Ben Masters Opens Up
by Courtaney
Evian Dreams
August, 2007

 

You turned 60 this year and you look fabulous! Did you have a special celebration? And did you ever dream that you would be 60 years old and have a whole lot of young people, including teenagers, wild about you?

I never thought I’d turn 30, but 60?? Tracey took me out for a great steak dinner and let me kiss her.

Were you able to drag Tracey on your boat this summer? Did you go anywhere special in it?

Tracey’s been on my boat a lot this summer. I took the boat to Catalina Island for 5 days. = 30 miles out.

This has been a difficult year for you, as it has for us fans, as Julian has gone through many different emotional swings that had seemed rather uncharacteristic of him in the past. Is it all starting to mesh together for you and for him, finally?

Honestly no. I rarely look for any continuity of character – it’s gone.

When the June episodes of Julian and Ivy at the Blue Note aired, several of us Evian fans likened it to “The Twilight Zone.” I think of all the things he has said and done in the past year, wanting to have a future with Ivy was perhaps the most surprising, because it appeared to come from out of nowhere. Did it seem that way to you, and was it difficult to play those scenes?

Yes – and no it was not difficult to do the scenes – Kim is always great to work with. But it was “The Twilight Zone.”

Julian has not been really good at reading Eve’s signals or going after her in recent months. How would you, as Ben, handle the situation, if you took the reins from Julian?

Kidnap her and take her to Paris.

Julian’s recent scenes with Tabitha and Endora were so much fun. Did you enjoy taping the wild moments at the witches’ school, where he found out his daughter was a witch, and the sweet scenes that followed, where he and Tabitha remembered Timmy?

Juliet – I love. Nicole – I love. The scenes were a lot of fun.

Your scenes with Eve and Vincent, when Julian found out the many truths about his son, were absolutely wonderful. Your expressions and delivery were terrific. Was it fun playing the straight man for once, to Tracey’s uncharacteristically drunken and comical Eve?

Yes. I love it when Tracey gets to show off all of her “assets.”

We were thrilled to learn that Evian were finally going to be close again. How did it feel to be able to kiss Tracey/Eve again onscreen? Did it seem like old times?

Kissing Tracey is one of the biggest thrills of my life.

You mentioned before that you had been in love with Tracey for a long time, and that she stole your heart the first time you met her. How difficult was it when things were heating up for Eve and Julian onscreen, to not act on those same feelings? Was the onset of Evian, and being together so much on the set, what finally brought you two together?

I couldn’t stand not being with her any longer. To be kissing her as Julian was too much for me. I started kissing her as Ben.

Back in 2003, before you and Tracey became a couple, you wondered what might happen if the two of you got together and happened to be driving through Alabama some night. I don’t know if you have been to the South together, but are things better than you ever expected in regards to being in an interracial relationship in this day and age?

It never really crosses my mind. We’re both Polynesian.

Tracey has said you were the one who first found out she had won the NAACP Image Award while surfing the net. How did you feel about her win, and how did you break the news to her? Did you take her out to celebrate?

I woke her up and told her. She usually sleeps like 18 hours – so she was a bit woozy. We had dinner.

Tracey was recently named among the 10 Most Beautiful Soap Women by Canadian TV Guide. The editor said this about her: “Exuding sex appeal, Ross can beguile viewers simply with a bat of an eyelash, and that sinful smile.” Do you think that’s a fair assessment of Tracey’s charms? And have you ever been under their spell?

I’ve always been under her spell. She is the sexiest, hottest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.

You mentioned in the last chat, when we were talking about your mischievous side, that we should have seen you the night before at the special inn you like to frequent with Tracey. Any little hints of the bad boy fun you like to partake in at that inn or elsewhere? *insert devil icon*

We merely read all the tabloids and have a few glasses of wine. Sometimes she gives me a kiss.

You seem to love Passions very much. Did you ever dream when you started out on the show that it would last this long and become such a fulfilling and important part of your life?

No. I thought it would last 13 weeks. It has been my life for over 8 years.

I know you have said a lot of times that you wish you were 35 again. But looking back at your life, is this one of the happiest times for you? And are you starting to believe that happy endings just might exist after all?

YES. My 50’s have been the best.