Max Shippee is the first to admit he was surprised to hear he would have a more prominent role on Y&R as Dina’s sidekick. “The original casting said that it was an under-five role, which means it was going to be a pretty small part, but with a possibility of it being bigger,” explains the actor. “So, my agent was like, ‘Hey, you cool with this?’ I was like, ‘Yeah! An under-five is fine. I’ve never done a soap before, that should be super-fun.’ So I came on, did the best I could with the few lines I had, and people were saying, ‘Let’s make this into something,’ and I was like, ‘I’m totally down for that!’ It’s been wonderful. I mean, I think as of now I’m in 16-20 episodes, something like that. It’s been a lovely little arc so far. I’ll happily be here as long as they’ll have me.”
Graham’s purpose on the canvas was initially a mystery to Shippee. “Well, I think the most important thing is that he looks good in a suit,” he chuckles. “All I knew was Marla [Adams, Dina] and I came in together, so our characters obviously have some kind of relationship. Even Eileen [Davidson, Ashley] and Peter [Bergman, Jack], asked, ‘So, what’s going on?’ and I’m like, ‘Ah, I don’t know! I get the scripts the same time you do!’ But now there’s more to the relationship.”
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Calling the shooting pace “blistering fast,” Shippee is grateful that his character was eased in to the ongoing drama. “I had four, five episodes where I had little to say, so that gave me a chance to watch how things were done, like where to stand and how not to block someone’s light,” he details. “When they started bumping me up a little bit, I felt like I had a better understanding of what to do, because you better have your stuff together to be part of the fun stuff.”
Shippee says he enjoys working with his new co-stars. “Marla is a scream, I love her!” he enthuses. “Eileen’s been great. I caught her by surprise after our scene together, which was my first big scene that wasn’t just, ‘Thank you, good morning.’After we were done, I told Eileen, ‘That was my first real scene on a soap and I’m always going to remember it.’ She said, ‘I would have never thought that. You did a great job!’ She was very complimentary about it.”
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Even though Graham is Shippee’s daytime debut, he was quite familiar with the soap genre. “When I was growing up, we were a GENERAL HOSPITAL household,” he recalls. “My babysitter was nuts for it to the point that she would make dinner and when she came back from the kitchen, we’d have to update her about everything that just happened. It was pretty fierce. My grandmother, who actually turns 90 this month, Helen Gould is her name, lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts and she has watched Y&R since it started. You can imagine she was beside herself when she found out I booked a job on her show. She was like, ‘Who are you going to meet? Ashley? Or Jack? Watch out for that Victor!’ I was just as thrilled for her because I got on it.”
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Aside from making his grandmother proud, Shippee is impressed by the prestige of the show he has joined. “Sometimes you book shows and you’re like, ‘I don’t know who’s going to see this,’ ” he muses. “But everyone knows what Y&R is, it’s been on forever, and there’s a wonderful amount of clout that comes with that. It’s like, ‘Hey, you booked a big one. That’s a good thing!’ ”
Landing a soap gig has earned the newcomer some ribbing from his circle of friends. “They’re asking me, ‘Who do you sleep with first?’ ” he laughs. “I have a really good friend of mine who has a radio show, and he’s like, “Dude, I hope you get to kill somebody!” I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ Actually, I think I’ll strike victory when I get put into a coma.”
Shippee is looking forward to seeing what lies ahead for his alter ego. “So far, everyone here at CBS has been nothing but wonderful,” he smiles. “Everyone, from the stage managers to the makeup to wardrobe to all the guys on set, has been very helpful to someone who is relatively new.”
Z Is For
Shippee and wife Alice, who have three children, chose a very special initial for their kids’ names. “We have ‘Z’ kids,” he says proudly. “We have our daughters, Zoe and Zara, and our boy’s name is Zen. I was really pulling for Zeke because a Zeke will always be invited to the party. We’re pretty groovy people and we had all our kids at home with a midwife. I have a great picture of me catching my son as he’s exiting the womb, but I figured that since my wife did all the work, it’s only fair that she have the final say, so we named him Zen. That’s my high five to feminism.”
Just The Facts:
Birthday: May 17
Hails From: Sherman, ME
Relationship Status: Married to Alice, a teacher, since July 16, 2015
Family Plan: The couple has three children: Zoe, 11, Zara, 9, and Zen, 6. “Zoe was born on the 13th of the month, and 13 was Zoe on our list, so we went with that. Zara means princess, which we thought was perfect, so our third kid had to begin with Z.”
Having A Fit: “I actually own a CrossFit gym, CrossFit 1440 [www.crossfit1440.com]. I’ve been in the CrossFit world for the past nine, 10 years. That’s what led me to California. As an actor, you have time between gigs and you’ve got to find something to keep you sane so you don’t go crazy. I work people out every day; that’s what I do in my off-time.”
