Matthew Miles Grayson- Soaps In Depth Magazine, 6/23/98
With a new love interest on the horizon, Timothy Adams is ready to muscle in on leading-man territory!
When most people who are not fans of daytime think of soaps, they think of buxom babes, parading around in skimpy lingerie, and they thing of men who...very much resemble Timothy Adams, actually. The actor who plays SUN's lovable lifeguard Casey, has the look of quintessential serial thriller: square jaw, bulging biceps, washboard stomach, California tan.
But those who would judge this book by it's cover woudn't be getting even half of the story. You see, Adams is a savvy Adonis. He knows that on top of his acting ability and charisma, he has got the hunkiest image this side of BAYWATCH - and he's not afraid to flaunt it. "I knew what I was getting into," he says. "It's really not a big deal. I feel that if I have any acting credibility, it will show with or without my shirt on.
"If you can act and you have a great chest, fine," he adds. "If you can act and you don't have a great chest, fine. But if you have both and it's not hurting you and the fans don't mind, then why not [show it off]?"
Is There Enough Of Him To Go Around?
Judging by the volume - as in both the number and loudness - of fans who came out to see Adams at the NBC Daydream Tour in Columbus, Ohio, his plan to use his looks and his ability as a one-two punch are working like a charm. "I don't think they were all there for me personally," he says modestely. "But it was overwhelming to see hundreds fo people waiting in line from 8am. I call that dedication."
And Adams knows of whence he speaks, where dedication is concerned. Even when Casey has been so far on the backburner that his admirers scarcely could feel the heat, they have lobbied for a storyline and love interest for their favorite life preserver. But Adams understands that not everybody can be the star everyday. "I think it's appropriate that they [writers and producers] take their time," he says. "When the show started, Casey had his love interest with Rae, but that didn't work out. I think they are just being careful with whom to pair him with this time."
The frontrunner in the race to be Casey's new amour seems to be Meg's older sister, Sara. She showed up in Sunset with scandal nipping at her heels, and now finds herself in need of a pair of broad shoulders to lean on. Fueling the sweet talk is the fact that a Sara/Casey pairing would take him away from Meg's side. "Sara has always been competing with Meg," Adams explains. "There is a lot of sibling rivalry. I think it's an interesting angle - Casey being there for both of them. But who will become his top priority remains to be seen."
Real Love
In real life, Adams doesn't have to speculate about with whom he will be paired. He and co-star Sherri Saum (Vanessa), he reveals, "have been in a serious, committed relationship since August [1997]. We have a great compatibility in may aspect of our lives. We are in a state of synchronicity."
Adams didn't arrive at his happy beginning overnight, though. Between the ages of 23 - 27, he was married to former MTV veejay Daisy Fuentes - from whom he is now divorced. "That is a part of my life that doesn't exist anymore," he says. "It's not a bad thing or good thing, just a fact."
What had his previous marriage taught him? "Hopefully, that you don't make the same mistake twice. Relationships work when you don't judge. With Sherri, I've found that. I don't even think that we've had an argument since we've known each other, not even raised our voices."
Of course, the twosome do take a ribbing from her on-screen beau, Adams' buddy, Jason George (Michael). "I don't watch their love scenes," Adams says. "Jason will tease me about it, but I get to go home with her. That's my consolation."
A real-life perfect match. A promising storyline. Looks and talent to boot. Adams is a lucky guy, and best of all, he knows it. "I'm glad for the direction that my life has gone in," he sums up. "And I'm glad that I've been able to stay grounded."
Alan Carter- Soap Opera News Magazine, February 1999
Timothy Adams, Sunset Beach's brawny lifeguard, opens up about about being a hit with viewers, when it's OK to swat someone with a baseball bat - and why he no longer plays the field
The first thing you notice when you step into Timothy Adams' (Casey) dressing room, the one he's shared with Jason George (Michael) since day one, is the clothes lying on the floor. Since George is something of a clean freak, it's pretty apparent whose apparel you have to step over to get to the couch.
