With stunning blue eyes and dark hair, James Hyde brings a unique charisma to his roll as Chief of Police, "Sam Bennett" on the daytime drama Passions. His career spans from daytime to prime time with his previous role on Another World and appearances on Sex in the City, Mortal Kombat (theTV Series), and Miami Sands. Hyde has also enjoyed involvement on the big screen with the independent features, "Let's Talk About Sex" and "Black Out" (with Dennis Hopper). Melt: After high school you joined the military. Do any of those experiences help you with adding depth to the characters you play?
So we went and shot some pictures. In Hawaii, you take it very "loose" because it's not something you can make a living from -- then. So then I started taking some pictures, but I was also keeping another job at the time. Some Australian came over and wanted me to go over there for a season. So I went over there for a year, and from that point on, I started traveling all over the world. I lived in Australia, I lived in London for three years, Paris, Italy, all over the place. It was great. Melt: What made you decide to move to Miami and begin to study acting? JH: My wife (Sue-Ling) and I lived eight years out of a bag, and we wanted to call someplace home. We went down to Miami in the early nineties, and fell in love with the place. It was just seasonal because the work down there is seasonal, and summertime is pretty dead. So, in the summertime we would go somewhere else. But, in 1995, we decided to buy a condo there.
JH: A lot of people say they want to become an actor, but they really don't know the life commitment you have to give to do that. The only advice -- that I listen to myself -- is just to wake up every day and you got to believe in yourself. There's going to be so many things that happen in your life that are going to cause doubt, and make you not believe in yourself, so you can't listen to anybody, you have to listen to yourself. Melt: What's it like working for "Passions?" What's a typical day like on the set? JH: When we first started the show, it was very, very busy. Everyone was new, and it was so hectic. It was a lot of hours. Now, we've got it down to a machine. That's what soap operas are, a machine. It's turning out over a hundred pages a day and they do that in a movie, in, what, like, a year? Melt: As you mentioned, you've been with "Passions" since it first began. What was it like being with a show since the beginning? JH: It's great. I couldn't wish for anything better because you're the first person to introduce this character to the world. You set the standard for the character. Let everyone know, that's, "Sam Bennett."
You can Visit James' official site at www.jameshydeonline.com
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