As the Gay World Turns, Pas de Deux
Well, it is not that difficult to give the competition a whirl, especially when the competition has gone ahead with what promises to be a decently written gay teen story. OK, so World also does the teen storyline thing for the Summer. This one is interesting in that it borrows heavily from teen slasher flicks and while it is a plot device it forges ahead with character development. The tension between Luke and Kevin is right up front. It is easy to see how Luke could develop a crush on him. Here's some background on Luke and Kevin. Unfortunately attempting to steal a picture that does Karl Girolamo (Kevin's portrayer) justice from the internet is not possible for the moment. What is great for the moment is that there's a support page for the couple on Van Hansis' site.
But here's one of Van >>.
As the World Turns is in its 51st year. It was the first one to give us a major viable gay male character in the person of Hank portrayed by Brian Starcher. He wasn't related to any of the major core families but he was up front and connected to major characters. Chris Bruno's Michael Delaney on All My Children was a real man in the middle of controversy, but once the controversy was over, there wasn't much for him to do. That his only living blood relative, Lily, is involved in a major storyline doesn't seem to mean much to him. Bianca Montgomery on the same show was up front and related in a big sense as a major character's daughter. She became not only a non-threatening lesbian, but lived out her sexuality (after a horrific rape story) with a good-bye kiss at an airport. Maybe when she returns she'll be able to kick up her heels a bit. Luke Spencer's nephew came out on General Hospital only to be quickly relegated to the background and now the second actor to portray him has flown the coop.
So now we have Luke, a homosexual scion of the Holden clan and son of the show's major heroine doing an approach avoidance dance with the same sex love of his young life which is very much what goes on between young men who are close whether of different or similar orientations.
Girolamo provided Soap Opera Digest with an interesting interview. So in lieu of a picture, here's some words that do the young man justice:
As the World Turns Interview
Seven Minutes With Kevin
ATWT's Luke finally came out and admitted it (to Jade, at least): He's in love with best buddy/back-rub requester/drunken enabler Kevin. It's the first big job for portrayer Karl Girolamo, who quickly got the fans' attention (we get letters) with his character's frustratingly unreadable motives — but he's keeping mum about whether Luke will be getting any love from his boy Kev.
By Jennifer Lenhart
Soap Opera Digest: Where are you from?
Karl Girolamo: I'm originally from Staten Island, NY, and then I moved to Howell, NJ, when I was 12 years old. I went to Howell High School and took acting classes there. Now, I'm at Montclair State University taking acting classes.... As of now, I'm close to home and I'm still learning. I just want to keep learning.
Digest: When did you know you wanted to be an actor?
Girolamo: I guess I knew in junior high school, when I first got my manager. I could tell because my first year of auditions, I got absolutely nothing. So, I guess if you keep doing it, then you kind of want to do it. Because you get rejected a lot!
Digest: How did you get the job?
Girolamo: I auditioned for the Luke part. I auditioned several times and I guess the third time was the charm. When they told me it was a small part, I figured it was about three episodes. But then it turned into Kevin being Luke's best friend, so I was definitely happy about that. It's been five months, on and off.
Digest: How's the job?
Girolamo: It's been great. I've actually learned more over the time working there than I have in my whole acting career. Just watching people like Jon [Hensley, Holden], Martha [Byrne, Lily] and Van [Hansis, Luke], too — seeing them get everything done so fast. They have so many lines and they get everything down so perfectly and I'm there with two, three scenes, really working on it. This job is really hard!
Digest: Had you auditioned for other soaps?
Girolamo: Yes, I auditioned for All My Children a couple of times.
Digest: What other professional work have you done?
Girolamo: I did a voice-over commercial and some educational films. I did an under-five for All My Children once before this, too, and a couple for As the World Turns. I actually played one of the kids who bullied Will around when he first got on the show.
Digest: It could have been Kevin! Always a bad influence.
Girolamo (laughs): Yeah, he's been a bad kid since he got to Oakdale.
Digest: What do you think of him?
