Hearst found some acting work in the wonderful world of low-budget films. "One was called Brain Damage," he says, chuckling. "It was a horror film, and a real horror experience. I didn't get killed, but the top of my head exploded and electricity flew out of it. I was stoned throughout the thing -- in the movie, not for real. You see my glazed eyes, and I say 'Wow!' and that's the end of the movie. It was actually in theaters for a whole week. My friends and I went to see it in Los Angeles. The other film was called Crossing the Line, and it went straight to video."

A call from Days of Our Lives saved Hearst from becoming the next B-movie king. "My agent told me, 'There's this contract role on Days for three years. The character's name is Scotty Banning. He's a music producer, and he's sexy and charming,'" recalls Hearst. "And I thought, 'Hey, I can play sexy and charming.' When I looked at the character description, I was floored. I kept saying, 'I can do this. This is my character. I'm going to get this.'

"I can't tell you what it was like when I finally got the call," he continues. "It was 12:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29 (1989), and I was watching Days. I called my agent to see if he had heard anything yet, and he said, 'No, they have 10 days [to get back to you], take it easy. So I hung up. Forty-five minutes later he calls me back and says, 'Hi, Rick, how're you doing?' and starts making small talk. And I interrupted him and said, 'I know you know something, and you damn well better tell me.' When he said I'd gotten it, I screamed. To get your first big job like that -- there's nothing like it."

But Hearst admits his experience on Days wasn't an entirely happy one. "We didn't see eye-to-eye on the way the character should be," he explains. "They have a formula way of handling character, and it's tough to break that mold. It wasn't a way in which I was doing my best work. But Days gave me my first job, so I can do nothing but thank them. They gave me a taste of what it was like."