Port Charles Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

THE LITTLE ENGINEER WHO COULD

When PC's David Gail decided to change his life and be an actor, he just kept telling himself, 'I think I can, I think I can...'

By Travis Kinsey

Photography by John Paschal

Many folks spend years trapped in jobs they're not happy with. David Gail (Joe Scanlon, Port Charles) easily could have become one of them. With two stints in relatively bland 9-to-5 jobs, Gail was fast on his way to becoming a cog in the corporate machine. However, thanks to a self-awareness that propelled him forward, he's now doing what he wants.

When the time first came to think about a career, Gail, who was born and raised in Tampa, Fla., enrolled in engineering school at the University of South Florida. He ultimately discovered that engineering wasn't the thing for him, nor was what followed. "I spent a couple of years battling engineering, running uphill," he says. "It was interesting, but time-consuming. Then I made some changes and ended up in business for a few years. I was a marketing manager for a worldwide company that had an office in Tampa. And then I decided I wanted to try acting as a real career. I was 23."

Just like that? "I had been doing some auditions off and on up to that point," he says. "In the summers, when I was not going to school, I'd go to Miami and have fun, basically. Try to get a little [acting] gig and get some money and hang out on the beach. I decided that business was not where I wanted to go. Even though I respected it, I wanted to get creative and find out what I was about."

Gail's go-get-'em attitude led him to just "grab a local newspaper and look in the classifieds. I found me the lead role. I was on stage for two hours every night, and that was the first thing I did."

It was most definitely a trial by fire. "The first night, my family was there. I was onstage with the lead actress, and I had paragraphs upon paragraphs of stuff. It was amazing, but I skipped two pages. I just went into this whole other thing. It was such an incredibly paralyzing feeling. The only thing that really saved me was that you could break the fourth wall; you could talk to the audience. So I just turned to the audience, and we got back on track. That was my opening night."

From there, Gail continued to immerse himself in theatre. "I did some regional theater - about four plays - helped build some sets, worked with an artistic director from England who was living in Clearwater running a theater group. She was the first one who really took the time to give me some private voice training. We did A Streetcar Named Desire, Moonstar and some others. I would help her husband build sets, and she would give me voice lessons."

Gail shunned the corporate world in favor of a career as an actor because he realized that "there was a runaway side to my personality that was getting out of control. There wasn't enough at that job to hold me in line. It wasn't focused enough for me. It wasn't enough of my signature on the work. I need a strong motivation to stay in line. I had a job with this company, and it was fun and I had some money, but I could do whatever I wanted. I needed something that didn't allow me to do that. And with acting, my ass is on the line."

The "out-of-control" period in Gail's life wasn't steeped in anything illegal, mind you. "In the middle of the night I'd be with my friend, and we'd say, 'Let's go surfing on the other coast,' and we'd load up the surf boards and go across the state of Florida at 3 in the morning. It was a trip. It's all relative. If you have very regimented, orthodox people standing there saying you're wild, you're probably in a good place. There were a lot of things about that that I loved. I had this excitement about life."

As for what really spurred him to get his career in gear: "I remember I went to a little movie theater, and I was watching a movie where they were talking about pipe dreams, and I remember thinking: That's exactly what I"m going to do. I'm going to waste my whole life just sitting here dreaming about being an actor. It scared the hell out of me that I would actually do that to my life.

"I was afraid of stagnating in Tampa," Gail adds. "I was restless. I wanted to get on with it. I wanted to experience some things. I was doing theater, I was doing the fundamentals, but I don't think it really captured me until a few productions down the line. I was making it hard on myself at first, but once you get through some stuff, you can go after what's really exciting to you. And within a month, I was outta there."

And on to Los Angeles. "I didn't know anybody here. I met people here that I knew from when I would take the little excursions to Miami. I had a close friend in Tampa who had some friends I didn't know. They had a house that they were moving out of and getting another one, and I said, 'Well, why don't they just get a four-bedroom instead of a three-bedroom?' and they said OK, so I drove out. And I rented this house and we all became friends.

