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Interview

Quick Take With John J. York

We must begin on a shallow note, no pun intended, and talk about Mac at the Metro Court pool. “[Laughs] You’ll never see me in a swimsuit again, probably! So, I had my one chance and it was very nice.”

From the reaction your physique got on Twitter, the people may demand Mac’s return to the pool! “Well, I’d better keep working out, then! It was fun. And I will say, I was semiprepared because I work out. I mean, I don’t work out hard, at the gym with weights and everything, but I do enough to keep me in shape, I guess, and to not be nervous if I ever have to take my shirt off.”

Well, it appears that we’re on the precipice of an important new story for Mac, which is exciting. “Absolutely. You know, I tell people, ‘I do my best work off camera.’ I feel like mostly I get to see the apple and maybe nibble at the stem of the apple, but this time, I feel like I’m actually going to be taking a small bite out of the apple, so it’s kind of nice.”

What’s on the table now is the possibility that Mac is Cody’s father. This ties in to conversations Mac and Felicia were having a few months back about possibly expanding their family. What did you think when that came up in your scripts? “I was curious! I had all the questions you’d have about Mac and Felicia having a baby at their age. I thought it was probably just to give Mac and Felicia a little bit more to talk about than just the grandkids or, ‘There’s a crime, I’m on my way.’ ”

I bet you never thought you’d be saying the name Leopold Taub again! “No, I certainly did not. I mean, I forgot his name until I read it. I remember him — I remember the actor’s [Chip Lucia] face, but I hadn’t thought about that name in many years.”

On screen, Mac is trying to wrap his mind around the idea that Cody could be his son and not Leopold’s. How would you describe what he’s going through? “It’s uncomfortable. Mac and Felicia have a great life together and they’ve been through so much and everything is amazing, and this could change things. Mac is thinking, ‘What do I do? How do I accept this? Here’s a young man, a grown adult that I had nothing to do with, and now what am I supposed to do?’ But hopefully, with the help and love of Felicia and Maxie and patience and time, we’ll figure these things out. But I don’t think, if we took a DNA test, that Mac would be too surprised if it turned out that Cody is his son. And if it turns out that Cody is his son, I think he would want to get to know him. He can’t really tell him he’s sorry [that he didn’t raise him] because Mac had no idea! There was never any indication that Dominique was pregnant with his child; otherwise, he would have searched for him. I don’t know how they’re going to write this, but as John York playing Mac Scorpio, Mac, for me, is someone that would want to try to build on, ‘We’re here now, so how do we go forward? I don’t want you to be a stranger.’ There’s a lot to figure out, and hopefully there will be a nice emotional arc for the fans.”

What were your own first impressions of Cody’s portrayer, Josh Kelly? “That he’s a really nice guy. He’s fun, he’s light in terms of his approach to the work. He’s spontaneous and open as an actor. I see a lot of me in him — you know, when I was a younger guy. When I was young and handsome, I could have been him!”

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