What do you think of the possibility of Nate walking away from medicine to go corporate? “I think if he gets into the business world, Nate could have more interaction with other characters, which would mean I’d get to work with other cast members. There would be more drama to play. When you play a doctor, you’re limited to stories about people being sick, but to jump into the business world where people are kingpins, like the Newmans, the Abbotts and the Winters family, then we could raise the stakes for Nate, I think.”
Do you think big business would be a good fit for Nate? “I’m sure there would be conflicts in the beginning as he’s trying to adjust. I could see him having qualms about how things go down, but it would be a chance for Nate to spread his wings. It’ll be a huge transition for him, but he’s recently received offers from three different companies, so I’m sure it must feel great to be in demand.”
How do you think he’ll handle Ashland’s threat to destroy Nate’s medical career? “If Nate stays in medicine, it’ll be interesting if Ashland will still come after him for revealing the dirt on Ashland’s cancer scam. He seemed pretty determined to bring Nate down, but if he decides to be in business, I guess he’ll be okay if he loses his medical license. Devon’s a billionaire so Nate could always borrow money from his cousin [laughs].”
Did Nate believe he had forged a genuine friendship with Ashland? “Oh, yeah. Even though Nate can look back now and think, ‘Wow, now I see why he sought me out to be his best man because I could help build his cover for him,’ he really thought they were solid friends. If he could go back, I’m sure he’d question why the friendship happened so quickly, but at the time, Nate thought they were real buddies.”
Why do you think Nate was easily bamboozled by Ashland? “I think it was more about Victoria. Nate has seen Victoria go through some difficult times personally and to see her so happy because of Ashland made Nate think it was a real thing, so why wouldn’t he believe Ashland could be his friend?”
I’m sure Nate must feel betrayed by Ashland, right? “Oh, he feels crazy betrayed. It’s made Nate really question himself and his judge of character. I know if it happened to me, it would hit my ego hard. I would be asking myself, ‘How could I let this backstabber into my life? Why didn’t I see any red flags?’ But Ashland is a smooth operator. Nate doesn’t automatically think the worst of people but it’s a big learning curve if he goes into the business world. He’ll certainly learn some things the hard way.”
Do you think there’s the potential that swimming with the sharks could change Nate? “I think in a way, it has to, but for the good. A year from now, Nate will see through someone like Ashland.”
What does Nate think about mixing it up with Victor again? “Nate has his reservations but deep down, Victor is all about his family, so there’s always a respect there for Victor because of that. Nate is about doing things right and being honest, but finding out that Ashland is corrupt, Nate knows he has to do something to stop Ashland. Nate has so much respect and admiration for Victoria.”