Girolamo: Kevin's a lot like me and a lot not like me [laughs]. I think it's a fun part to play because a lot of people are guessing about him. I like to keep people asking.
Digest: Luke has admitted he's in love with Kevin. How do you feel about being part of this story?
Girolamo: It's a good storyline. It's something different and I think people are interested in something different. I'm happy to be a part of it. I'll work as much as they need me. I love this part.
But here's one of Van >>.
As the World Turns is in its 51st year. It was the first one to give us a major viable gay male character in the person of Hank portrayed by Brian Starcher. He wasn't related to any of the major core families but he was up front and connected to major characters. Chris Bruno's Michael Delaney on All My Children was a real man in the middle of controversy, but once the controversy was over, there wasn't much for him to do. That his only living blood relative, Lily, is involved in a major storyline doesn't seem to mean much to him. Bianca Montgomery on the same show was up front and related in a big sense as a major character's daughter. She became not only a non-threatening lesbian, but lived out her sexuality (after a horrific rape story) with a good-bye kiss at an airport. Maybe when she returns she'll be able to kick up her heels a bit. Luke Spencer's nephew came out on General Hospital only to be quickly relegated to the background and now the second actor to portray him has flown the coop.
So now we have Luke, a homosexual scion of the Holden clan and son of the show's major heroine doing an approach avoidance dance with the same sex love of his young life which is very much what goes on between young men who are close whether of different or similar orientations.
Girolamo provided Soap Opera Digest with an interesting interview. So in lieu of a picture, here's some words that do the young man justice:
As the World Turns Interview
Seven Minutes With Kevin
ATWT's Luke finally came out and admitted it (to Jade, at least): He's in love with best buddy/back-rub requester/drunken enabler Kevin. It's the first big job for portrayer Karl Girolamo, who quickly got the fans' attention (we get letters) with his character's frustratingly unreadable motives — but he's keeping mum about whether Luke will be getting any love from his boy Kev.
By Jennifer Lenhart
Soap Opera Digest: Where are you from?
Karl Girolamo: I'm originally from Staten Island, NY, and then I moved to Howell, NJ, when I was 12 years old. I went to Howell High School and took acting classes there. Now, I'm at Montclair State University taking acting classes.... As of now, I'm close to home and I'm still learning. I just want to keep learning.
Digest: When did you know you wanted to be an actor?
Girolamo: I guess I knew in junior high school, when I first got my manager. I could tell because my first year of auditions, I got absolutely nothing. So, I guess if you keep doing it, then you kind of want to do it. Because you get rejected a lot!
Digest: How did you get the job?
Girolamo: I auditioned for the Luke part. I auditioned several times and I guess the third time was the charm. When they told me it was a small part, I figured it was about three episodes. But then it turned into Kevin being Luke's best friend, so I was definitely happy about that. It's been five months, on and off.
Digest: How's the job?
Girolamo: It's been great. I've actually learned more over the time working there than I have in my whole acting career. Just watching people like Jon [Hensley, Holden], Martha [Byrne, Lily] and Van [Hansis, Luke], too — seeing them get everything done so fast. They have so many lines and they get everything down so perfectly and I'm there with two, three scenes, really working on it. This job is really hard!
Digest: Had you auditioned for other soaps?
Girolamo: Yes, I auditioned for All My Children a couple of times.
Digest: What other professional work have you done?
Girolamo: I did a voice-over commercial and some educational films. I did an under-five for All My Children once before this, too, and a couple for As the World Turns. I actually played one of the kids who bullied Will around when he first got on the show.
Digest: It could have been Kevin! Always a bad influence.
Girolamo (laughs): Yeah, he's been a bad kid since he got to Oakdale.
Digest: What do you think of him?
Girolamo: Kevin's a lot like me and a lot not like me [laughs]. I think it's a fun part to play because a lot of people are guessing about him. I like to keep people asking.
Digest: Luke has admitted he's in love with Kevin. How do you feel about being part of this story?
Girolamo: It's a good storyline. It's something different and I think people are interested in something different. I'm happy to be a part of it. I'll work as much as they need me. I love this part.
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