Fans of either Days of Our Lives or Once and Again will be familiar with actor Mark Valley. Those not familiar with the 36-year-old West Point graduate will get their chance to see him on the small screen on FOX‘s new drama Pasadena, airing Fridays at 9 p.m. EST this fall.
Valley recently spoke with us about the new show, his diverse group of co-stars, his years on Days and the drawbacks of getting recognized on the street.
Mark, how’s production going up there in Vancouver?
Valley: Good. It finally stopped raining. And they haven’t shut us down yet, so that’s a good sign. [Laughs.]
Yeah, I’d say so. Pasadena‘s still on the schedule–the last time I checked, anyway. Tell us a little about the show, and your character, Robert Greeley.
Valley: Robert–he’s a guy that I just have to laugh at sometimes. He’s the son of old money, part of a wealthy family that runs a publishing giant in California. He basically thinks he’s the successor to the family business, but clearly others think differently. He’s pretty rough around the edges, and everyone knows it. A very irreverent guy, ya know? Robert’s very ambitious and ruthless at times, but will never run the family.
A bit of a party guy?
Valley: Yeah, except he’s too shortsighted to party. He’s too focused on success to allow himself to party. But if he were to run the family, he’d be a total party guy then.
You’re working with a pretty diverse range of co-stars on this show. You have scenes with Alison Lohman, who’s pretty young, and Philip Baker Hall, who’s almost 70. How impressed have you been with their level of talent?
Valley: Oh, man, this is a monster cast. Many of these actors put successful film careers on hold just to do this show. And they bring a lot of experience, like Dana Delany, who has already had a hit TV show with China Beach. And Philip, like you mentioned, has done just about everything. He’s been walkin’ the boards for a long time.
Many are calling Pasadena a late-night soap opera in the vein of Dallas or Dynasty. Is “soap opera” the correct term for this show?
Valley: Well, yes, in that it borrows from that format–the problems of members of a wealthy family, serial-style. It shows the little embarrassments of these people. But I think we’re more down to earth.
Because the show’s following the investigation of a murder all season, would you compare it to Twin Peaks in a way?
Valley: Yeah, it has that sort of haunting quality. All of these people are a little bit off, mentally. But we’re not weird for the sake of being weird. We’re weird for a purpose, ya know?
Your only real competition on Fridays at 9 p.m. is Millionaire. Do you feel pretty confident that Pasadena will stick around for a while?
Valley: Gosh, I have no idea, man. It would be wonderful for the show to be successful. I’d really love for it to stick around. But you never know.
Well, you’ve certainly had recurring roles on big-name TV shows in the past, like ER and Once and Again. Are you going to be returning to either of those shows this season–pulling double duty?
Valley: Yeah, I’ll be doing at least one Once and Again later this season. But it’s hard to plan things right now. They could very well shut down Pasadena any day, and I’d be knocking down the doors elsewhere. [Laughs.] But the ER experience was great, man. I love Maura Tierney to death. She’s very talented. Very professional.
Which of the three shows do you most enjoy doing?
Valley: Oh, Pasadena, definitely. I mean, people are going to watch this show and say, “Whoa, you can’t do that on TV! You can’t say that.” It’s really gonna shock some people. The content comes at you at such oblique angles, ya know?
Now, you’ve been in some big-screen productions as well–The Next Best Thing, The Siege. Do you still have plans for more film work?
Valley: [Laughs.] Heck yeah! I mean, I have plans to do more films, but nobody’s sending me any scripts! But yeah, I have plans. Seriously, I loved making those movies. So much fun. But the trend now is to do TV. So many actors–so many of my friends–are moving to TV. There’s such quality on TV now.
Very true. Well, Mark, time to find out just how humble you are: do you still watch Days of Our Lives?
Valley: [Laughs] Ya know, for some reason, just after I left the show, I simply lost interest in it. Funny how that happens, eh?
Nice. So are you still most recognized for your role as Days‘ Jack Devereaux?
Valley: Yeah, people still come up to me and say, “Oh my god, you’re Jack!” But then again, sometimes they’re fairly sure they know who you are, but simply can’t place you. I mean, I was buying cat food one day here in Vancouver and a woman approached me, saying “I know you from somewhere. Did we go to college together?” I just kind of laughed it off. You have to.
All right, Mark, get back to the set and make some cash.
Valley: Will do, man.
