From Soaps In Depth, February 3, 1998
Some time before PORT CHARLES, and certainly the character of Dr. Joe Scanlon, were even gleams in an executive producer’s eye, Michael Dietz was watching an episode of BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 at college. The Penn State sophomore thought to himself, "Gee, it might be kind of fun to be on a show like that."
And just like that, he says, "I decided to go to California that summer, just to see what it was like, and I never went back. I drove out by myself in three days with my station wagon, my futon, and $100 in my pocket, and ended up staying with two other guys in a one-bedroom apartment for a while."
Although he had his family’s blessing, Dietz had only one college acting class under his belt. Still, he jumped into showbiz with both feet and did swimmingly well. Eventually, he even did land a part in his favorite zip code, playing a doctor in a drug rehabilitation center where Kelly Taylor was recovering. "I had a terrific time working on 90210," he recalls. "Everyone really treated me like an equal.
"Then," he continues, "I moved to New York and played Alan-Michael Spaulding on GUIDING LIGHT two months after that."
The rest, as they say, is not only PORT CHARLES history, but PORT CHARLES’ future.
JOE "SUITS" HIM
"I tried to be like Alan-Michael," he adds. "And I tried to put as much ‘niceness’ as I could into him, but he was always blackmailing people."
Now Joe, on the other hand… "I think Joe’s moral code is a template that every male in America should follow," Dietz asserts. "I don’t think he would do anything dishonest, and he’d never lie or cheat. With the exception of his temper, I think Joe’s moral code is perfect."
Joe’s temper might have started Alan-Michael’s ducking for cover at one time, but not now that he has gotten involved with fellow medical intern Karen. "Joe used to just be about himself, becoming a doctor and thinking about his career," Dietz suggests. "Now he realizes that there’s another side to life, like marriage, family, and love. There’s this beautiful woman in his life whom he can’t live without, and that changes everything for him."
LOVE NOTES
"But for the characters," he elaborates, "I think these two really understand each other. Karen is Joe’s soulmate whom he’s had a crush on since they were kids. When they ran into each other again as adults, he realized that she shares this vulnerability and believes that they were always meant to be together."
Now that Dietz’s on-again/off-again relationship with Michelle Stafford is over, he is able to put it into perspective. "It was really difficult trying to carry on a relationship in the public eye, and I’ve learned a lot of things, like when to keep my mouth shut," he reveals. "It was also tough in the sense that my mother or grandmother back home would call me up and ask, ‘What’s this about?’ And what they’d read was totally untrue, and I would have to explain myself. I’m so not good at this whole thing, and I just don’t get why anything I do would be of interest to anyone."
"I see marriage in Joe and Karen’s future. How can they not?"
Although going from playing GL’s mani-suited heir to PC’s scrubs-wearing medical intern meant that Dietz no longer would be wearing cool threads, he is far more comfortable in Joe’s skin than he was in Alan-Michael’s. "Alan-Michael had a hell of a lot more money and he definitely dressed better than Joe, but he was not the nicest guy," the actor points out. "He would use Joe as a doormat, and Joe wouldn’t even know it!
While the single actor admits that he has yet to find the key to a good relationship, he definitely knows why the dynamic between Joe and Karen works. "Jennifer and I have great chemistry together," he offers. "I never knew what chemistry was before. I only know that I didn’t have it with Sonia [Satra, who played Alan-Michael’s wife, Lucy] on GL, and I do with Jennifer. She’s so easy to work with, and the two of us just click.
