Here We Go Again: Brian Gaskill is thrilled to be back on daytime.
Soap veteran Brian Gaskill (ex-Rafe, PORT CHARLES et al) was just another actor when he tried out for the role of Seth on YOUNG AND RESTLESS. “I recorded my audition at home, because that’s the way it’s done now, and sent it in,” he explains. “It was just basically showing them what I can do. And over the next couple of weeks, I slowly found out that I got the job. So, it was all a very normal process and I got hired. It was pretty affirming because I haven’t done this in a while.”
Sixteen years to be exact. Admits the actor, “I wasn’t sure I would ever really get back on daytime because there’s only four shows left, and the job opportunities just really aren’t there as much. My life’s been a journey.”
Which has presented Gaskill with challenges along the way. “[My stint as Dylan on] GUIDING LIGHT ended in 2008 and that was about when [the economy] crashed,” he recalls. “I didn’t have any real estate or anything like that, but it really affected everybody, no matter what. And there was a writers’ strike at the time, as well. When everything started getting back to normal, everyone was wanting to go back to work, but now there were big stars who were willing to do guest appearances on prime-time. I was auditioning for roles but then those just started fading and I was stumbling. I was fortunate that I worked very young, pretty quickly, but then I didn’t have a lot of experience doing just survival jobs. Because I was in the public eye, I would try to apply for [non-acting] jobs, but they would look me up online and be like, ‘Dude, what the hell are you doing here?’ A lot of us may look a lot more famous than we probably were, but I still had a daughter to feed.”
That would be Alabama, who is now 18. He continued to pursue acting gigs, but says, “I had some tough years of just hit and miss and doing little odd jobs. I was even sleeping in my car here and there, but luckily not for long periods of time. At one point, I even recorded all my poetry and put it out there, but I made like $800, which wasn’t a lot. Then I was just doing anything I could to make any kind of money. I sold cars, I became an Uber driver for about two or three years in L.A., but that was killing my body and my car. I finally went back to school for massage therapy, and I’ve basically been working as a massage therapist for the past few years. I feel like I’ve been through five different lifetimes.”
Despite the adversities, Gaskill is finally feeling comfortable in his own shoes. “I’m about to turn 54 this month and I kind of like getting older and my salt and pepper hair,” he notes. “My 40s were very awkward in a lot of ways and now I feel like I’ve grown into myself and coming into my own.”
Gaskill is, of course, no stranger to being on a soap set; in addition to his gigs on PC and GL, he appeared on ALL MY CHILDREN (ex-Bobby, 1995-97), BOLD THE BEAUTIFUL (ex-Oscar, 2003-04) and AS THE WORLD TURNS (ex-B.J., 2005). But acclimating to the Y&R environment was “really stressful, but in a good way,” he muses. “When you show up, people don’t really know what you’re doing there except for the [actors] working with you. It’s funny because on Facebook, I’ve had conversations with people, like J. Eddie Peck [Cole], but when I saw him in person, we just walked by each other. It felt awkward to say hi, but because of the announcement of me [appearing] on Y&R, he knows who I am now.”
When Gaskill debuts on January 8, his character, Seth, will cross paths with Nikki at an AA meeting. “When I did PORT CHARLES, I didn’t even know I was playing an angel, which means I was basically dead. So twists happen,” he chuckles. “As of now, Seth is a good person but he’s certainly not a hero. He feels reachable and comfortable for me. In recent years, when I look at the kind of stuff that I would really like to be doing, Seth falls into that category. I usually try to find some lightness where it’s dark and darkness where it’s light, and I’m just trying to find that balance. This character sort of seems to allow all of that. So far, it’s been an incredible experience.”
