Photo: CBS

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — The soap vet admits he routinely asked Frank Valentini to “get me off the show.”

In an interview with TV Guide Canada’s Nelson Branco March, who will be leaving the role of gay college professor Mason on “As the World Turns” during November sweeps, states that “I used to go to Frank’s [Valentini, "One Life to Live" executive producer] office on a regular basis, and say, ‘Frank, I know you’re writing me out! I’m fine with that — get me off the show.’ And, of course, the last time I did that, he admitted they had already written me out. That’s how I found out I was leaving the show. I went up there to pitch an exit story for Nash, but they beat me to the punch. ”

He also claims that “I knew when Jessica and Nash wed in the hospital that we were done. They put a pretty little button on the couple by marrying them off like that.”

March portrayed Nash Brennan on “One Life to Live” from 2005-2008, when the character was killed off. In July, he joined “As the World Turns” in the recurring role of Mason Jarvis.

Even though he wishes “OLTL” would have “written an exit storyline sooner,” and that he had “wanted to leave a long time before they finally killed Nash,” March comments that that he understands why the show wrote him out when they did. He cites Jessica’s integration with her alternate personality Tess as a “fatal flaw,” because Jessica “wasn’t as interesting” as Tess. Furthermore he says that “by eliminating Tess and pairing Nash with Jessica, well, the story was over at that point. There was no more story to tell. I had no family, even though they teased the audience with the possibility that Paige could be his mother. The Claudia story lasted about a minute so that didn’t count.”

The actor cites “One Life” holding auditions for the role of Jared, as being what made him realize that “the writing was on the wall.” He also takes issue with the new guy accidentally killing Nash, calling it “unimaginative.” He blames the genre’s belief that every story they tell must be pleasing to fans as the reason for its downfall, going as far as claiming that it killing the daytime soaps.

When asked his feelings about why Jessica and Antonio got such a huge wedding, while her nuptials to Nash were less than inspiring, March laments that “Dena Higley created that storyline and I think she wanted to put a pretty bow on their wedding/reunion as she walked out the door. I will be forever grateful to Dena for creating that storyline and my character. Originally, I took the ‘One Life’ job because I thought it was just going to be a summer gig. I didn’t even move out my family to New York that summer — I commuted back and forth. Luckily, Nash took off.”

Despite his firing by “OLTL,” March states that he has only the upmost respect for the Valentini.  “If you bring a good idea to the table, he’ll figure out a way to include it. He encourages a dialogue between cast and crew across the board. A lot of actors have contributed to the writing of the show. ‘One Life’ opens its doors to the cast and crew which is very rare in this business. Frank is also always on the floor, very hands-on. He’s in the trenches with us.” As for rumors of “One Life to Live’s” impending cancellation, he believes that it makes “no financial sense.”

Setside antics are the major differences between “As the World Turns” and “One Life to Live,” March says that, at “OLTL,” “the actors are always fired up. They are explosive on set. There is a lot of creative conflict on the set. When Frank comes down on set, everyone from the directors to the actors shout at him and vice versa. There is a lot of passion on the ‘One Life’ set because everyone cares about doing their best. Afterwards, they all head over as friends to the bar across the street and get plastered together!” On the other hand, on the “ATWT” set, “everyone is professional. They show up, say their lines verbatim, and leave quietly to be with their families. Even when there was a controversial affair at ‘World Turns,’ that was immediately over because one of the actors was let go. That’s an example of how ‘World Turns’ works — they refuse to deal with drama on set. If that had happened on ABC, there’d be no actors left! Let’s not forget that Hollywood has made movies about ABC! It’s a mad house. Working on ABC is like going to Frosh Week.”

And what about the recent firing of his former “OLTL” co-star John Brotherton (Jared)? “Yeah, I heard that. Jessica is becoming the Erica Kane of ‘One Life!’ And you know that they’re not getting rid of Bree [Williamson] anytime soon. I learned if you profess your love to Jessica you can never profess your love to anyone else.”