"I'm not a slob," Adams insists with a laugh. "I figure why hang them up? I'm just going to put them right back on again." Adams does want it said, for the record, that the clothes on the floor belong to him. He has much more reverence for the clothes that Casey wears - and that the show owns. When Casey is wearing clothes, that is.
In fact, his reverence - and zeal - for playing Casey is contagious. Adams likes talking about himself (he's no different from you and me), but he loves talking about the role that's made him a daytime heartthrob.
SON: It's been a while since we've spoken.
T.A.: Sure has. But we're still sitting in the same place.
SON: How has your life changed the most?
T.A.: I love getting a paycheck every week! And I'm still here.
SON: Not to many of the original cast members can say that.
T.A.: Exactly. I'm still here. I love that. I wasn't expecting it.
SON: You were expecting to be fired?
T.A.: No, it was more like I was just expecting not to be around long. I wasn't sure if the show would last or what would happen. Like now. We got renewed for a year. But I hate the idea of living year to year; not knowing if we'll be on or not. That's a weird thing.
SON: The last time we spoke, you mentioned you were about to ask someone out but you were worried about what her reaction would be. And you just snickered when I said, "Is it someone at NBC?" Now I know it was Sherri Saum (Vanessa). I can't believe you kept it quiet for as long as you did.
T.A.: [Laughs] If you'd spent more time on the set, you probably would've known. People pretty much figured it out very quickly. I wanted to tell you. But I respected Sherri wanting to keep things discreet.
SON: I knew discreet couldn't have been your idea.
T.A.: Things are so excellent [with us].
SON: Knock on wood.
T.A.: [Looking for wood, he hits his head and laughs.] You know what? I don't have to knock on wood. Things are going so well for me. For the show, with Sherri.
SON: Is it weird to have Jason be your roommate and you have to kiss his girlfriend?
T.A.: He's kissing my girlfriend.
SON: You know what I mean.
T.A.: And you know what I mean. [Laughs] What else do you want to know?
SON: Does it bother you to see Jason kissing Sherri?
T.A.: Nah. Of course not.
SON: It's funny. Casey didn't have a love interest for the longest time. Now, it looks like Sara and Meg will fight over him. He's becoming a sex symbol.
T.A.: I don't know about that. He hasn't had sex with either of them yet. It's just nice to interact with a female character for a change. I enjoy playing Casey as a gentleman and a charmer. He's always been a good guy, but he really didn't get to show an intimate side before.
SON: The relationship with Rae was very quick.
T.A.: It was over before he got a chance to show his softer side. They were both so hard-headed, it was hard for him to act smooth and confident. And that's who I think Casey is.
SON: You don't think he's always had that?
T.A.: He has an air of confidence he didn't have before. And it's growing as he matures. And I think it will grow even more as he gets more comfortable with the people he's around.
SON: You mean, I'm glad he's finally sleeping with women on the show?
T.A.: [Laughs] Well, they're not exactly fighting over Casey at this point. I think a potential triangle will be interesting. I mean, I'd like to hop in the sack at least once year on this show.
SON: How will Sherri handle seeing you in love scenes, for a change?
T.A.: I'm sure she'll be fine with it. She's seen me do those scenes before. It's not a problem. If we had issues with that stuff, we wouldn't be dating each other. That would be another soap opera. We're both cool.
SON: Everyone wants to know if you two will get married?
T.A.: One of the tabloids just said we were engaged. And we're not. Everyone keeps asking us. And we don't have a problem with that.
SON: Things are excellent, but your co-workers had to be initially worried. What happens if they break up, if it's ugly, if they fight a lot, etc.
T.A.: I'm sure there was that [concern]. And people were certainly curious. But I have to tell you something, honestly - we've never had a fight. Never. It's who we are. In a year and a half, not one fight. I've never been a fighter that way. I don't raise my voice. I don't get angry. I love people, I'm loveable. I don't like confrontations. But, if someone messes with my livelihood, that's different. I saw a documentary on [daredevil] Evel Knievel. He said someone once messed with his livelihood and he took a baseball bat to the guy. I understood that.
SON: A baseball bat?
