| Feature Interview of Jacob Young from Soaps in Depth July 25, 2000 issue |
| Young At Heart |
| When GENERAL HOSPITAL fans saw Jacob Young at the Daytime Emmys in May and screamed, "Lucky!" it was music to the actor's ears. Finally, he felt accepted by admirers of predecessor Jonathan Jackson. |
| "It was that closure that I needed," he says. "I can't people have responded so quickly to me as Lucky. But most of (even knew ) my first name." |
| "You Really, Really Like Me?" |
| At the time that Young made his GH debut in Feburary, he couldn't help but be daunted by the task at hand. "There was a lot of insecurity, not of my acting ability, but of what I had to live up to," he admits. "I wanted so badly for everybody to accept me, but knew that was going to happen on their own in their own time." |
| Behind the scenes, the Port Charles newcomer received a great deal of support from his on-screen parents, Genie Francis (Laura) and Anthony Geary (Luke). "They've been so gracious," he marvels. "I knew that Tony wasinsecure about the role being recast at first. (But since then) he has let me know fully that I'm the right person for the role." |
| In fact, so comfortable with one another are the new father/son duo that they hooked up with Jonathan Jackson not long ago. "I wanted to let Jonathan know what I felt he has done for the role," explains his successor. "It's been such a great opportunity for me to step into it. People who (insist) there's some kind of rivalry between us ... well, there isn't." |
| Don't Read All About It! |
| At least, Young is used to being the subject of gossip. Since he emerged on the soap scene as fashion-biz heir Rick Forrester on THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL, he has heard all kinds of rumors about himself, especially surrounding his request to be released early from his B&B contract. |
| "The public, Hollywood in particular, doesn't necessarily want to like you," he says, a little fired up. "As soon as the oppunity comes up to find something wrong with you, everybody wants to know." |
| "This is something that's going to come with the more successful I become," he adds. "It's something I have to deal with. Does it hurt? Yeah - believe me, it does. But the more it's happened, the more I realize you've got to take it with the ins and outs." |
| Love In A Fish Bowl |
| If having his professional life dissected in the press has been a big adjustment for Young, having his personal life written up in black-and-white has been an enormous adjustment. Plus, since the up-and-comer has been linked at different times with fellow stars Josie Davis (ex-Grace, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS) and Rachel Leigh Cook (She's all that), he's had to learn how to withstand the stares of the public eye. |
| "I do like my privacy," he acknowledges, "but I absolutely enjoy the fans." |
| Besides, he insists that his love life isn't nearly as fascinating as it is made out to be. "There's not really time for a regular dating life. We vent about the business." |
| Now Hear This |
| With his acting career moving full steam ahead and his head clearly screwed on straight, Young is branching out into music. The week that he conducted this interview, final papers were being signed for his two-album deal with Artimus Records. "The music industry moves much, much slower than the entertainment industry," he says. "We've been shopping my music around for a while. You've got to be patient." |
| Young is certainly that. To achieve his goals, there is slmost nothing he won't do. "I love acting so much that I'm willing to sacrifice everything," he attests. "It's in me. It's something I've known that I've wanted to do for a long time. I've been given the opportunity twice now. I'll take whatever people want to throw at me." - Rosemary Rossi |
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