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TV Guide, Canada, July 14, 1990
Smack in the middle of a lunch/interview with Knots Landing's
Joseph Gian, a smartly dressed fan--right out of Knots' 18-49
female demographic group--boldly approaches the table.
"You better be back at that altar in September!"
she tells Gian, better known as dubious detective Ton Ryan,
the guy who ran out on Paige (Nicollette Sheridan) mere minutes
before they were to be wed in last season's suspenseful Knots
Landing cliffhanger.
Gian, hiding unsuccessfully behind a trim summer beard, looks
up from his lunch, smiles and politely says, "We'll see."
What he doesn't tell her is by that mid-June day, he didn't
have a contract for Knots' 12th season.
"He'll be back," says executive producer Lawrence
Kasha, contacted later in L.A. 'We've had a wonderful response
to Joey from all over the country. little girls write him a
lot of letters, which is good for the show, and all ages like
the relationship between Joe and Nicollette. it turned out to
be even better than we expected."
Last season was a heady one for Gian's character. Ton Ryan
is the cop Mack MacKenzie (Kevin Dobson) doesn't trust--but
that his daughter Paige wants to marry. Ryan also spend a good
deal of time dodging the efforts of Knots' resident heel, Greg
Sumner, to run him out of town. As such, he's getting used to
being recognized in restaurants, even in Toronto. "A show
like this is so powerful--it has such a large viewership,"
says Gian, who's just turned 30. "Most people knots that
I'm acting, but there was this episode where I had a semi-seduction
scene with Michele Phillips, just moments before I proposed
to Paige. in the street, people flipped out: "Don't you
ever sleep with that monster. . .You better not touch her!"
Despite Ton's shady past, Gian feels the fans should give him
another chance. "Tom has done a lot of questionable things,
but he always believed it was the right thing to do. Now he's
found that the cares for somebody, loves somebody. I like to
think that he's turned his life around since meeting Paige,
but I want to see what's going to happen with Sumner."
Sumner--still carrying the torch for Paige--blackmailed Tom
into dodging the wedding at the last minute. "Tom used
his bad guy instincts to find the easy way out," explains
Kasha. "That was not the smart thing to do, and he'll rectify
that this season." Gian sure hopes so: "A lot of women
came up to me and said,'Why didn't Tom just beat the crap out
of him?' I want to make sure that they're handling it right.
I just don't see Tom backing down that easily."
When it comes to the crunch of contract negotiations, the Brooklyn-raised
Miami native sounds every bit as determined as his Knots alter
ego. "They made me an offer that I was insulted by--I can't
repeat the words that I used," he steams, genuinely bruised
by the harsh reality of high-powered prime-time contract bargaining.
"Maybe I should never have heard the first offer to begin
with."
Like a cocky rookie trying to stick with the big-league team,
Gian, who spent two seasons on Hooperman, feels he's now earned
a berth among Knots' heavy hitters. "I came on that show
pretty strong," says Gian, who compares joining such an
established cast to "Walking into somebody's house and
making yourself at home right away."
Taking notice immediately was Joan Van Ark, who met Gian in
the makeup trailer. "I said, 'Hi, my name is Joey.' And
she said, ' Oh yeah--you're the little son of a bitch that's
going to keep us on our toes.' it was the utmost compliment."
The producers also took note, and Gian, originally booked for
just 10 or 12 shows, wound up doing a full season. "The
relationship between Tom and Paige became real hot," says
Kasha.
Most male viewers might think playing love scenes opposite
Sheridan--picked by People magazine recently as one of the most
beautiful women in the world--would be payment enough. "I
said a lot of nice things about her to one interviewer--that
she had a European, sophisticated sexiness," says Gian.
"And then, after the interview was wrapped, they said,
'Sounds like you really enjoy working with her.' And I said,
'I really do. Sometimes she'll walk on the set, and I'll turn
around and go, wow!' And that's all they printed: 'Sometimes
she'll walk on the set, and I'll go, wow!' "
Gian also acknowledges that career-wise, the romance with Paige
had another bonus. "It was a great opportunity, especially
because I had just finished a two-season run on Hooperman, where
I played Rick Silardi, a police officer who happened to be Gay."
Gian admits he had to be talked into taking that role by Hooperman's
executive producer, Steven Bochco. "Of course, I hesitated--I'm
from Brooklyn," kids Gian, who nonetheless had genuine
reservations. "A lot of actors have cursed their careers,
in a senceplaying a gay character." n Gian uses Sheridan's
real-life boyfriend, L.A. Law's Harry Hamlin--who played a gay
character in the bland 1982 film "Making Love"--as
an example. "It really did hurt his career for a while,"
says Gian.
Gian came to Bochco's attention after a one-day stint on L.A.
Law. But his first big break came in 1985, when he became a
semifinalist in the male vocalist category on the syndicated
talent series Star Search. "The exposure was phenomenal,"
says Gian, who went on to appear in a few music videos, including
two for Diana Ross.
Gian's next challenge is becoming a film star. But after roles
in six forgettable films ("A night in Heaven," "Mad
About You"), he's still looking for that breakthrough role.
"I was up for the part of James Caan's illegitimate son
in 'The Godfather III,' which my friend Andy Garcia got,"
says Gian, who also narrowly missed out on the new Neil Simon
movie starring Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. "I thought
I was going to nail that baby, too. Let me tell you, not getting
to work for a couple of months with Kim Basinger was a big letdown."
But Joseph, don't you already work with Nicollette Sheridan?
"You're right--Somebody wake me up!"
Copyright KnotsLanding.Net 2003
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