Leading Men, Exposed

HOLLYWOOD—This week’s Leading Men Gold Standard goes to Van Hansis who plays Luke Snyder on “As The World Turns” and Jack Wagner who is Nick Marone on “The Bold and the Beautiful.” The two CBS hunks who are much more than handsome leading men, had hot storylines where their characters suffered surprises that they were not looking for, but truly deserved. Luke found out his father had been a diabolical conniver, just as Luke had been himself and Nick found realized yet again, too late that he should never keep secrets from his wife and he received a tongue lashing from her because of it.

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Van Hansis is Luke Snyder

Jack Wagner is always a gold standard performer. He makes a writer’s job easy, because whatever Brad Bell hands him, you know that it’s going to be acted to perfection. This week Nick was a struggling hero who saved a young woman from a terrible fate, but he also caused the woman he loves, Bridget, great trauma because he knew in the past that she could not and would not tolerate secrets. Nick being a gentleman decided it was not right to tell his wife that their surrogate mother Sandy was getting close to finding who raped her years earlier. He knew Sandy was emotionally traumatized by the assault and that he needed to help her find the perpetrator so she would be able to carry their baby to full term without too much emotional stress.

Bridget, however, has faced off with Nick many times about secrets and this one was more than she could handle. Nick was so sorry and Wagner played it amazingly well. Knowing when it’s the other person’s scene, Wagner downplayed the role so that Ashley Jones could triumph as Bridget who was determined to say to her husband, this is it, never again. Jack is one of the most amazing performers in Hollywood because he knows how to run with each scene he’s given and fans were not let down with the great emotional work he and Ashley Jones did this week.

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Jack Wagner as Nick Marone

Van Hansis is half of the most critically acclaimed gay couple in television. Luke and Noah are beloved by “ATWT” viewers and critics alike. Much of the admiration and respect is due to the extraordinary acting of the young Hansis, who went from insecure and uncertain to giving award-worthy performances again and again. When Luke found out that his walk on the dark side was much like his demonic father Damian, he was stunned and in shock. The horror of learning his father’s deeds including murder weighed heavily on the character and the actor showed his fans that he can do it all with a great performance this week on the hit show.

Jack Wagner is a seasoned veteran of television who is not ever mediocre in his work and Van Hansis is a bit younger but is becoming a solid performer.

Photographs Courtesy: Jack Wagner by Gilles Toucas, Bell Phillip Television Productions and Van Hansis by JPI and TeleNext Media