MICHAEL E. KNIGHT’S RESERECTION!
by tony reverditto
hree-time Emmy winner, Michael E. Knight was born in Princeton, New Jersey and is best known for playing Thaddeus James Gardner Martin aka Tad the Cad turned Tad the Dad on the beloved soap opera, All My Children (AMC) beginning in 1982 until its untimely demise on September 23, 2011. Along the way, Knight has dabbled in television and film, but now his love for the theatre has brought him to the stage
in the West Coast premiere of The Cost of the Erection. In it, he plays the husband to a wealthy socialite who has purchased an exclusive Manhattan apartment in need of a renovation. The original plan was to have her husband (an architect) design the awkward space, but with their marriage on the rocks, she pushes boundaries and pits him against a hot younger architect for the job.
Speaking with you today is a little surreal for me, I like many, have watched almost every episode of AMC from the beginning and watched the evolution of your character Tad as you matured over the years. Because I was born on the exact same day and year as you, May 7, 1959, I probably identified with your journey even more. How strange is it to know that millions of viewers like myself have developed a 30-year relationship with you and feel like we know you, yet you know nothing about us? That’s a good question. Soap fans are the best because they are
incredibly loyal—I love my fans and it is always great to meet them. The longer I was on the soap, the closer Tad got to who I am. A recent example was last night after a performance, a woman who watched AMC for 30 years wanted a picture with me. When she walked over with a big smile, I could feel the history and she felt like an old friend or family member I had known for a long time. It was tough enough losing a favorite character on AMC, but when we lost the whole show all at once, it was a heartbreaker for millions of loyal viewers. How has the ending affected you? With a little bit of healthy fear in approaching the industry again—I basically have had the same job since I was 21. Have you heard any talk of anyone possibly picking AMC up again? I hear rumors. I was sorry that it didn’t make it to the Internet—I
think they had a brilliant idea and it would be the perfect place for a soap. The fact is, when it went out to marketing, it might have been too forward thinking—it was an untried model and you saw what happened. You never know though; they may bring it back! You and Jill Larson (Opal) were the comic relief on AMC; do you think the fates may be guiding you toward a sitcom? From your lips to God’s ears! Jill is a brilliant character actress; Cady
McClain was also hysterical and played the best straight man in the world. I think what sustained Tad was his sense of humor; when things got dull they gave me a lot of comic latitude on the show. If that is what the universe has in mind for me that would be fantastic! Now you are back on stage, how is this new role a departure from Tad? For one it is a very complex piece, which is stylized and for me a challenging character in a more reality-based love story. I’m not dealing with a character that has been married 15 times to the same
woman who has come back from the dead twice. The guy is more of an eccentric character than Tad. It was tough after AMC’s long-term comfort factor to walk into a room of four strangers with everybody starting from scratch; it does make you humble. I lucked out, it’s an extremely talented cast and the director Daniel Henning is just fantastic. Which do you prefer, learning new dialogue each day or memorizing a full play and performing it over and over again? I think at this point in my life it was perfect timing to do a play, I needed the shake up, I think I was set in my ways and I am really loving the theatre. This piece is very technical and carefully constructed and plays with time and space. To be able to refine something is incred- ible, rather than having a day leaving the studio saying, “Thank God they are never going to air that again.” With theatre you get the sense of really polishing the piece, getting to know the music of it, it’s much more intense and satisfying. At this point, the world is your oyster; name one thing that you would like to do personally and professionally that you have never done before? In life, I want to learn another language, become fluent in Spanish.
I want to travel and am fascinated by Japanese and Chinese culture and by the varying mind-sets, which also makes me appreciate how really lucky we are in this country. Professionally, I would like to be involved in a revolutionary television production along the lines of The Good Wife, Justified or Supernatural; preferably one that doesn’t have to operate under the structure of the “network code.” Some- thing a little more dangerous, a little more sophisticated, a little more adult if you will; so well-written and presented that it raises the bar for television across the board. I would love to get a recurring role on something like that. Knight is joined by another daytime favorite, Robin Riker from The Bold and the Beautiful, with Kal Bennett and James Louis Wagner in this exploration of the true meaning of marriage.
The Cost of the Erection runs through Sunday, March 18 (possible extended run) at The Blank Theatre Company, 6500 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Wilcox). For tickets call, 323.661-9827 or go to
theblank.com.
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RAGE monthly | MARCH 2012
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