SC Sherrie: So tell me about working on Passions.
Bruce: It starts really early and I get up and get to go to work with the best looking people I’ve ever met in my entire life for like five or six hours a day. That’s on a good day, some days it’s more like 10. It’s awesome, there’s nothing better than doing something that you love to do and making a living at it. And you get to work with someone like Mackenzie Westmore who is gorgeous and I run around all the time with Jesse, so my best pals are right here on the set. The only problem is that sometimes we'll get in a little trouble because we will have a little downtime and we’ll be playing football out in the parking lot. Security doesn’t like that at all.
SC Sherrie: So what is an average day like here?
Bruce: It usually lasts six to eight hours. The first thing of course when you come in is hair and makeup, hair and makeup – then we go and gather around the food table and then we block all the scenes and then you wait until it is time to do your scenes. During the down time we’ll be in the dorms, as we call them, running in and out of people’s dressing rooms running lines whenever we can. We’ll grab our skateboards and then we’re out there until we’re in trouble for that. Just what young people usually do when they’re hanging out, tell all the dirty jokes we know, that’s usually it.
SC Sherrie: If you could write your character what would you like to write for him?
Bruce: It’s hard to come up with crazier or cooler things than James comes up with because you never know what’s coming out of his head. He tends to have me do all kinds of crazy stuff. I love when he has me being clumsy or dropping things, playing bongos on Timmy’s head, crazy stuff like that. If I could have a dream storyline… hmmm, somehow I would like to be the inheritor of the Crane fortune. I’ll be Julian’s bastard son and start to morph into a Julian kind of character, ‘cause Ben is so funny, that’s such a great role. Hey… maybe, there’s another Crane daughter, maybe fall in love, woo her or something like that. Too bad Sheridan’s dead… I think Reese might be able to whip Luis.
SC Sherrie: Do you feel that because your appearance is pretty obscured when you’re playing Reese that you don’t get recognized as much in public, that you can keep your anonymity?
Bruce: I’ll be out running around with Jesse and someone will go ‘Oh Miguel, Miguel can I get a picture?’ and hand me the camera.
SC Sherrie: Do you like that or do you not like that. Do you feel it gives you freedom or would you prefer to be recognized more?
Bruce: Either way is fine with me. If someone does recognize me then it’s extra special because they pay close enough attention to see me under the costume.
SC Sherrie: Is it kind of nice to be someone so different from yourself?
Bruce: I’m glad you said 'so different' because a lot of people are like ‘Oh Bruce, you’re a dork, we knew that.’ I love playing the crazy stuff because a lot of guys don’t get to do the parts that are way out there. But playing Reese I get to take it out a long way before they start reigning me back in so yeah it’s a lot of fun.
SC Sherrie: Well, when the fans do recognize you what sort of fan response do you usually get?
Bruce: Well it’s usually like ‘Whoa! You look so different in person.’
SC Sherrie: At the fan club luncheon when you came out I remember it took me a minute to recognize you and the fans were just going wild because they love your character.
Bruce: Yeah, that felt great.
SC Sherrie: Do you have anyone on the cast who you feel is a mentor?
Bruce: Definitely Ben, he’s kind of like a dad to everybody. He’s super talented, he’s definitely a scene-stealer and he’s got his finger right on the pulse of this genre. Working with Juliet is awesome as well because she’s just so good that no matter what you do she responds to it. There are a lot of really talented people on the show who are really fun to work with, but Ben and Juliet in particular. You hope that one day you can do the things that they do and make it look so easy.
SC Sherrie: Now you have a twin and you do things together professionally sometimes don’t you?
Bruce: Oh we did, back in the day. We did a couple little shows together but now he’s in his last year of med school so he just doesn’t care anymore. It was funny at the luncheon, he was standing off to the side and he just started signing autographs as well, he didn’t care, people we’re coming up to him left and right.
SC Sherrie: So is he interested in doing anything with you in the future or is he just gonna stick with med school?
Bruce: We do something once a year, it’s this calendar I do for the charity I’m involved with. He does that with me because it’s for a good cause and it’s just a way that we can give back. Otherwise he just likes to come here and hang out with the people from the set because he watches the show whenever he can.
SC Sherrie: So tell me about this charity.
Bruce: It’s the Association for Children for the Enforcement of Support. It’s basically an organization that helps single parents get the money that they are owed by cutting through the red tape of collecting child support. Often state-to-state payments get tied up etc. ACES does also hunt down and find people who have disappeared and they’re very, very good at it. And we’re actually pushing legislation, it was introduced this session but will be reintroduced next session, by Senators Abrahamson & Dodd, a bipartisan bill, that would give jurisdiction for collections to the IRS, because who better to find people than the IRS! They would only be collecting the money that the court has said that they owe, it’s all about getting those kids the support that they are owed while they are still kids and they can still benefit from it. It’s important that the money is there when it’s needed and not after years of deliberations in courts when the kids are 18/20 and out of the house already. I think it makes a huge difference if that money is there when the kids are still dependents and the parent they’re living with doesn’t have to take a third job and can be around to give guidance.
SC Sherrie: So what do you do when you’re not working or working on your charity, etc.
Bruce: I go to a lot of plays. I’m working with an acting studio to keep my acting diversified, when you’re playing one character most of the time and I’m only doing a couple little guest-stars here and there, you know that you can do a lot with that character but it helps if you’re continuing to work on other areas of your craft. So I really love to do that. And of course weekend trips. All winter we’ll go away up to Snow Summit or Big Bear whenever we get the chance. Natasha and I cuttin’ up our faces snowboarding! I don’t know how many times we’ve come in on Monday havin’ to cover up, ‘Were you guys snowboarding again?’ they’ll ask, ‘Oh no, no’ we’ll say.
SC Sherrie: So what got you interested in acting or performing?
Bruce: I did it a little bit, played in some bands and stuff but mostly I was a ball player in high school. So I had started pre-med like my brother because I thought it was as good an idea as any. It’s kind of a funny story actually because I was walking out of a chemistry class which I was miserable in, and there was this girl, dark hair, really pretty and I was just humming something and she said ‘Hey, come try out for this musical.’ Well I wanted to get her number so I went with her and ended up playing Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls at USC. And after that I figured hey, there’s people making money at this and this is a real degree and it’s so much better than pre-med so I switched majors.
SC Sherrie: So what would your dream role be?
Bruce: You know what I’d really love to do is play Superman. It doesn’t have to be Superman although those are the superpowers that I have, no, I’m kidding. Any superhero actually. Maybe Batman and his dark side, or Spider Man, he was picked on.
SC Sherrie: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Bruce: Someplace warm, no, doing films, maybe still working on the series. Still an actor, that’s what I’d really really like to be doing and being very passionate about what I’m passionate about.
SC Sherrie: Thank you very much.
Bruce: Thank you.
SC Sherrie: It’s been a pleasure.