Soap Opera Digest: How did you get the job?
Mick Hazen: I had an audition and then a callback, which [Executive Producer] Chris Goutman, and that was it.

Digest: That must have been scary.
Hazen: It was a little bit intimidating, yeah.

Digest: But I'm sure you go on plenty of auditions.
Hazen: Yeah, you sort of get past that.

Digest: You were discovered when a casting director came to your school?
Hazen: She came to my school looking for kids with brown hair and blue eyes. As she was leaving, my classroom was next to the elevator. This is pure luck: I was sitting there and she saw my head and said, "I want that kid to audition." It took a lot of prodding from my parents and the head of my grade at school because I was like, "Acting? No, I'll screw up onstage! I'll forget the lines!" But I went for it and got a callback.

Digest: So then you wanted to do it?
Hazen: I did — it was fun!

Digest: The first thing you did was CHAPPELLE'S SHOW, but then you did the Hallmark Hall Of Fame movie PLAINSONG [for which he got a supporting actor nomination in the Young Actor Awards]. How was that?
Hazen: Great — I worked with Aidan Quinn and Rachel Griffiths. I got to do a couple of scenes with Marian Seldes, which was great.

Digest: You also played Jason Marler on GUIDING LIGHT?
Hazen: For one episode. I'm not even sure I had lines, so I didn't go to rehearsal or anything. I was in three scenes and that was it. I was treated well, but there wasn't much to take from that.

Digest: Your character on ATWT is in a lot more story. And a lot of trouble. From day one, he's been in pretty intense situations.
Hazen: Yeah, because his father just died, his sister just died and his mom's now run away, so he's just angry and he doesn't have her there to take it out on. He's got a lot of anger built up. He's a really nice kid, but instead of talking to people, he's taking it out through his actions and trying to show people that he's angry. I think he subconsciously wants attention, but he doesn't really know it.

Digest: Did you hang out with your on-screen siblings beforehand to get that family vibe?
Hazen: Daniel Manche, who plays my adopted brother J.J. on the show, and I just started being friends right away. It was a little different with the girl that plays Sage, Allie [Gorenc], because she's 10 years old and a little shy. So it was a little hard to bond at first, but after a couple of episodes, yeah.

Digest: Had you met Daniel before?
Hazen: The first time we met was at that audition.

Digest: He does more theater, I guess.
Hazen: He does more theater stuff and I guess there's a height difference. He's actually a couple of months older than me, but I guess he goes out for younger stuff. I've run into him at some auditions lately.

Digest: There was some fan uproar when he told a reporter that he "kills" Parker.
Hazen: I heard about that. I don't really want to go into this because I don't want the same thing to happen to me [laughs], but we had a fight scene and something came out of him talking about that. My mom told me that there was a big thing online about that.

Digest: I think some people are still convinced it might happen.
Hazen: Maybe there's something I don't know!

Digest: I can't imagine the show would do that. He's beloved.
ATWT Publicist (interjecting): You know everything Mick, don't worry!
Hazen: It's so ... weird's not the word, but I'm taking over a character that was on just a month ago as a 9-year-old and the fan support was huge for him, so it's like I have to win over the trust of all the fans.

Digest: I'm sure the fans would like him to be more respectful toward his mother, but he'll get over that eventually. He's got a lot going on.
Hazen: And he's also going through puberty. He's 13 years old — that stuff happens.