T.A.: Yeah. And he wasn't remorseful. I believe in that. I don't want someone messing with my livelihood.
SON: You'll love this article.
T.A.: Thanks.
SON: You sound so much more mature these days. Is that a fair assessment?
T.A.: I believe I had emotional maturity from a young age. And either you have it or you don't.
SON: You have swimsuit pinups in your dressing room, your clothes are on the floor. You're emotionally mature from a young age? [Laughs]
T.A.: I didn't say I was socially mature. [Laughs] There's a big difference. The posters were gifts from the ladies in them. They gave them to someone in production, who gave them to us, since we play the lifeguards.
SON: Uh, huh.
T.A.: [Laughs] No, really! I'm the same guy as when this show started.
SON: You seem more relaxed, more confident.
T.A.: This is who I am. I might be more relaxed about the show - that I'm going to be around.
SON: You'd think you would've felt that long before now. When did you know - you know that "they like me, they really like me?" [Laughs]
T.A.: When Gary [Tomlin, SUN's executive producer] stopped calling me into his office.
SON: Really?
T.A.: Really. He'd say, "Tim, please stop directing the other actors in your scenes." When I got here, I knew nothing. I mean, nothing. About the industry, about soaps, about the protocol. I was overwhelmed. I'd tell other actors where to stand and all because I was so new. [Laughs] I'd be like, 'Now you stand here, and I'll come around and then I'll say this and you say'... I really had no clue this wasn't my job. It was just inexperience talking. And Gary would say, 'Tim, this is not appropriate behavior.'"
SON: How many times did he have to tell you?
T.A.: A few. [Laughs] That's the funny thing. Now, I can laugh at it. But what was I thinking?
Soap Opera Digest Magazine, Dated: August 24, 1999
Timothy Adams is usually kept busy saving lives as lifeguard Casey on Sunset Beach. But when he has free time, Adams likes to eat right, watch TV and make love in the rain.
Rice or Beans? "Beans, because they have protein. Brown rice has protein, but not as much. But speaking from a trainer's point of view, I go for the beans."
Peanut Butter or Jelly? "Jelly. I like the texture."
TV or Movies? "Movies. Everything is better on film."
News or Sports? "Sports - (I) like activity!"
Chocolate or Vanilla? "Chocolate. It's always sweeter."
Snow or Rain? "Rain, because you can still make love in the rain."
Rosie or Oprah? "Oprah. Something must be said for longevity."
CITYAKUTEN or CHICAGO HOPE? "There is no HOPE when there's ER."
McDonalds or Spago? "There's nothing like Mickey D's when you least expect it."
Sedan or Sport Utility? "I'm picking a third: coupe. Forget both of them, I want a coupe. Two doors is cooler. Sometimes less is more."
Beer, Wine or Liquor? "Liquor, 'cause it's quicker."
Madonna or Cher? "Madonna just rules."
Boxers or Briefs? "Neither. Ever."
Wax or Shave? "Wax. Let's keep it really smooth."
Star Wars or Star Trek? "Star Wars. Lucas - do I need to say any more?"
Laverne or Shirley? "Laverne - go for the wild one."
CD or Vinyl? "CD. Let's keep it compact and clear as a bell."
A.M. or P.M.? "P.M. Things are much more exciting in the evening."
Disney World or Disneyland? "Why should we stop at the land - let's go to the world!"
Spicy or Mild? "Spicy. Like I have to tell you what my tastes really are."
Sarah Michelle Gellar or Jennifer Love Hewitt? "Buffy [Gellar]. I wouldn't mind being slayed by her."
Time or Entertainment Weekly? "Entertainment Weekly. I've got enough time on my own hands."
Snooze Button or Jump Out Of Bed? "Snooze. It feels good to roll over and go back to sleep."
Ernie or Bert? "Ernie. Bert was too uptight."
Ginger or Mary Ann? "Ginger. Who wouldn't want to be with a movie star?"
Eat In or Take Out? "Eat In. I'm a good cook. And the way to a woman's heart is through her stomach."
L.A. or New York? "New York. It's the city that never sleeps."
