www.Soapdom.com - GH's Réal Andrews One-on-One

A true competitor and a very spiritual man

Réal Andrews Takes on the LA Triathlon
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Team Braveheart's Rudy Garcia-Tolson
Soapdom Bonus! The Réal Contest: Write a Love Story for Taggert!

Réal Andrews Gets Candid
One-on-One Interview with Réal

The first time I ever talked with Réal Andrews, sometime in March, 2000, I learned two things. He is a true competitor, and he is a very spiritual man. He had just come off of several major transitions in his life. One was a big high. His contract with General Hospital had just been negotiated and renewed. The other, a devastating low. His brother, Mark Teljeur, who had suffered with an aggressive cancer, had just left this earth for the peace and rewards of the great beyond. Although Réal was spent from the agony of losing his brother, he was

uplifted by his renewed status on General Hospital, and anticipated wonderful things to come. Here's what he had to say during that interview:

LMS: You just re-signed with General Hospital. Are you happy and looking forward to another few years of fun and games on the show?

RA: I am very excited. That's the reason that I re-signed. I had some very promising and exciting conversations with Wendy (Riche, GH EP), and they have some exciting things planned for me. Wendy and I talked, and she told me some ideas and plans that they had for Taggert, and I was very excited to hear them. They were all the things that I wanted to hear. It is all very intriguing!

LMS: So you are very optimistic about your story. Is there anything that you can share with us?

RA: There is going to be a love interest for Taggert. There are going to be some new people for Taggert to mingle with.

LMS: Is Taggert going to have anything to do with, or be instrumental at all in Juan's life? Hannah's?

RA: Very possible! (Chuckling)

LMS: In a nutshell, tell us how you got to GH in the first place. What was your path? Had you done a lot of acting before that?

RA: I'd been in this business 18 years by the time I was first hired on GH. To make a long story short, I started as a model. From modeling I became a stunt man. Then I became a stuntman/two-line actor as the bad guy/tough guy. Then I began doing some acting and moved to Hollywood to chase my dream.

LMS: How did you go about doing that?

RA: I began to study with some of the best teachers, Howard Fine, Janet Lonte. I finally met up with a gentleman named John Lehn who pulled it all together for me. Then I got hooked up with a man who is now my manager, Michael Bruno. Back then, Michael was working as an assistant at an agency that I was trying to pursue at the time. The agency had no interest in me. Michael was working at the desk. He saw something in me that they didn't see. He kept in touch with me and was always looking out for me. Then, this role came up on GH but it was initially positioned as a Latin American, I believe, no, as an Italian! Michael fought tooth and nail to get me in to read. Not that he had to fight THAT hard, because Mark Teschner (GH casting director) was a fan of mine as well. I had auditioned for him couple of years prior, and he told me that when the right part came along, that would be good for me (he would call me in for it). As this part was slated as an Italian, Michael kind of just convinced him to bring me in. He kept saying to Mark: "Bring Réal in. Bring him in. Just see him." So I walked in. And Wendy (Riche) was there and Barbara Bloom. The rest is history.

LMS: If you weren't an actor, and if you weren't on General Hospital, what do you think you would do?

RA: If I wasn't excelling as a professional athlete, I think I'd be coaching either a college or kids team of some kind, like a football team. I'd be coaching kids.

LMS: Tell us a little about this Triathlon that you are doing in a few weeks on the Team Braveheart Relay Team.

RA: I am doing a relay with my little hero Rudy (Garcia-Tolson). He is going to swim for us. And my other hero, Claudio (Del Pueche), is our runner. That's Team Braveheart.

LMS: How long have you been competing in triathlons.

RA: I started doing triathlon's last year and I fell in love with it. I did the Iron Man last year for my brother. I am going to go back this year and do it again. I go about it by raising money while doing it. But it's something that I really love. It's a great way of competing against yourself. Because what it comes down to is it's you and yourself out there. And seeing what you are made of. And I really enjoy that.

LMS: I've been to your website and it is obvious that you have a very big heart, and are very active in raising money for worthy causes. That is so commendable. How did you get involved in doing that – using your celebrity to raise awareness and to raise money for worthy causes?

RA: It all came about with my brother, and in going through what we went through with my brother. I got the idea then. I have always been very aware of the fact that I am blessed to be able to do what I do, and also that hey, you are in the position to effect more people than the average Joe. So, why not effect them in a positive way. I just never knew what I was going to do, but I would always talk to kids and go to schools and talk about staying away from drugs, and that kind of stuff. But when my brother's (illness) came out, that's when we decided to raise the money.

LMS: Aside from acting and aside from sports, what other stuff do you like to do when you just hang out?

RA: Y'know what I started doing? I like fishing and I my sponsor, Power Bar, has hooked me up with one of their other athletes, Gary McNaught, who is only the best bass fisherman out there. He has been taking me out, and teaching me how to fish. So we've been getting ready, and we are going to start doing tournaments together. I am pretty excited about that!

LMS: So you have corporate sponsorship for your athletic pursuits?

RA: My sponsor is Terry Martin at Power Bar. He inspires me. He is the only reason I am in the Iron Man Triathlon.

LMS: How did you meet up with Terry and get connected with Power Bar?

RA: They have the Malibu Triathlon every year. And the publicist asked me if I could run, bike or swim. I said I could run, and they hooked me up with Terry and that was it!

LMS: I have to get out and do more exercise myself, so this will be very inspiring for me to see you in action.

RA: I might get you doing one!

LMS: Is there anything you'd like to tell your fans, or say to your fans about re-signing your contract?

RA: I want to thank everybody for their support this past year. I am really, REALLY blessed with my fan support, "The crew." We have some exciting things planned for the GH luncheon this year (and every year!), so keep your eyes open. Can't really talk about it right now, but I just really appreciate their support and that they keep standing by me.

LMS: Back to GH – who do you enjoy working with?

RA: Undoubtedly Maurice (Benard). He is my favorite.

LMS: His character is very intriguing. He's this unscrupulous mobster, yet he is so charming and loveable – It's a very interesting character. Is Taggert out to get Sonny? Is Taggert going to bring him down?

RA: I think there are some new changes in the works. We'll see.

LMS: Thank you so much Réal. It's been a pleasure speaking with you. Looking forward to meeting you on the day of the Triathlon. We will get some great coverage of you in action!

RA: Excellent. See you soon!

Real Andrews StarDay Continues!