March also reveals that he was contacted by “All My Children” in November of 2008 about the possibility of reprising the role of Scott Chandler (which he portrayed from 1999-2000) the following February, only to have the talks fall flat. “So, I didn’t look for work because I thought I was going to jump over to ‘AMC.’ I was disappointed no one contacted me to inform me that they were going to cast another actor in the role. I was side-swiped. This business is so frustrating because there are so many layers to all these decisions, that if you try to figure it out, you’re just wasting your time.”

As for a possible return to “One Life to Live,” he admits that “I wouldn’t object to that!” Concerning his thoughts on the soap’s current storyline where Jessica thinks that Nash is reaching out to her from beyond the grave, “Yeah, I heard! Someone who keeps leaving hearts for her, right? I don’t know if you remember this but Nash drew a little heart from his breath when he was outside of Jessica’s hospital room. It’s funny because I got a lot of heat from the producers/directors for that. It was a spur of the moment decision on my part, but in the end, they kept it in. So it’s cool to hear they’re still using Nash’s calling card on the show. I take that as a compliment.”

With his “ATWT’ stint as Mason coming to an end in a few weeks, the actor recalls that “Luckily, ABC owns their own soaps. Chris [Goutman, "ATWT" executive producer] is trying to desperately figure out how to tell this story because he is personally invested in it, but P&G [Procter & Gamble] isn’t. I think Chris is a good storyteller. I like him a lot, actually. I respect him a lot which is why I was eager to work with him on this show.” He also says that the CBS soap “is caught between a rock and a hard place with their gay storyline. I don’t think they anticipated two vocal, polarizing views on the Nuke [Luke and Noah] storyline. I honestly don’t think America is ready for a gay storyline on a soap. It’s just too hot button of a topic. They’re criticized by the gays for not making Nuke gay enough, and then the American Family Association boycotts them. Any time I wanted to put my hand on Noah’s shoulder, several serious discussions ensued whether or not it would pass the mustard. Any body contact had to be cleared from higher-ups. Nothing kills a show faster than a boycott!”

March admits that working on “ATWT” was somewhat frustrating for him as an actor, admitting that “Yeah, it was odd. Their gay characters aren’t very gay! If someone turned on the soap for the first time, I think it would take them a while to figure out Mason was gay. I went into my ‘World Turns’’ audition with black leather pants, rock-star jewelry and snakeskin boots! I pulled all of that out for the audition to give them ideas. The looks on their faces? A resounding, ‘Nooo!’ Mason is supposed to be a gay indie moviemaker but they ended up dressing him like freakin’ Indiana Jones! Nuke is about as gay as Bill Cosby! Throw a wrench in there, people. ‘World Turns’ needs an extroverted, effeminate gay man on that show. Give Mason eyeshadow! But they didn’t like that. The only input they accepted from me was Mason’s endless scarf collection.”

Look for March to appear in an upcoming “Degrassi” movie, which is set to air sometime next year on Canada’s CTV network. “I play George, a romantic foil for the character of Jane who is played by Paula Brancati. My character runs into her in New York City. When he discovers she can sing, George replaces his lead singer with Jane,” he comments.

To read the full interview, click here.

“One Life to Live” airs Weekdays on ABC. Weeknights on SOAPnet. Check local listings.

Tags: ABC, All My Children, AMC, American Family Association, Antonio, As the World Turns, ATWT, Bill Cosby, Bree Williamson, Chris Goutman, Claudia, CTV, Degrassi, Dena Higley, Ercia Kane, Forbes March, Frank Valentini, Indiana Jones, Jared, Jessica, John Brotherton, Luke, Mason Jarvis, Nash, Nelson Branco, Noah, Nuke, OLTL, One Life to Live, Paige, Paula Brancati, Procter & Gamble, Scott Chandler, SOAPnet, Tess, TV Guide Canada

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