. Bye! "Playing Casey's drug addiction took its toll," he adds. I knew that if I kept working like that, and living like that, I'd be the one with the drug addiction!"

Chances Are

In what he describes as a move of self-preservation, Stewart headed off for California, where he rejuvenated his nomadic soul. Then, at a Los Angeles club one night in early 1998, he ran into Laura Wright, who had played his wife, Ally, on LOVING, and by then was playing Cassie on GL. "She was like, 'Come be on our show. We totally need someone like you,'" he recalls. "You never know what event sets things into motion. I'm sure that meeting had something to do with setting things about in the universe for GL to happen."

Before the end of the year, Stewart and Wright were co-stars once more. "I happened to be in New York for the opening of a film I had done, Somewhere In The City," he explains. "[Ex-GL casting director] Glenn Daniels saw a nice mention of me in The New York Times' review and called me in about a week later."

Quicker than Tony Soprano could say "ba-da-bing," Stewart was packing a pistol as a member of Springfield's new Mob clan, the Santoses. "I wouldn't last a day in the Santos house," he insists. "I'm a pretty nonviolent person. But I love being able to get those deep, dark repressed urges out of my system in make-believe. I hate everything about guns, but I get to play around with one, and it's all fake. It's like I never left the sandbox."

Michelle, The Vampire Slayer?

Once the pails and shovels are put away, how does Stewart think that he and his alter ego have evolved over the past year? "I don't evolve!" he quips. "Let's get that out of the way right now! If anything I'm reverting further and further back into my childhood, making up for time lost. I grew up very fast, so now I'm actually going back and making up for all the things I was never allowed to do—like blowing firecrackers off on the subway. Maturity stinks."

Well, at least one of them has matured. "Being with a strong, free-thinking woman like Michelle has really forced Danny to look at how he viewed the world," Stewart claims. "Plus he has this maniacal mother, who is now pistol-whipping him. Danny's had to rethink a lot of things."

While Danny has been reevaluating his life, Stewart has been concocting a few ideas of his own for the future of his alter ego. "I'm telling you, the Santoses should be a clan of vampires, and Danny is resisting drinking Michelle's blood," he shares. "Their whole relationship is actually about Danny trying to be more human."

"Close in on the Santos mansion, and Carmen, Pilar, Danny and Ray all open their coffins and come floating out," he continues, chuckling. "Grandma, too, in her little coffin with wheels. And Dietz is the one who pulls the shades and pushes us all around."

— Michelle Ann Moro