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Park & Hensley on Work and Play

ON WORKING TOGETHER
Michael Park: I always look forward to our stuff. They don’t have us in too many storylines together, which I completely understand, but when we have these golden moments working together, we enjoy the work.
Jon Hensley: It’s usually either you’ve got an issue or I’ve got an issue and somehow they manage to put us together to talk about it. It’s a great relationship. You missed some of our best work in the [Emmy] reel, though, in the Christmas reel. I never saw it, but I heard it was funny. It was the prelude to BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.
Park: We were talking about Luke and the liver. Jon always gets me with the emotional stuff, and the only way for me to combat that is to be funny. Seriously, sometimes I don’t like traveling to that place. It was one of those situations where Jack was professing his undying support, and at the end of the scene I touched his face.
Hensley: It was all in the editing.
Park: I remember Jon going, “Stop it. It’s not time for that now.” He slapped my hand away. I completely understand, since it wasn’t appropriate at the time — talking about Luke’s liver.
Soap Opera Weekly: Wasn’t it a kidney?
Hensley: Liver…kidney…same thing.
Park: It was Luke’s gall bladder.
Hensley: We have a couple of new phrases, now, when we’re working together and something goes wrong.
Park: We do?
Hensley: You didn’t hear about these? No 1: “Has to be Hensley.” And the other one is: “It’s probably Park.”


JON ON MICHAEL, MICHAEL ON JON
Hensley: If you look at Michael’s life and Jack’s life, there are parallels, but I don’t know how similar they are. Michael’s a lot…
Park: More hotheaded than Jack. You can say it, Jon. Be honest.
Hensley: I won’t hurt your feelings?
Park: No, you won’t hurt my feeling, Jon. Go ahead.
Hensley: He’s a sensitive guy.
Weekly: Michael, how is Jon like Holden?
Park: Jon is a lot more flamboyant than Holden (laughs). Jon has been playing him for 20 years. You have to put some of yourself in the character or it’s nothing. Jonny is pretty right-on with Holden.
Hensley: Like what?
Park: You take a lot of yourself and put it into Holden. You’re a great father; Holden’s a great father. Holden’s a sensitive guy, and I know Jon is, too, to a point. [There are] little things that we have to do for our characters that we would never do in real life. Jack and Holden have these conversations that only women would have.


THE SNYDER KITCHEN
Hensley: We do the Thanksgiving show there and that’s it. It’s fun, because there are always different people who come in there. Last year Grayson (McCouch, Dusty) was in it.
Park: That’s hallowed ground, though.
Hensley: They should bring in the whole clan one year. Like Seth and Caleb.ON REAL-LIFE FAMILIES
Hensley: When he first came on the show, Michael and Laurie used to come out of the city a lot to visit us, and we loved having them. Christopher was just born.
Park: It was the start of something in the water at AS THE WORLD TURNS. Martha (Byrne, Lily) got pregnant after that, Kelley (Menighan Hensley, Emily) did, and Maura (West, Carly) had already had Ben.
Weekly: What do you do together?
Park: I remember going to Stockbridge [Mass.], and being in charge of finding a bed-and-breakfast at the last minute. We walked into this bed-and-breakfast, and I don’t think this lady had thrown out a newspaper since Kennedy died. There were newspapers everywhere, knickknacks everywhere. I was afraid to sleep in the bed. We couldn’t move. We drank a lot of wine, I remember. I never lived that down.
Weekly: Was that the last time you were in charge?
Hensley: Of making reservations? Yes, I think it was.


ON GOLF
Hensley: We need to enjoy the game more. Have fun.
Park: We’d be able to do that if we didn’t bet, like, $100.
Hensley: Even if it’s five bucks, you’re still out for my blood.
Park: Five bucks is fine — if I have five bucks in my pocket.
Weekly: You guys still want to play golf with each other, even though it can get a little surly?
Park: There’s nobody else I want to be around.
Hensley: Always.


ON KIDS
Hensley: I have to say golf has definitely taken a backseat in our lives. He’s just so busy with activities with his kids, coaching…
Park: You are, too. We played golf maybe five times last year? Our wives would definitely disagree with that number. I don’t spend a lot of money [golfing] in the spring, because I’m working or managing or helping coach Christopher’s baseball team. Kathleen’s very girly. She’s into dancing; that’s more her thing. She already knows what songs she’s going to sing on AMERICAN IDOL. His little girl, Sophie May, is an amazing athlete.
Hensley: She’s into tennis. That’s her favorite sport. I have Spencer, who is 4, but he’s not ready for anything yet.
Park: We had a memorable summer two years ago. Every single day was spent at Camp Hensley with Jonny and Kelley…
Hensley: And 14 kids.
Park: We should have just stayed there. You have, like, 12 bedrooms.
Hensley: Now we have Camp Park, too.


ON WIVES
Park: One thing about my wife is, she’s never wrong.
Hensley: Same with my wife!
Park: Your wife is never wrong?
Hensley: Never. It’s unbelievable. Ten years of marriage and she’s never been wrong a day in her life.
Park: You get the, “I’m sorry. Get over it.” All I want is an apology, and I get, “I’m sorry. Get over it.”
Hensley: No wonder they’re such good friends.

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