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Interview

Brandon Beemer offers insight into his alter ego

You took over the role of Shawn from Jason Cook. Was there a turning point where you felt you’d made the character your own? “For me, it was when I started to hear over and over from the fans that I brought something different to the character than Jason did, that I was older and to be [playing] a father and all that. What I started to notice is that they were accepting that this was another part of Shawn. This was a little bit of an older version of Shawn. I know that Jason and I are pretty much the same age, but I guess he looks younger than I do.”

Was it a challenge taking over the role, since Jason had such success with it? “It definitely was a challenge. It was my first contract role on a soap opera, and Jason did a really good job and had a huge fan base. He was playing Bo and Hope’s son. It was a little nerve-racking, and I couldn’t help myself: I would go and see what the fans were writing online. It’s interesting. You seem to forget the compliments people make about you taking over the role, but you remember the ones where they say, ‘terrible Shawn’ — all the criticism.”

How has Shawn changed since you first started playing him? “He’s grown up. I was able to play Shawn during the time that he was faced with a lot of adult decisions with Claire and having to deal with her paternity. That was my first week, the whole paternity thing with Mimi, Belle and Philip. That was a huge turning point for Shawn. He found out [he was Claire’s father]. I remember I had to shoot 14 or 15 episodes in two weeks. They were coming off a two-week hiatus, and I started the following week. The scripts kept piling up. I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do this.’ But I just kept going and going and doing the best I could.”

What do you like and dislike about Shawn? “I like that he’s a family man, and he’s loyal. What do I dislike about him? Sometimes he doesn’t think things through, and he thinks with his heart. He ends up putting himself in positions where he’s like, ‘Why did I do that?’ The Jan situation is the most recent thing. We could go back to the Willow thing, trusting her with her history. Going and trusting Philip again. It’s like, ‘Wake up, dude. Come on.’ ”

What are Shawn’s strengths and weaknesses? “His strengths are his integrity. He’s smart. He catches things. Also, his dedication to his job, his dedication to being a cop and following in his parents’ footsteps. He’s diligent. When he came back from Hong Kong, he sort of had a different head on his shoulders. He learned a lot. His weakness is that he’s a little too trusting at times. He goes with his heart and wants to believe that everybody has something good in them and just keeps getting tripped up.”

What character traits do you think Shawn has inherited from Bo and Hope? “Honesty, integrity, good character … They always strived to make the right decisions in life when they were faced with issues. Shawn always wants to make the right decision. He always wants fairness and people to be honest. That’s a lot of it. Good morals and good character. They do everything by-the-book.”

Who is the love of Shawn’s life? “Definitely Jan Spears [laughs]. No, it’s definitely Belle for sure. They always seem to find their way back to one another. They’ve always chosen each other through all the issues and everything they’ve had to go through over the years. Sometimes it’s surprising, but they do it.”

Does he have a best friend? “If I had to guess, his best friend is Rafe right now. He spends the most amount of time with Rafe. Rafe says a lot of nice things about Shawn, like that he’s one of the best cops on the force. He was also together with Shawn’s mother, and he’s the godfather of Shawn’s little nephew, Bo. Rafe is always there for Shawn to vent about his relationship issues, and Shawn will do the same thing for him.”

Who is Shawn’s archenemy and has it changed over the years? “It’s definitely been Philip for a long time. The only thing that keeps them bonded is that they’re related. Other than that, Shawn can’t trust Philip at all. Maybe they can see eye-to-eye every once in a while, but in the end they’re just very different. Shawn doesn’t like that Philip is dishonest and can’t be trusted.”

What life event or events do you think most affected Shawn? “Claire being born and finding out that Claire was his baby, that he was a father. That’s the thing that affected him the most and where the transition was in him growing up. That was the journey that I had to go through when I first started [on the show], trying to help guide Shawn down the path of becoming a responsible adult and being a good father. Even if things didn’t work out with Belle, he had to be there for Claire. That’s the thing that’s going on with him and Jan. He doesn’t want to abandon anybody.”

What would you pick as Shawn’s signature storyline from your time on the show? “Probably fighting for Belle’s love and their love story. That’s been his main real storyline. It’s happened multiple times. Like when she got all that money from Sami and started doing her own thing, and Shawn saw her turning into someone who he knew was not her. He had to try to talk some sense into her and guide her back to him.”

If you could go back in time and change one decision that Shawn has made, what would it be? “Allowing Jan to move in with him is the big one for me, because it threw Belle right into EJ’s arms. And that’s the last thing that Shawn wanted. He just wanted everybody to be happy.”

What comment or question do you get the most from fans about Shawn? “Lately, it’s been, ‘Why did you let Jan move in?’ I’ll try to explain it, and they’ll say, ‘Come on. You’re being dumb.’ ”

What were the best and the worst times in Shawn’s life? “I wasn’t there for it. Jason came back for that, but the worst thing was Bo dying. I have to go with that, because losing his dad has to take the cake. Bo was his guidance, his tough love. The best times were marrying Belle — his wedding days — because she’s the love of his life. That’s what Shawn had always dreamed off, so it was his dream come true.”

Me Vs. Him

What are the biggest personality differences between you and Shawn? “There are a lot of things between the two of us that are very similar. I know I would be a good dad and husband, like he is, and I’m a good family person who’s always there for my mom and my dad and other family members. But I’m smarter than Shawn, and I’m definitely not as trusting as he is.”

Who’s tougher and would win a fight, you or Shawn? “I think Shawn would, because he’s got more anger in him and he’s got the police training. But once he flips a switch, he’s off. I would probably be less physical, and I wouldn’t want to get hit. I’d be like, ‘Not the face. Not the face.’ ”

Who’s a better brother? “I’m a better brother, actually. I talk to my sister [Mandy] every day. I’ve already talked to her twice today. She lives up in Oregon. We went through a lot in life. She’s one of those people that I call when I’m just driving down the road, or if I’m taking my dog, Jimmy, on a walk. Sometimes we’ll be on the phone for an hour.”

Who has a better wardrobe? “I think I do. They’re very similar. I wear similar things. Before I tried to buy stuff that was a little more fashionable, but I’ve kind of slowed down on that. When you start wearing these clothes at work all the time, you start to adopt that style and transfer it over to your life. Also, sometimes when an outfit is retired [at work], you get to buy it or borrow it. I do like certain brands, and a lot of those brands I’ve learned about over the years from being on the show, like rag & bone and Theory. So I’ll definitely look at that kind of stuff, because I like the fit, the material and the quality.”

Who has a better house? “Well, Shawn lives in the den, so … I actually have a place. I have a condo. If I think back, I liked the Brady house and the Brady living room. Someone was asking on Twitter why Shawn and Marlena were discussing things right in front of Jan in the same room, when they have the whole house. I said something to Ron [Carlivati], our head writer: ‘Can you bring back the Brady living room, please?’ ”

What character/actor from Shawn’s past would you like to see back on the show? “Max would be fun. Darin Brooks. He was Shawn’s friend. They worked in the garage together, and he was a race car driver. Darin was always fun to work with.”

How is your relationship with Martha Madison different from Shawn’s with Belle? “We’re not married, but we both care deeply about each other. We have a good friendship. We talk all the time. We sit down and talk about each other’s lives. Sometimes I think Martha and I talk about each other’s lives more than Shawn and Belle get to. If we don’t see each other at work for a couple of weeks, we’ll sit down and chat about her being a mother and a wife and me being single and who I’m dating and how’s Jimmy, my dog.”

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