GH’s Adam Huss Scores Triple Play with Exciting New Roles
The Thrill Of It All
“Peek-A-Boo is about a woman who wants to have a baby with her husband, but she can’t,” Huss says of the dark plot at the heart of his upcoming thriller. “She goes to extreme measures to adopt a child from a woman that she meets. Little does she know, it comes with some major strings attached that lead to some dangerous scenarios for the babysitter and her friend, a year after the baby’s born, on a very creepy night.”
In the film, Huss is tasked with channeling his alter ego’s murderous rage. “My character’s Jacob Stanton, and, just like Nikolas on GH, [he] has a dark side,” the actor notes. But that’s where the similarities between Nikolas and Jacob end. “This guy’s dark side is incomparable,” Huss says. “I mean, it’s like full-on, no conscience, doesn’t care who he hurts or what he does. There is no ounce of vulnerability in this guy. If you compare it to, say, the darkness in Nikolas, Nikolas’s vulnerability is his family,” the actor concluded. “This guy, there is no vulnerability. There’s no, whether it’s his girlfriend or the child, it does not matter. He just wants that leverage, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.”
The versatile actor dug into the character’s true motivations. “His mission is to get his child back, because it winds up being his girlfriend that gives away their baby.” However, he’s not driven by a paternal flame. “He doesn’t even want this child for his own,” Huss says. “It’s not about the love for his child. It’s just possession. He wants to leverage it for money. Because this couple paid so much money to adopt the child, he knows there’s more money to be had.”
Tapping into the murderous villain’s psyche was a challenge for the actor. “We all have anger in us, right?” the actor poses. “[The process required] dark, dark days, but I just really leaned into it. And that was a lot of fun for me because that dark side is really scary for me as Adam Huss, but as the character, it was so much fun to just not care. I don’t have to think about what I’m saying or what I’m doing or apologizing for it. It was like I could be unabashedly as evil as I want.”
He wasn’t alone in his journey to the dark side. “Candice Cain, my director, she’s really fantastic,” he enthuses. “She just gives such great direction, and she writes these movies that she directs [Editor’s note: Not this film though; Peek-A-Boo was written by Charles Vidal], so she knows these characters inside and out. I love that, because no one knows the character more than the writer, and this is the director’s interpretation, so you get this double whammy. She just gave me these beautiful little insights and direction. It really helped lead me to that place.”
In reality, Huss is a thoughtful soul and explored leaning into his inner demons to bring Jacob to life. “I am a people person, but I’m also very sensitive. I’ve had to work a lot on that tool of being a people person and not being a people pleaser,” the actor weighed in. “You know, sometimes if you overgive [to] someone, if you’re a person who gives a lot, you can feel hurt. And if you don’t work on that, you could kind of get resentful.”
Luckily, he didn’t fall into that trap. “Thankfully, I’m healthy, I’m able to not think in that way,” Huss acknowledged. “But with Jacob, I just let that darkness really thrive. I let go of anything that I have that holds me back from anger or darkness. I just leaned into it.”
On the Brighter Side
On Huss’s next project, The Wedding Belle, a rom-com, he is once again working with writer/director Cain. “Candice wrote it, and she has a really funny way of looking at things,” Huss praises. Working on a lighter script and filming on his native Long Island both appealed to Huss, who says, “Comedy is [Cain’s] go-to. And I think a lot of Long Islanders have this sarcasm we like to lean into.” Suffice it to say, fun is being had. “The movie I’m shooting now with them is so much lighter. I love the crew on these things and the cast. It is so much lighter when we’re cracking jokes and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, you’re so different.’ Because on that one, I just really had my fun.”
The charming script centers around a wedding planner, Belle, who gets jilted at the altar. Explains Huss, “She winds up going on with the party, the reception, even though she was left [on her wedding day] — almost, like, in denial.” After, “She opens up a wedding business. Her motto basically is that it’s all about the party, not the ceremony.” That is until her perspective is challenged by a pastor who officiates weddings. “They butt heads on a talk show. Then he slowly makes her realize that maybe love is the important part of that ceremony, that commitment is more important than the party aspect of this. So she learns that lesson along the way.”
Huss and actress Ellie Wang are frequent scene partners in the movie. “We play Jerome and Janine, respectively. And we’re [Belle’s] assistants, who are there to make sure that her mission of the party gets executed. It’s a very funny dynamic because I’m neurotic and all put together [as Jerome]. And Ellie is a nervous wreck [as Janine]. But she makes it all happen as well.”
Rounding out the cast are Oscar-nominated film veteran Eric Roberts (ex-Ted, Another World) and his wife, Eliza. Huss has formed a high opinion of them both. “I’ve heard a lot of stories about Eric because a lot of people I know have worked with him. And they’re all true. He’s just a gem of a human. And it was great to have him [as] part of the film. And his wife is just as lovely.”
The Port Charles prince thinks that GH and rom-com fans will be highly entertained. “I think what they’ll really love is the dynamic of all the characters, especially the four of us leads,” he offers. “There’s lightheartedness, but there’s also a lot of romance because it is a rom-com. The comedy in this is really charming. And I think everyone loves a wedding, right? The story is very appealing. I think it’d be hard to resist smiling when you’re watching it. Even watching the scenes from behind the camera, while I’m not filming, I was smiling, going like, ‘Wow, this is really coming together.’ So it’s a really endearing, sweet, fun ride.”
Fans have something else to draw them in – location, location, location. “You get to see these beautiful locations on Long Island where we’re shooting.” Huss marveled at the stunning spots that he was able to experience firsthand while working on the film. “These farms and vineyards and wedding venues and I get to come here and shoot this, and see all these beautiful places and hang out with them. I am just having such a blast.” One of the perks of his chosen profession. “That’s part of the fun of being an actor is being able to shoot on location. I’m so grateful.”
Take Me Out To The Ballgame
The actor left quite an impression on the cast and crew who seem keen to work with him again — leading to yet another project he has in the works. “I’m also going to play a role in the same director Candice Cain’s new baseball drama, a six-episode TV show called Heavy Hitters.” The consummate professional is anxious to get started. “It’s a cross between Friday Night Lights and Ted Lasso. It’s really good. And like, I love Friday Night Lights. That was one of my favorite shows.”
Huss shared how the offer came about. “After filming with her this past week with The Wedding Belle, my second feature with her, she basically said, ‘I want you to play a role in this new series. So just if that’s of interest to you, I want to let you know about that.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, that sounds great.’ It’s also on Long Island. So it’s pretty cool.”
He pondered his good fortune. “You feel lucky when you meet someone who not only gets you but gives you this opportunity,” Huss reflected. “And then all of a sudden, you’re getting invited onto their projects, and you have the same mutual respect for each other. It feels almost like God’s hand in it or something.”
Huss shared what he felt was most important for him. “I just want to work. And so I follow the work. And then all of a sudden, either those things open up to more, or they send you on to the next project. It’s pretty, pretty cool.”
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