Bailey Chase: The Official Site

After Emily's kiss-off, Chris Hughes ran for medical school! And now that he's completed his initial schooling, Chris returns to Oakdale for his medical internship. As the World Turns welcomes BAILEY CHASE to the cast as the ever-romantic Chris. CBS.com gave Bailey a call to find out how he's enjoying his new job!

CBS.com: Tell me how you landed this role.
BAILEY CHASE: It was like any other job. I auditioned for it like everybody else and I guess it was a little unique in that I happened to be in New York this summer and I had a chance to meet with Chris Goutman [Executive Producer]. We met and hit it off. When they decided to recast [Chris Hughes] they [called me].

CBS.com: Where were you living, if not in New York?
BAILEY CHASE: I was living in Los Angeles. I had been in L.A. for the last six years. Wait, I should backtrack a little bit. I met Mary Clay Bowland [Casting Director] in L.A. and then I told her I was going to New York and she set me up with Chris. Everything just worked out, but now I live in sub-freezing weather. [Laughs]

CBS.com: Where were you when you heard the news that you got the job?
BAILEY CHASE: I was walking down the street in Tribeca. My agent called me. I was really surprised to hear because they told me it was going to be a couple of weeks and they called me three days later. It was the end of the day on a Friday. I was getting ready to go back to L.A. and they were like, "Congratulations!" I thought, "Why? What could you possibly be congratulating me for at this stage?" It didn't seem real initially. I couldn't call anyone else at the end of the day on Friday. The first call I got from As the World Turns was from Alan [Locher, publicist] and that pseudo-confirmed it for me the following week.

CBS.com: When was your first day of taping?
BAILEY CHASE: I started the week before Christmas.

CBS.com: Tell me about your first day taping.
BAILEY CHASE: The first day was really interesting. I worked a lot with Larry [Bryggman, John] and Don [Hastings, Bob], my dad and supervisor, Dr. Dixon. Those guys are awesome. They might as well have their own side show. They are so much fun and, fortunately, I had some time with the material and got it down. Ever since we got back from the holidays there's just been so much stuff. They move so fast.

CBS.com: Has it been difficult getting used to the daytime rhythm?
BAILEY CHASE: It is. That is the biggest adjustment right there. The technical stuff is easy, where you're shooting on a stage versus having a camera over your shoulder.

CBS.com: But the timing is just different.
BAILEY CHASE: Yes. And there's so much dialogue. Coming from say, most recently, working on a show like Buffy [the Vampire Slayer], that was a very action heavy show. A lot of the acting was in your behavior. It's not as intense from a dialogue perspective.

CBS.com: Did you know anything about the character before coming on to the show?
BAILEY CHASE: Not that much. They cast the role under an alias. When it came time to do the screentest they told me that it was Chris Hughes and that he was part of the family. They said he was going to be an intern and just coming back from medical school. I didn't have much to go on. The first week, working with Don and Kathryn [Hays], who plays my mom [Kim], they filled me in on a lot of the history. They've seen the different Chrises come and go.

CBS.com: Did you even want to take a look back at old footage of the character?
BAILEY CHASE: There wasn't really even an opportunity. I thought that maybe there would be some type of production meeting where I would get clued in about what they wanted and where this character was heading. In a lot of ways it's been nice because they've pretty much given me carte blanche in terms of doing what it is I want with the character and making Chris my own. As an actor, that's really nice.

CBS.com: The last time fans saw Chris, he was headed off to medical school and to get his life in order. What are the circumstances of his return?
BAILEY CHASE: He's an intern. He's not a full fledged doctor. If I understand med school correctly, he's finished with school, but he needs to do this internship before he becomes a doctor.

CBS.com: What is it that attracts you to this role?
BAILEY CHASE: Chris has a really good heart. He wears his heart on his sleeve and follows his instincts regardless of the consequences. That's really admirable. I definitely covet that in Chris. If we all did that, we would probably live in a better place, but consequently, he runs into some obstacles.

CBS.com: That makes for good daytime drama!
BAILEY CHASE: Yes! Conflict is a good thing. Conflict sells and Chris finds it.

CBS.com: Is it strange to come into an established character role?
BAILEY CHASE: No. I hadn't really thought about it. It was the right job at the right time for me personally. I just followed my instinct and came to New York.

CBS.com: Were you looking to get into daytime drama?
BAILEY CHASE: I had recently opened that door of opportunity. I started meeting with some people specifically in New York because I was looking for a change of pace. I have a lot of friends in the city from college. I met with the people from All My Children and here [at As The World Turns].

CBS.com: I read that you majored in Psychology in college. When did you realize you wanted to pursue acting?
BAILEY CHASE: [Laughs] It's more of a boyhood dream. The timing of it just didn't seem right to pursue until after I got out of school. Up until that point in time, my life was very linear. I played sports, went to school, went to the next school, played more sports and then when I was getting ready to finish up in college, my athletic career coming to an end, it just seemed like the next logical step for me.

CBS.com: Well, you seemed to back yourself up well.
BAILEY CHASE: Yes. That can be a catch 22 in a lot of ways because if you have too many options it's really hard to make up your mind. Whereas if you're looking for that one defining signal to say, "OK, do this with your life," [you may wait forever]. You just have to leave yourself alone and follow your instincts.

CBS.com: When did you get your break into the business?
BAILEY CHASE: I don't know if I've had a big break. I've been fortunate enough to work and support myself as an actor for a lot of years.

CBS.com: That says a lot.
BAILEY CHASE: Yes. It's good, but I'm actually relishing being able to settle into a role and a place to call home and go to work almost on a daily basis. It's nice.

CBS.com: I noticed you've done some theater. Do you see yourself ever going back to do more?
BAILEY CHASE: I'd love to, especially being here in New York. That was a large part of the reason for coming here. I just want to get everything settled in with Chris and As The World Turns. Once I get comfortable with things on that front, that's definitely the priority, [then] I'll look into some theater opportunities and maybe some films down the road.