By: Janet DeLauro, Soap Opera Weekly Magazine, Dated: July 20, 1999
Sunset's Timothy Adams has a very level (and handsome) head on that magnificent torso.
Timothy Adams (Casey Mitchum, Sunset Beach) is a man of many talents and straightforward admissions. An hour-long chat in his dressing room runs a gamut of topics. Everything from taking off his shirt --and then some - to the monetary allure of show business to his heartfelt thankfulness at being involved in an interracial romance in the open-minded '90s. And, oh yes, his predilection for walking on his hands.
"I taught myself," Adams announces proudly. "It started by standing on my head in front of the TV as a kid. My mom would say, 'Get down, you're going to break something.' Then - wham! - I'd break something. Two weeks would go by and I'd be back to standing on my head again and walking. After so many years, I can do it anywhere. I could walk on this table," he smiles, immediately flipping upside down and giving it a go. "It's like breathing for me."
Adams insists the unusual habit keeps his buff body in shape - along with "playing basketball for fun. Other than that, I don't even work out anymore, and my body is pretty much the way it was three years ago," he says. "I've been fortunate that I set my body up for life at an early age."
An underdeveloped adolescent - "When I graduated from the eight grade I was, like, 4 feet, 11 inches" - Adams didn't develop until a good four years later. But he was never teased or picked on. "I had a wise-guy attitude. I'd razz people," he grins. "And to compensate for my size, I worked out with weights."
Adams' strategy obviously paid off, because today his muscular, 6-foot-1-inch physique is a perfect specimen of the California man, right down to the blond hair, blue eyes and perennial tan he sports courtesy of living near the beaches of Malibu.
"People always assume that I'm a native Californian right off the bat. I've gotten it my whole life," he relates. The irony, of course, is that Adams hails from Harrison, N.J. "It seems such a contradiction to the West Coast, because it's so far east," Adams points out, insisting that he wouldn't change a thing about his roots. "I love the idea that I was born and raised there. The stock of people who come from back East are different. They have different attitudes. They seem to be more grounded and real, if I can generalize."
For Adams, Jersey life was as good as it gets. One of five siblings - "Susan, Bobby, Tim, Patty and Debbie; we were like the Brady Bunch, very all-American" - Adams is a middle child who loved the experience. "I had a brother and sister before me to make mistakes, so I could watch their mistakes and not make the same ones," he says.
Adams' earliest dream was to become a professional athlete. "That was my ultimate passion in life. To this day, I wish I could play professional football," he asserts emphatically. By the time he came to the realization that that was an unlikely proposition, Adams hadn't a clue about that career to pursue. His bachelor of science degree in computer science from Jersey City State College didn't help any.
"I knew it wasn't my calling," Adams says. "But I'm happy I went to college. Whether I learned a trade is not the point. I learned how to delegate my communication skills, get the things I want to be [heard] listened to, and not be a jock who's a dope. That was my incentive. I wanted to be physically enhanced and mentally sound."
Adams credits being around ex-wife Daisy Fuentes, then an up-and-coming celebrity, with drawing him into show business. "I was educated about the business through her," he says. "A week before we got married, she was offered a contract as a VJ on MTV. Then came endorsements for Revlon and Pantene. I was watching all these people pursue her, and how they had to be dealt with."
Intrigued, Adams realized he wanted to get into the act. "To make a living doing something as fun as performing in front of people and get paid - how can you beat that?" he smiles. Adams sold the trucking company he had with a friend - "It was boring, mentally unfulfilling" - and liquidated everything "to pursue 'the arts.'"
By this point Adams and Fuentes had split. "We'd met as teen-agers, I grew up in the marriage away from her," he admits, noting that they are still in touch occasionally "to say hello. It's a friendly relationship, if there is a relationship. My concern for her is that she's happy."
As Adams came to terms with the breakup - "It crippled me for, like, two years" - he moved to New York and began modeling. "Then, little by little I started going out on commercial auditions. I worked free-lance through all these agencies," he notes. "I even booked a small part in Die Hard with a Vengeance through a modeling agency. I worked on that film for nine weeks, made a considerable amount of money, and the agents who got me the audition never called me back."
