Though Jay Kenneth Johnson is thrilled about playing Philip on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, had timing been different, he might have gotten Lucky somewhere else. "My next-door neighbor does wardrobe for GENERAL HOSPITAL, "he explains. "She was passing me in the hall and she said, 'Oh, my God, you look like Jonathan Jackson and we're recasting him for the role of Lucky. You need to get your agent to get you in.' [At the same time], I had three girls I was serving in a restaurant say, 'You've got to go out for a role we read about in Soap Opera Digest that GH is recasting. You look like the guy.'"
Johnson soon met with GH Casting Director Mark Teschner, then went to producers. "They wanted to screen-test," he says. "But I went on a DAYS audition the day after that. Producers liked me, so I went with this job. I got luckier. It would've been a hard role to fill. Jonathan Jackson is a great actor."
Not that replacing Brandon Tyler, who had the role for only four months, was that much easier. "I originally thought I was reading for Brady, because that's what it said in the script," he reveals. "Then, my agent said that there was something she had to tell me, but couldn't yet. A couple of days later, she called me up and she said, 'Casting just called me and they had to let someone go.' I'm like, 'I've got to walk in on this?'"
Johnson was relieved to be welcomed by the cast, and has even socialized with his predecessor. "Brandon is a really nice guy," he says. "I really like him. We have gone out together with Jason [Cook, Shawn], Nadia [Bjorlin, Chloe] and Aaron [Van Wagner, Jason]. We have a lot of fun." And being a huge DAYS fan helped him learn his castmates' names pretty quickly. "DAYS is the only soap I have watched," he says. "I can remember when I read for the producers, I was walking down the hall and saw Joe Mascolo [Stefano] and Kristian [Alfonso, Hope]. I had been watching them for 10 or 15 years. It was so wild! I used to watch with my grandparents. I'd go and stay with them during the summer and they got my hooked on it, so I would watch during the school year. And then, if I was ever home sick...."
Johnson, a Missouri native, dropped out of college after a few semesters and moved to Los Angeles in early 1999. His parents urged him to continue his education and get a degree, but Johnson was determined to try his luck in Tinseltown. "After a couple of months, they realized I was really serious, so they kind of warmed up to it," he recalls.
Johnson took a job as a waiter while he got the lay of the land. "[DAYS] was my fifth audition," he explains. "My first one was Y&R and I booked that. Second one was a small film and I booked that, but couldn't do it because down the line, I got DAYS. My third one was a movie of the week and I got called back, so I haven't been rejected yet. Something must be right about my decision to move out here. The cards fell right."
In spite of his track record, Johnson knows he's still a novice. "Ilook back at the first episode and i'm like, 'Oh, my gosh,' " he laughs. "I think i've learned since then, but I think I have a long way to go, which is good. It's kind of like a actors' studio her. It's a great job, and every day I see myself getting better."
And his Missouri pals get a kick out of seeing him play the spoiled Kiriakis scion. "They tell me they just laugh because they know it's not me," he explains. "I'm not conniving, I'm not a scoundrel. Philip is always trying to turn something for his personal gain and I am not like that."
As for his personal life, Johnson is dating, but prefers to keep the details private (Veronica's opinion: thats a smart choice). His free time is spent playing sports, hanging out with his DAYS pals and going to the movies. As for his music career, "It's kind of on the back-burner now, but I'm definitely thinking about it," he says. "I will try to get something going as soon as I get my stuff together. I'm getting a couple of tapes sent out and I'm gonna submitthem to the right people and see where it goes. Maybe we'll do something on the show Jason and Nadia sing too."
Heavy stuff for a guy who a year or two ago could only dream about a career in the art. "I thought I'd be going to college and end up behind a desk," he muses. "I switched majors four times. I had no idea where I was going. I think this what I have to do."
Pitt Stop
Jay Kenneth Johnson hails from the same town as another Missouri bot who went on to make it big - Brad Pitt.
"They definitely play that up back home," he says. "I try to play that down, though I don't want people to think I would use that. But it is kind of odd: He's for the same high school, lived just around the corner. We have a connection through John Aniston [Victor] - he's my [onscreen] dad [and the father of Pitt's girlfriend, Jennifer]. We went to the same church. We were both out here for seven months before we landed our first roles. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is really weird.' I just hope I have the same success that he did!"