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THOSE SEXY DEVILS: Caught in a Tight Squeeze
Grant Aleksander had a lot of trouble trying to "muscle" into a modeling career
by Beth Sherman
Daytime TV
June 1983

"The pressure was immense. Maybe if I'd been making hundreds of thousands of dollars, I would have been able to handle it," says Grant Aleksander, referring to the rigorous life of a professional model. Grant's since forsaken glossy glamour to play Phillip Spaulding on Guiding Light, but over a year ago, he was in Italy posing for GQ and Vogue.

"Modeling wasn't very fulfilling," says Grant. "I never got used to the fact that it was totally based on looks. I had to work out all the time and I was paranoid about keeping my weight very low, trying to be as slim as possible. On top of everything else, my frame wasn't right for modeling. They want you to fit into a size 40 suit. That's a problem when you weigh about 230 pounds!"

Grant's build is perfect for football, which he played through high school. He grew up in Baltimore, and went to college at Washington and Lee University in Virginia. After his freshman year, Grant transferred to New York University and eventually entered the Circle in the Square Theater Program. Dissatisfied with the curriculum, he dropped out. At the time, Grant was working in his brother's restaurant in Greenwich Village. One day, the art director for Cosmopolitan magazine came in, took one look at the young waiter and sent him to a professional photographer. Grant's next stop was Italy.

Once Grant discovered that modeling wasn't his style, he decided to channel his energy into acting. "I felt like I had the ability to make it," he says, "but there was something holding me back. I was afraid to read for agents. What if they said they weren't interested? It surprised me to find out I had the determination to knock on doors."

Grant's drive paid off. He read for the John Schneider role on Dukes of Hazzard and the show was so impressed that they flew him out to L.A. for a screen test. Out of the hundreds who auditioned, Grant was among the final seven they selected. "I didn't expect to get it," he says ruefully. "It was the first time I'd been on tape, and I was nervous. But the fact that they liked me meant I was marketable."

Grant's biggest fan is his girlfriend, Sherry Nelson. (Note: Ramsey) They met three years ago when he played Hamlet to her Ophelia. While Sherry's waiting for her big break, she finds time to help Grant learn his lines and gives him daily doses of support. "It's a little hard on us because the business can be so ego deteriorating. I'd like to be famous. I want to be remembered. But I don't ever want success to change me as a person."

"I think I'm commercial," Grant continues. "Your basic blond-haired, blue-eyed all-American kid. Fortunately, it's a look that's in demand right now. And I think my acting style is natural. That's the most important thing. If you're relaxed, no one is going to be better than you."