It was Adams' work in the movie that convinced him acting "was what I needed to do for a living. Because I liked it so much and I liked the pay," he says, grinning from ear to ear. He also liked the financial rewards of modeling, which he continued to pursue while waiting for his next acting break. "I could make up to $150 an hour, $350 for certain things. I worked a 15-hour day once for $250 an hour. How could you not like that?"
That particular gig - a press conference/fashion show for Guess? housewares and linens - was, however, a tad unusual. "I had to hang out in a towel and slippers with no shirt on," Adams reveals, confessing that he was naked as a jay-bird beneath his terry wrap. "I never wear underwear. I don't believe in it."
Is it any wonder that this uninhibited hunk nailed his Sunset audition as resident lifeguard dreamboat Casey? Adams professes to have had an instant connection to the part. "As soon as I read the character description, I thought, 'Well, I don't have to change a thing. It described me on paper. A lifeguard? I'd be a lifeguard. The whole stereotype physique of what I represent was right on the paper," he says with unbridled self-confidence, adding that he knew he "ripped" the audition the second it was over.
Indeed, he did, landing the job and promptly relocating to California. "I had to get a whole new life out here," Adams recounts. "Find a neighborhood, find an apartment, find a car, find some friends .." Of course, he ended up finding his best friend, girlfriend Sherri Saum (Vanessa), behind the scenes at Sunset. The couple met the day executive producer Aaron Spelling brought the show's cast together for their initial meeting. Adams remembers the moment vividly. "It was love at first sight. As soon as I looked across the table at Sherri, I gasped. I still do. I'm in love," he gushes.
He's quite thankful for the fact that their different races - Saum is half African-American and half Caucasian - hasn't been met with an ounce of opposition. "Isn't that incredible?" Adams marvels. "I used to say to Sherri, 'Can you imagine if 40 years ago you and I had met and fell in love? They would have hanged us. They'd have hanged you for being black and white together.' That's just 40 years ago in American history. We are so lucky to be in this time. I've never gotten any racial bias … not even from my family. There's been no negativity."
Instead, the pair seem fated to be together. Adams admits he's always been intrigued by any woman "that doesn't look like me. Any feature that is not mine - eyes, hair ... The physical opposite of me I find very attractive, the more the better. And I find Sherri extremely exotic," he says, noting that conversely Saum has always gone for the blue-eyed blond type. "She tells me her ideal man growing up was Bo Duke of The Dukes of Hazzard."
Adams' and Saum's physical attraction to one another is only enhanced by their cognitive connection. "We're passionate about the same things, like traveling. She loves it as much as I do." Then there are the simple pleasures in life that they always agree on: "Pizza. We could both eat it every day."
Not that they do, mind you. And that's largely because Adams loves to slave over a hot stove for his special lady. "I hardly cooked at all until we started dating. Then I figured out it was a logical way to keep Sherri around more," he says. "It's more time I get to spend with her. So I'm pretty much making myself happy if I cook for her." Plus, it means getting her all to himself. "I'm very private when it comes to Sherri and me. I like to steal her away from the world. Isolate her."
Although Adams and Saum are obviously blissfully enamored with one another, they have yet to discuss marriage. "I don't like the word marriage. It's institutional," he points out. "I think marriage is an individual thing. As our culture evolves, people are realizing conventional methods are passe. I'd like to do it my own way; make my vows to God before I would to a guy who's representing God."
Adams insists he and Saum are totally secure in their status quo commitment to one another. "Why waste time talking about marriage?" he says. "I'm really good at making myself happy, living my life a certain way. Whatever it is that makes me happy, I'll do."
And being with Saum is just about all Adams needs. Heck, the guy isn't even frazzled by the constant talk of Sunset's possible cancellation. "I remember when there were talks about whether we were going to get picked up for the second year," Adams says. "People were sweating, worried. But I didn't care. Things could change tomorrow, and it would be OK."
"The thing is, I have a woman in my life now. That makes things so much easier," Adams smiles. "She is my priority, and I've told her that. With Sherri by my side I can survive anything."