Gail's first job after arriving in California was a guest-starring role on Growing Pains. Since then, he has amassed a steady string of credits. His two most prominent roles prior to joining PC earlier this year - a job he enthusiastically says is getting "better and better" - were several episodes as Stuart Carlson on Beverly Hills, 90210 and the role of Dean Collins on Savannah, a part he played for that show's entire brief run. Gail also co-starred in the TV-movie Two Came Back, and had roles on two other short-lived series, Robin's Hoods and The Round Table.

Gail's mother was a great source of inspiration for him. "My mother's amazing. She was in a Catholic orphanage at 16, ran away, came to Florida and met my dad. She was working as a waitress, had us, and then ended up going back to school at 46. Before that, she was in the Army. My mother raised us on her own. (Gail has one sister; their parents divorced when eh was 5). She was not passionate about working at a welding supply company with a bunch of sweaty men, but she had to do it, and I respect her for that. She got strength from that."

And from acting, Gail has gained new perspective, both about acting itself and about life in general. "I got to a place at 23 where I made a decision for myself - not for my schooling or my parents or my society - about a dream I had. That was probably the most freeing thing I've done in my entire life, because that meant I was afraid that I could be hung out there in the world that didn't have a salary, pension plans and IRAs. It was like, 'It's great that you've got that, but I'm going to Miami, I'm going to go kick it in the bungalow on the beach and do an HBO spot." And I was OK with that. I remember thinking: I can't believe you're giving yourself this freedom. That was my greatest victory, to get to that place."

[dragonflies]

I HATED David Gail as Joe

[DRW50]

I wasn't watching very often when he was on. I started back because I heard good things about the show again and I wanted to tune back in (which I did, although unfortunately by the time I did Karen Harris was gone and the telenovela stuff was on the way). I saw a little of him. I thought he was OK, although I preferred Michael Dietz. I never understood why they recast. Edgy doesn't automatically = better. Then there was the last Joe recast, who was OK, but somehow became Latino?

[DRW50]

From the July 15, 1997 SOD. Primedia. Early "bonus" feature on PC. This also has a trivia section I'll type up and put the answers in spoilers, and an interview with Mitch Longley I'll type up.

Edited November 22, 2010 by CarlD2

[DRW50]

1. Who gave Lucy a duck and who did she name the duck after?

2. Why didn't Scott remember his own wedding to Dominique?

3. Who was Karen's chief rival for Jagger's affections?

4. What is Alan Quartermaine's connection to the Wexlers?

5. Who did Mike once take a bullet for?

6. Which Baldwin delivered A.J. Quartermaine?

Answers:

[Cheap21]

Ditto. Horrible and unnecesary recast. I loved him on Savannah but he was so wrong for Joe and I hated how much of an ass they made the character

Alex Mendoza. The Scanlons were a traditional Irish Catholic family. That pretty much helped define them. Their herritage was a big part of them and they go and cast a latino in the role. Its not like he could have pulled it off either bc he did look hispanic. Total miscast but by that point I really didnt care much about Joe anymore Edited October 17, 2010 by Cheap21

[DRW50]

From the December 7, 1999 Weekly (Primedia Inc).

[dragonflies]

Original opening from 1997:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=IiC3isk1y4k

I liked both Karen's, but love Marie's the best

Port Charles premiere promo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxZDv6wP2Pk&feature=related

Edited January 20, 2011 by Stiletto

[psychofan]

I'm jumping in here to say that I LOVE Port Charles! I actually only watched it from around 2001 to the end, but I thought it was fantastic. I loved the supernatural elements and Livvie was by far my favorite character. Seeing Kelly Monaco as the pathetic Sam on GH just makes me sad when I look back at what a dynamic character she had on PC. I wish they had brought her to GH as Livvie and somehow explained away the Caleb-wedding stuff. Could you imagine Livvie vs. Carly or Sonny?! Perfection!

Perhaps the biggest disapointment of the series was the finale. I'm still upset over the cliffhanger ending.

[DRW50]

Saw Kiko Ellsworth tonight on Femme Fatales, playing a homicide detective. It was a good-sized role. I guess soft core can apparently employ talented actors that daytime doesn't deem worthy.

[Bright Eyes]

What year did Michael Easton start?

Edited July 5, 2011 by Amello

[DRW50]

2001.

[JackPeyton]

i hear that on episode pays quite well...

Does soapnet still air PC reruns?

[DRW50]

They haven't in years.

[psychofan]

Did he do a sex scene?