Wells Said
When DAYS’s Sami wanted to cause some mischief in 2005, she went undercover as a man. Stan the man. Rather than a transgender makeup job, DAYS hired actor Dan Wells to play Sami masquerading as Stan. Now the actor has a role on the bodyguard drama WATCH OVER ME, a prime-time sudser on MyNetworkTV. He plays former playboy/sensitive artist Eric, who’s taken a fancy to the unstable, gun-toting Natalie.Soap Opera Digest: So tell us all about your WATCH OVER ME character. I see you’ve had more to do with a romance going on there.
Dan Wells: Yeah, crazy Natalie. Of all the people Eric could choose to pour his heart into, it’s crazy Natalie. You can imagine there’s quite a rollercoaster ahead. My character is a buddy of Jack’s [the hunky bodyguard], who is sort of the quintessential player, out there having fun, drinking, just really enjoying life. It’s time for him to settle down a little bit and have a normal relationship with a woman. Lo and behold, he picks crazy Natalie.Digest: How does this compare to your experience on DAYS?
Wells: My character on WATCH OVER ME is very similar to me in real life. Obviously, Sami Brady was a bit of a stretch. That was probably more fun, playing Sami Brady. To sit down and study hour and hours of tapes of Alison [Sweeney, Sami]. To walk through my living room practicing her mannerisms and facial expressions and everything, and then going out and doing it, that was really fun.Digest: That has to be really impressive to casting directors, no?
Wells: They remember it. And they like it.Digest: What other exciting things are happening?
Wells: Rachelle, my wife, and I have a 6-month-old boy.Digest: Congratulations! What’s his name?
Wells: His name is Jadon.Digest: What’s that new role like?
Wells: It is unbelievable. Wow, each day we’ve got a new little man to deal with. He’s so curious and he’s always smiling and it’s just amazing how happy I was before this priceless thing came into my life, because now it’s a whole new world and I’m tickled to death.Digest: That’s so great. You live in Hollywood. Where did you film WATCH OVER ME?
Wells: We filmed it in San Diego and believe it or not, we’re done filming. We shot 65 episodes working all summer long.Digest: Wow, how does that compare to your old schedule?
Wells: It was even tougher than daytime. We might shoot episode 3 and episode 61 in the same afternoon.Digest: So you had to go out of sequence, acting-wise.
Wells: Yeah, you had to get a feel of where your character’s head was at that point in the story.Digest: What was it like shooting in San Diego?
Wells: It’s a really great city, San Diego, really a fun place to live for a few months. And that’s coming from a Dodgers fan. You’re not going to hear a lot of positive comments about San Diego from a Dodgers fan.Digest: Any big surprises coming up with your character?
Wells: I can tell you that there’s a lot of ups and downs to look forward to in the storyline and my character goes through it emotionally, as do the other characters on the show. I can promise you it will be a lot of fun to watch, as I hope it has been already.Digest: It totally has been.
Wells: One thing my mom likes about it, and she’s been watching daytime for 35 years, is the speed at which it moves and just the high-quality production, the fact that it’s shot out on location and it’s got a nice edgy editing style. And of course, she really enjoys the acting….
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