Soap Opera Digest, 03/16/99
   The Phantom of Bay City

   David Macdonald Weaves A Magic Spell on ANOTHER WORLD
   

Take a look at David Macdonald. A really close look. Recognize him? Long-time ANOTHER WORLD viewers might: The 30-something actor, who plays dastardly Jordan Stark and his mild alter ego, David Halliday, first appeared on AW almost eight years ago, shortly after graduating from The Juilliard School.
"My first soap gig was four episodes [of AW]," Macdonald recalls. "I was brought on to play the captain of the college football team. I put the moves on Jenna; I was going to break up her and Dean's romance." Alas, the gridiron hero couldn't separate the popular couple, so the actor was soon unemployed.
Now, Macdonald is wreaking havoc as Jordan puts his mind-control moves on Bay City's residents. The actor was hand-picked by Casting Director Jimmy Bohr to read for the role after Joseph Barbara (Joe) debuted as the enigmatic leader of Lumina. (Surprise--Barbara's voice did belong to the owner of those anonymous shoes!) Macdonald relates that Barbara couldn't continue the part: "They knew it wouldn't work because they needed to double-cast Jordan and David; they couldn't triple-cast Joe Barbara."
One of Jordan's favorite targets is Lila (Lisa Peluso). This isn't the first time that Macdonald is playing someone who has exerted an "otherworldly" influence on the actress's alter ego. The actors first crossed paths seven years ago on LOVING, when Peluso was playing Ava and Macdonald was portraying Father Matchett. He officiated at one of Ava's marriages and was also called to her bedside. "When Ava was dying, Father Matchett gave her the sacrament of annointing the sick, or last rites."
Although Jordan is an unquestionably dark character, Macdonald bears more than a passing resemblance to one of the good guys--Superman, a.k.a. Christopher Reeve. "I've heard that one my whole life," the actor sighs. "The first one who said it was a girl I dated in high school who knew the Reeve family. She said, 'You know, you look a little like Superman, but you look a lot like one of [Reeve's] half brothers.'"


JUST THE FACTS

BIRTHDAY: June 1
SCHOOL DAYS: After graduating from an
exclusive private high school in New England,
he studied theater at The Colorado College.
WEEKEND GOURMET: "My wife likes my
omelettes."
WORDS OF WISDOM: "My mother would say,
'David, you speak your mind a little too bluntly.'"
ABOUT HIS CHARACTERS' ACCENTS:
"A bit is from my father (who's from Scotland), a
bit is from my mother, who's from Massachusetts.
I have English pronunciations for a lot of words.
The rest is just sheer affectation."


Unlike the Man of Steel, Macdonald isn't mooning over Lois Lane. He adores his wife, Nicolette, a poet. They met in Maine during the summer of 1993 around the time he was on LOVING. "She was the nanny for my sister, Ruth's children," Macdonald recalls. "My mother had been trying to set me up with her all summer long [saying], 'Are you in love with this new nanny? She's a poet.'" Macdonald initially responded, "Mother, please. You're setting me up with a nanny."
Needless to say, the actor and his spouse had several "tall buildings" to scale before tying the knot in 1994. For starters, she didn't think he was a superhero on their first date. "She says, 'We went up to the bar, and while we were there, I knew you were the most arrogant man that I had ever met,'" Macdonald laughs.
He also had to contend with his protective older sister, who wondered if his intentions were honorable. "Ruth came to me with fire in her eyes," he remembers. "She said, 'You two are really getting along. If you fall in love, and she becomes my sister-in-law, that's great. But if you are just going to [use her] and dump her, I'll kill you.'"
The confrontation startled Macdonald, who was truly smitten with Nicolette. "I didn't know my sister had this Casanova opinion of me--which is totally unearned," he insists. "I am kind of shy." Obviously not that shy--he quickly won over Nicolette. "We went back to the house, sat on the back porch and talked for two hours," he recalls. A year later, they were married.
It is the actor's devotion to his wife that led him to AW again. "My agents and I felt when I first got out of school that I wouldn't audition for contract roles in soap operas," explains Macdonald, who has appeared on Broadway in Two Shakespearean Actors, and in numerous productions of the bard's work. But being a Shakespearean actor in love, he has temporarily scrapped his passion for the theater in favor of a more practical pursuit--making a living. "My whole thing is that I would like to start a family and educate my children if my wife and I are lucky enough to have them."
Until then, Macdonald is quite content with his life, although he still gets ribbed by a certain sibling: "Ruth calls every week and says, 'Hello, David, this is your big sister, and I think you are far too mean to Lila.' And she hangs up." Mom is not quite so judgmental. "Soaps were always something that made her stomach turn, but now that I'm on one, she watches ANOTHER WORLD all the time," he chuckles.
No doubt it's the grounding influence of his family that keeps Macdonald from getting too big for his britches. "It's just new to me," the actor says. "I'm not going to walk in like a lot of the kids do and say, 'I am the king of the world!' Because I'm not, but I do enjoy it immensely."
--Lauren Baier Kim

RYAN'S HOPE
Now that Jordan has brought back Frankie (or perhaps her look-alike), AW fans are hoping that he'll conjure up Ryan's ghost--or turn out to be Ryan (Jordan loves to morph!). Although Macdonald attended Juilliard with Paul Michael Valley (ex-Ryan), and would love to work with his friend, he doesn't see it happening. "Ryan was a hard-working, good cop," he says. "I would imagine if Jordan turned out to be anyone, he would be Carl, who was a little dark, mysterious. But I think, to the displeasure of the fans, Jordan is just going to turn out to be [himself]." A show spokesperson confirms, "There are no plans to bring back Ryan at this time."