AMC's John Callahan gives us the inside scoop about his life on screen and off...  It's a Great Life (SOW 7/18/2000)

"John Callahan is a man who knows his way around several entertainment mediums. He's a veteran of primetime television, stage productions, and currently a major star of daytime. Callahan is certainly an actor who can share his views about the ups and downs of working in daytime and was willing to do so when Update asked him.

An eight-year veteran of AMC, Callahan's portrayal of Edmund Grey has earned him a huge following of loyal fans, and he admits that he loves many aspects of the job and the character.

Callahan, who is sitting in a makeup chair getting ready for a major photo shoot, points to the beautiful lady sitting next to him,  Finola Hughes (Alex). 'The upside in daytime starts on my left. She's classy, strong and smart,' he says. 'And a thorn in his side,' Hughes teases. 'And she's a spur. She spurs me to do better,' he laughs. 'Basically, the beauty of daytime is that we get to do a show every day. We get to do a 75-page script five days a week, and as an actor, you get to do an arc that you would never have in any other medium,' he explains. 'The downside is that production is so fast, and the production values are so limited, relative to some of the other mediums, that you simply run up against time and money constantly. You have to make compromises, changes, and there are certain constrictions. You rarely get to go outside. You rarely get to shoot from across the plane, as it were. So you act in a style where you don't get to do a lot of vertical movement. There's a certain need for exposition that you have to repeat to yourself, and the challenge is to make that natural. So there are structural things within daytime that are confining, but on the other hand, once you have proven yourself in daytime, if you know your stuff, you can go many places. You can experiment within your character, because they know that you can do the job, and after several thousand performances of the same character, be it boredom or desire to be creative, or whatever muse strikes you, you can go places that you probably wouldn't have time or opportunity to do in another form of drama.'

Has Callahan been able to take his character above and beyond what's been written for him and is he satisfied with what he's done? 'I didn't say I could do it,' he laughs, 'I said, "You have the opportunity." I don't know how successful I've been,' he says. 'I don't know if I'm ever satisfied, but I've been reasonably challenged, and I always say that the reason why I'm so happy here is because the writers have created a really good character. It's also a great place to work and I've worked in a lot of places, but this is a great gig. Edmund's lost a wife, he's lost a brother, he keeps dropping off family members and forgetting where they are. But I've enjoyed where he's had to go and I look forward to further adventures.'

Further adventures for Edmund include working with his brother Dimitri (Michael Nader)- who everyone assumes is dead- in saving the woman that they both love, Alex. Callahan admits that he hopes the writers will have Edmund step aside once the mystery and adventures of Alex's past are revealed... and let her return to Dimitri. But until that actually happens, since Alex doesn't know Dimitri's back, Pine Valley viewers will be treated to an unusual triangle mixed with love, danger and much excitement.

On the personal side, AMC has also had a major influence in Callahan's private life. It was there that he met, fell in love with and married his co-star Eva La Rue (Maria). From the moment their characters became romantically involved, Edmund and Maria became one of the show's premier couples. Even though Maria 'died', fans are relentless in their quest to have her return and continually question Callahan as to when she's coming back. Right now, there are noplans for Maria's return as La Rue is happily pursuing other interests.

'Eva's wonderful,' Callahan informs. 'She's doing some work on a couple of shows now. She's doing a recurring role on Third Watch and she's also doing a recurring role on a new series for Showtime called Soul Food.

Callahan is grateful that both shows are done on the East Coast and not in LA, so the couple don't have to spend their time flying to be together. 'I got awfully sick of the bicoastal stuff- it's very wearing. So, Eva's doing fine,' he says, smiling.

Callahan would love to work with his wife again, but fans shouldn't get their hopes up that she'll be returning to AMC as Maria. 'Of course, we'd like to work together again, that goes without saying. But you know, but parties have to be ready, willing and able, and until that happens, I'm not entertaining it,' he says.

Callahan's plans include continuing his role as Edmund on AMC... and he's happy about it. 'I think that's obvious over the past few years. As long as it's on the page, I will be on the stage,' he says with a big smile."