ABC
Results Oriented: Brad (Parry Shen) thinks he's got Portia (Brook Kerr) right where he wants her.
Parry Shen returned to the GH canvas as Brad Cooper back in August after an absence of over a year. Since then, he has become embroiled in two dramatic tales: Brad's desire to reconcile with his newly-back-in-town ex-husband, Lucas Jones, and his discovery that co-Chief of Staff Portia Robinson tampered with Heather Webber's test results. Soap Opera Digest got the inside scoop from Shen about Brad's busy plate.
Soap Opera Digest: GH has just brought back Brad's ex, Lucas, in the form of Van Hansis. Tell us about your first day working with Van.
Parry Shen: Off the bat, we both noticed we followed a lot of comic-book artists on Instagram, so we broke the ice and bonded over that. I liked how he dove right into asking me about Brad and Lucas’s relationship — he’d done his own homework but wanted to get up to speed and on the same page as quickly as possible. So I was already impressed with his work ethic, but not surprised. I’d done my homework on him once I found out he was cast and had watched clips of his work as Luke on As The World Turns and on EastSiders . I’m an incredibly thorough cyber stalker.
Digest: What did you tell Van by way of contextualizing the Brad/Lucas relationship for him?
Shen: I basically ran down the timeline of events chronologically for Van, gave him what I thought how the couple felt for one another, how they felt about other people, his relationship to other characters on the canvas — their overall vibes, etc. It’s a daunting amount of history to process since Lucas is connected to so many people. And I know Van used all those pieces of info (from other cast members as well) to formulate how he wanted to approach the character accordingly.
Digest: Your first scene with Van was the first Brad/Lucas encounter in a good long while. What did you want to communicate in your performance about what it felt like for Brad to lay eyes on Lucas again?
Shen: I was hoping to get across how much Brad regretted his actions with Wiley, that he still obviously cared for Lucas but also acknowledging that a lot of time has passed. According to my spreadsheet notes of every single episode I’ve filmed — over four years. That Brad, although still having feelings for Lucas, was trying to move ahead with his own life as well.
Digest: Brad just recently told Cody that he wants Lucas back. Does he think he stands a chance of regaining Lucas’s trust?
Shen: I think gaining Lucas’s trust back is his first priority and hope. And maybe a far away, hopeful reach would be getting him back.
Digest: Knowing Brad as you do, how do you think Brad intends to go about winning Lucas back?
Shen: Deeds not words. I feel Brad knows his actions need to show he’s a changed person or at least trying to change.
Digest: If you were Brad’s friend, what advice would you give him about his heart being set on a future with Lucas?
Shen: As a friend trying to protect Brad? I’d probably tell him that ship has likely passed. To move on and not pine over him — even though I know Brad likely wouldn’t listen. But true friends gotta give tough love sometimes!
Digest: Are you rooting for a Brad/Lucas reunion?
Shen: Of course! They have so much history together.
Disney/Bahareh Ritter
Jonesin' For Jones: Brad has once again set his sights on Lucas (Van Hansis).
Digest: On the work front, Brad has settled back into his old digs at the G.H. lab. Now, he’s stumbled upon evidence that Portia broke the rules — and the law — by tampering with Heather’s blood test results . In your view, what did Brad have to gain by not exposing her, which might have helped paint him as a reformed and dutiful hospital employee?
Shen: Even though Brad is trying to change, sometimes old habits just slide on very easily like a good, worn pair of sweatpants. He thinks he knows the best way to navigate this — via quid pro quo — and overcome the obstacle — Dr. Robinson — to him being a permanent fixture working at the hospital. After all, it’s how he and Britt used to do it!! Also, I feel there may be an understanding on his part. Brad of all people knows what it’s like to do questionable things to protect the ones he loves. So I don’t think he wants to see Portia get in trouble, buuut .... if he can somehow also benefit from this information, he sees that as a win-win.
Digest: Is there a part of Brad that worries his decision to go the blackmail route might blow up in his face?
Shen: He’s not thinking that far ahead — a nagging trait that has always been his Achilles' heel and largely the source that has gotten him into trouble time and time again.
Digest: You posted online about quite the fun fact involving Brook Kerr (Portia), which is that when she was on Passions as Whitney, her love interest was Donn Swaby (ex-Chad), who you went to high school with! Did you share this with Brook? Have you and Donn had any communication since you started on GH?
Shen: I did share it with Brook. She loved hearing about it. Donn and I have kept in the know of each other, through Facebook. And I love roundabout connections like that! My high school was not a performing arts school or anything — Donn and I were kids out of a random high school in Queens, NY who became actors. And Passions and Brook Kerr have always been on my radar following Donn’s career and then when my twin nephews played Baby Ethan Crane on the show. Incidentally, those same nephews also played Baby Hope Logan on Bold and Beautiful at the same time, and I actually mentioned it to Annika Noelle [Hope] when we did Nancy Lee Grahn’s [Alexis] ALS charity event earlier this year together. I felt she looked a little puzzled at first, but then I clarified by adding, “Oh, and they’re Caucasian [ laughs ]!”
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