NBC Live Blog Chat
With Tracey Ross and Ben Masters
May 29, 2007

 

Welcome
Tracey- I am here and I am excited about blogging today!
Ben- It's always such a pleasure to talk to the fans out there in cyberspace.

Enjoying scenes together?
Ben- I would say I sometimes think that Eve and Julian are finding their way back to one another, but then in the next show, Julian does something very hideous and destroys the possiblity for their relationship.
Tracey- I don't feel there is much difference between last year and now. But, I find myself more annoyed with Eve, because the things she gets upset with are unjustifiable. But, I believe it's more Eve's fault. I think she's been kind of impossible to deal with. I am not on her side right now.

Is Spike our son?
Tracey- I don't know if Spike is our long-lost son. And as for a reunion, I can't say. I hope, but I can say "I see".
Ben- You never know what Mr. James Reilly will do! As for the Evian reunion, to be honest, it doesn't look like a real good reunion, if there is one.

To Emily- The very best thing about Passions
Ben- First of all, I love playing the part of Julian when he is written with a lot of wit and flamoyance. It's the most fun I have ever had playing a role. Secondly, I have so enjoyed the cast, because it's like a second family. It's the love of Tracey Ross, who I spend a lot of time with.
Tracey- The cast and crew is so part of your daily life. To work with people who make you smile and feel good is a very fortunate thing. It would be hard to give up.

Most embarrassing moments
Ben- The prank question comes up quite a bit. But, there is so much work to be done, that we don't have a lot of time for pranks. As for embarrassing moments on set, I think Julian has moments everytime he is on set.
Tracey- I think after awhile, you are beyond being embarrassed on the set. It happens all the time that you don't have any dignity left to feel like you are losing any. LOL. The cast knows you and they are prepared for whatever you might do.

For John- Relating to our characters
Tracey- I think my character, she is more like how I saw my mother in the past. Just like, my idea of a mother-type person, or my own mother. She's more in that particular fashion, then I am. I think Eve's motherly style is her main asset.
Ben- I try to add to Julian some of the twisted wit and strange take on life that, I, myself have. I might read lines that were for Julian with an oddness to them that I find interesting in my life.

Our chemistry
Tracey- We never really worked on our chemistry. It just fits. Ben would have chemistry with a potted plant. He would make the potted plant come off as charming, sexy and fascinating. That's what he brings out. You can only take credit for some with Ben. He has chemistry with everything. He helps me be better.
Ben- She's full of crap! It didn't take long working with Tracey, to be totally smitten with her beauty, intelligence, everything. Working with her has been a dream.

To Donna- Where are our characters going?
Ben- To DirectTV! For Julian, I would love for him to remain witty, but at the same time, get back together with Eve.
Tracey- I only want Julian to get back with Eve if she doesn't become a wet blanket with him. I want Julian to continue to sparkle and don't want Eve to stop that.

Karen- Missing the kisses
Ben- I have missed the kisses. No doubt about it.
Tracey- Touche!

Summer Plans
Tracey- One of these days, we plan to go to Eve's in Venice.
Ben- We only have two weeks off in the Summer. Usually at high-traffic times. I have no plans. I have a sailboat I hope to enjoy and I will try to drag Tracey on to.

Acting ambitions
Tracey- I was 6 when I wanted to be an actress. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Ben- I started being in plays in high school and just got hooked.
Tracey- Why were you in the plays?
Ben- Because of the pretty girls that were in the plays.

Sleeping with Ivy
Ben- I won't stop. Not so far.

Inspirations
Ben- The movie stars of the time when I was a kid. Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, then later, stage actors in New York, George C. Scott, Alan Bates. People like that were my inspiration.
Tracey- I always wanted to live a lot of lives and be different people with different jobs. So, being actor allowed me to have different lives. As for today, I want to be Angelina Jolie's nanny.
Ben- I want to work with Angelina Jolie!
Tracey- I have given him permission to work with Angelina Jolie. He couldn't resist her.

To Denise- Too much togetherness?
Tracey- I don't think it's too much. I think it's fun and wonderful. We don't have to see eachother just in the mornings or evenings. I think it's great I get to see him at work. The more time I get to spend with him, the better. The happier I am.
Ben- I think it's great to work with Tracey. To do scenes with her. Even when we are not in scenes together, I like to see her beautiful face.

To Kiesha- NAACP Awards
Tracey- Victoria Rowell won twelve years in a row, I did not expect to win. The fact she wasn't running this year, she took herself out of the race, and I got lucky. This year, I wasn't there, for the first time. So, there are no pictures of me at the awards, so Ben saw on the internet that I won. I had to hear it from him. As for my reaction, I thought, "Oh Goody". I was happy and proud. I thought Passions was going off the air. It was nice to have this opportunity to win an image award. It was a nice surprise.
Ben- I bet you win next year.
Tracey- I'll be there next year.

Any spoilers?
Tracey- I don't know what we can say about spoilers. I don't think we can reveal anything.

To Bill- The comings and goings
Ben- Tracey and I have been to Justin and Lindsey Hartley's house. We are still in touch with Justin, who is a wonderful young man. Generally, people just go on with their lives.
Tracey- I would say, you are happy when you see people who used to be on the show, but we all live busy lives. I always have good feelings about everyone, but I can't say we all keep in touch.

Will we find our son?
Ben- I assume we will, but I don't think it will be very pleasant.
Tracey- We can find someone saying he's our son, but it turns out he isn't. Nobody has an ID in Harmony. So you never really know.

Siblings?
Tracey- I have an older brother named Marvin and a younger sister named Carol and a younger brother who is deceased.

Do we watch Passions?
Tracey- I watch the show. If there are things that I am not that interested in, I will FF through those scenes. I always watch Ben's scenes. And almost watch all of my scenes. I NEVER miss scenes of Esme. I love her! I think she's a hoot! She will be on DirectTV. I am her biggest fan.

To Jackie- Favorite Moments
Ben- When Julian kissed Eve on the patio at the Lobster Shack, that was one of my favorite scenes.
Tracey- I liked the whole period when Julian was Eve's knight in shining armor. When he said he would do anything for her, take any beatings...anything. It was so romantic!
Ben- She should have taken the Crane jet to Paris when he asked her. Instead of getting on top of the plane.
Tracey- At the time, that scene was annoyed, but now I look back and I think of how much fun it was. Doing the tsunami scenes were fun. It was such a production. I thought, "wow, somebody is here to fish me out of the water if I drowned". I felt very important.

To Anna- Memorable moments off-screen
Ben- In my little convertable, we had the top down near my house, we were caught in a dense fog bank in an area that had been totally burned up months ago. The scene was just beautiful. I know it doesn't sound romantic, but you had to be there.
Tracey- Everything Ben and I do is memorable to me.

The cast going to DirectTV
Ben- The majority of us are.
Tracey- There are a few question marks there. We really don't know the status on some of the actors.

Thank You, Fans!
Ben- As always, I want to thank the fans of Passions who are so avidly following the show. I can't tell you how much you all mean to me.
Tracey- Thanks for the loyalty and your infinite patience. We think the world of you!