Soap Opera Digest: Did you know when you first began playing Finn that he was an addict/that there was an addiction story coming down the pike?
Michael Easton: I knew from the beginning Finn was a “functioning addict”. He was self-medicating and also experimenting on himself in an attempt to find a cure for the disease that afflicts him. The twisted part of my brain responded to that part of the character.
JPI
Digest: Did you do any research or specific prep work before playing out the withdrawal arc?
Easton: Without getting too specific, I’ve been there. I’ve seen it. I’ve tried to help a friend through it. It’s heartbreaking to witness. I know everybody’s experience with addiction is unique and this is just one individual’s journey, but I feel it is grounded in some common truth. Denial. Deception. That often it’s not until you’ve lost everything — your job, your friends, your love — do you face the truth of your despair and commit to getting the help that you need.
Digest: Were those scenes (starting at G.H. when Finn got ill during the lockdown as he was starting withdrawal, and carrying through to the scenes in his Metro Court room where Hayden tied him up) ones that you looked forward to tackling?
Easton: I looked forward to the scenes in the sense that they seemed to be advancing the story. After months of hanging on, it felt like a kind of epiphany for Finn, that he was either going to get healthy and survive or he was finally going to give in to his addiction.
Digest: What, for you, have been the most challenging scenes to play in this arc?
Easton: The scene duct-taped to the chair in which Finn had to be cruel to the lovely Hayden, which is nearly impossible for him to do.
Digest: How a show like GH, which airs during the day on network TV, may depict withdrawal is likely to differ from how it might be shown, say, in an R-rated movie or on cable. Was the question of “how far to go” in terms of graphicness something that was discussed on set?
Easton: I think our only responsibility was to be as raw and truthful as we could in dealing with such a sensitive subject.
Digest: When you rehearsed/blocked these scenes, did you go full-out, or did you need to sort of conserve your energy for taping?
Easton: If I remember correctly, because of the limited movement — being tied to the chair — it allowed us to do a very light rehearsal for cameras and then we did just one take on every scene with very little time between. It felt a bit like blowing up a building on camera; we should get it right the first time.
Digest: With heavy scenes like these, do you do anything different before going up to set — less joking around, maybe?
Easton: No, but I’m fairly sure I drank a beer immediately afterward.
Digest: Have you enjoyed working with Rebecca Budig as Finn and Hayden’s romance has blossomed?
Easton: I want to say she’s terrible — moody, self-involved, abrasive — but I’m an awful liar. I’m very fond of working with her and I think it shows.
JPI
Digest: Finn and Hayden’s future is very much in question while he undergoes rehab. What is your take on the potential for “Fayden” to make it through this considerable challenge?
Digest: Although he’s heartbroken and wracked with self-doubt, I think Finn’s sole focus needs to be on getting healthy. Only then can he hope to earn back Hayden’s trust and affection.
Digest: The Tracy/Finn friendship has developed quite nicely over the last year. What has it been like to work so closely with Jane Elliot?
Easton: Jane Elliot brings class to every scene she’s in. It was my great honor to get to share time with her. I will miss her very much.
JPI
Digest: Hayden has pointed out that Finn has been an addict the whole time that she’s known him, that she doesn’t know who he is when he’s not using. The same could be said for the audience. Have you given any thought to how a “clean” Finn might differ from the guy you’ve thus far created?
Easton: Minus the sweats, shakes and gothic needle kit, I think he’s going to be a rather charming fellow. w
