Digest: Who is older on the show?
Hank Cheyne: Ricardo. Sorry, I had to answer.
Digest: Was Hank like a big brother when you joined the show, Nick?
Nick Kiriazis: Definitely. It's been fun to come on and not only have an older
brother in character but [also] somebody who knew what he was doing because
when I came on the show, I didn't know what I was doing.
Digest: What do you remember about those first days?
Kiriazis: He made the atmosphere comfortable. I was really nervous.
Cheyne: We have a good relationship off camera, so that translates. We've hung
out a couple of times here and there and hooked up with our respective
[significant] others to do something. We spent New Year's Eve together with
[Hank's wife] Missy and [Nick's girlfriend] Skylla in New York. I've worked
with other people in these kinds of relationships where that hasn't happened
and the relationship on-screen never really developed.
Digest: Were you surprised when you learned that Ricardo had a brother?
Cheyne: I wasn't surprised. It hadn't been referenced, but the show was early
in it's formation. I kept hoping that they would bring family on for me,
especially when the Paula situation started going down the tubes. I realized
that I stuck out by myself, and the only way you really survive that is with
family. When they brought Nick on and then Margarita [Cordova, Carmen], that
started rounding out the picture.
Digest: Do you think you look like brothers?
Cheyne: I don't think we look alike that much in person, but sometimes, Missy
will see him on-screen and say, "Oh, I thought that was you for a second."
Kiriazis: A lot of people say that when we smile, we look like brothers.
Cheyne: And that I look so much younger than he does.
Digest: You both have similar backgrounds, having done theater and having
lived in New York. Are there any other similarities?
Cheyne: Isn't your father a painter?
Kiriazis: A sculptor.
Cheyne: That was kind of a weird connection because I paint.
Kiriazis: When I first moved here, Hank was the person who I could relate to
more with an East Coast mentality. Some people you have a connection with and
some people you don't. We have a very special connection.
Cheyne: I feel that way myself, sometimes.
Digest: Have you had any good bonding experiences?
Cheyne: We'll always hook up for a bite to eat or a quick beer after work or
something like that just until traffic dies down. And that's a cool thing
'cause most people just split the studio and go their separate ways.
Kiriazis: We went up to [Hank and Missy's home in] in Ojai for Thanksgiving.
That was really nice. They made a great dinner, and we built a big bonfire.
Digest: Have you ever been in a triangle where you and a friend were pining
for the same woman?
Kiriazis: Back in fourth grade, me and this other kid in another class, Bill,
both wanted the same girl, Lisa, and she decided that whoever could write "I
love you" the most on paper would get her. We started soliciting all these
people; we got teams working against one another to write down "I love you."
He got more signatures than I did. So he ended up with the girl, and then I
beat the crap out of him! [Laughs] No, I just slapped him around a little bit
and sent him home with his feelings hurt.
Digest: What are your backgrounds?
Kiriazis: I'm Greek, French, and German.
Cheyne: I'm a mutt. From my dad's side, I am Spanish, Mexican, and [American]
Indian and on my mom's side, I'm German and Dutch.
Digest: Hank, what do you think of the Latino characters?
Cheyne: There are a lot of non-Spanish speaking Latinos in California whose
parents don't have heavy accents. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's
a perception that that's the way most Latinos are. When it comes to
television, it should be about playing characters who happen to be Latin, but
they're regular people. And until we evolve to that level, we're always going
to be stereotyping in television.
Digest: Why did you change your last name from Garcia to Cheyne?
Cheyne: That's my middle name. There was already a Hank Garcia in the Screen
Actors Guild.
Digest: Nick, were you surprised to be cast as a Latino?
Kiriazis: I really didn't have any feeling about it one way or the other, to
tell you the truth. It was more like, "I'm playing a priest?"
Digest: Do your roles fit your personalities?
Kiriazis: Yes. We're saints in real life.
Cheyne: When you see him from across the room, you think "priest." My friends
couldn't believe that I played a cop when I came on I used to have hair down
to my shoulders before I got this role. Playing a cop is a little straight for
me only because they write Ricardo as very straight-laced and by-the-book.
There are a lot of cops who aren't like that. Just because you're a cop
doesn't mean that you don't get crazy on the weekends.
Kiriazis: My friends are the same way; I tell them I play a priest and they
start laughing.
Digest: So, you never thought about entering the seminary?
Kiriazis: Absolutely not. I was an altar boy for a short time. But me and my
buddy always got the giggles. A laugh attack at the altar is not a good
situation.
Digest: Any female fans send you anything surprising?
Kiriazis: I got a series of photos from a woman in England who wants me to ...
I don't know what she wants me to do. Hear her confessions.
Digest: How does that make you feel?
Kiriazis: All soft and mushy inside [laughs].