Van Hansis News

Jake Silvermann and Van Hansis appeared at the 20th annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York this weekend.

When asked if their As the World Turns' characters might get hitched in the near future, neither actor seemed enthusiastic about the possibility.

“I think our characters are too young to get married,” said Silbermann. "Right now we’re taking it slow. The characters are 20, you know?”

Adds Hansis: “And as awesome as it would be to tackle that story, once you get married then kids come along and then you have like a 38-year old grandmother on the show.”

As all As the World Turns fans know, of course, Noah and Luke finally had sex a couple weeks ago.

Each of the actors involved in this key storyline recently spoke to The Advocate about the angle. In this spoiler-heavy culture, They were especially pleased that viewers had no idea the sex scene was coming.

"I really liked the way the show handled it by not really having it with bells and whistles and fanfare," Jake Silbermann said.

Added Van Hansis:

"It was exciting for the fans not to have any spoilers on it, because I know there was a big fan group waiting for this moment. In this day and age, to keep that a secret is pretty cool. I think the fans enjoyed being surprised and shocked."

During a recent interview with Michael Fairman, Van Hansis was asked about his new role on As the World Turns.

Here's what the actor had to say about portraying a darker, drunker to Luke:

On playing a bad guy: It’s a cliché for an actor to go, “I like playing the bad guy, blah, blah, blah,” but it is the truth. I think Luke is inheridently a good guy, but you can’t be good all the time. You have to tell compelling stories, and be compelling as an actor. Your character needs to have flaws, and this storyline brought out the major flaws in Luke’s character, which is based on his history. He can be self-righteous, and does not think things through. He has a tendency to think he knows what’s better for people than they do.

When things don’t go his way he gets petulant instead of trying to solve the problems. It was great to play all of that, and it was great for me. I thought everything that happens with Brian now comes out of essentially Luke deciding to run for school president. It’s a longer story arc built into chapters from the election. It’s a really good story!

On playing a good drunk: I am the best drunk on daytime? My mom would be so proud of me! Sometimes you see people playing drunk, and you cringe. I did research on being drunk. I went out in public and tried to act really drunk. There are a couple things to it: not really making eye contact, and looking really down. I heard someone tell me that somebody had to play drunk a lot and so they pretended their body didn’t really have any bones in it. It’s a lot of fun to play drunk, I’ve decided. Those are some of my favorite scenes.

Having stuffed the ballot box to win the Oakdale U election, Luke is falling back into some old patterns and destructive habits on As the World Turns.

And portrayer Van Hansis wouldn't have it any other way. He recently spoke to Soap Opera Weekly about the character's changes:

Are you having a good time with Luke's fall from grace?
Oh, yeah, it's been great to play, because you can only do so much with a character that is, for the most part, 100 percent good. You can only take it to certain places, because nobody's like that — everybody does bad things; everybody. So to have a good character — because I do think that Luke is essentially still a good character — doing bad things and making bad decisions, that's some of the most fun stuff to play as an actor.

We'd love to wish a happy birthday to Van Hansis!

The As the World Turns star, who has earned acclam for his portrayal of a gay man on the show, turns 27 today. We wish him the best.

Where have you gone, Nuke?

As the World Turns fans are aware that daytime's favorite gay couple hasn't been featured on the show for awhile. But, fret not, Van Hansis recently told Soap Opera Weekly.

“Luke and Noah aren’t going anywhere. We are just hanging out in the background of Oakdale right now. No one is fired. We are in the studio now, filming a bunch of stuff that will air in the fall," Hansis said.

Do you miss Nuke on the series? Let us know today on our As the World Turns forum!

In a recent interview, Van Hansis shared his thoughts on his As the World Turns character, Luke:

On discovering Luke was gay: I knew going into the show that they were going to make Luke a gay character but I didn't know how long I was going to stay on the show. I knew where they were going with the storyline but I didn't know if he would get a love interest, but it's great that he has and it's been a fun opportunity for me as an actor.

Mainly an As the World Turns star, Van Hansis also takes to the stage occasionally.

On negative press: I kind of feel like I'm just doing my job. There's always going to be controversy but the positive has far outweighed the negative by staggering amounts. I try to focus on the positive. My mom always taught me that there's always going to be people that just don't like you, and that's life.

I think it's a very important story to tell. The naysayers say that it doesn't have a place and that's just not true - it does, because there are gay couples everywhere in life, so why not show it?

In a recent interview, Van Hansis commented on how As the World Turns has handled the controversial relationship between his character (Luke) and Noah:

I like what is happening in the story right now, and some material that is coming up is good. I have always been proud of the story. I try not to get involved in whatever controversy there might be, and thinking about it does not help me do my job at all.

With all that has been talked about, I have never been interviewed once about it. I think we are the wrong people to talk to about that, because we are actors who go in and say lines and do it. We don’t make any of the creative choices. So, I feel it was the right way to handle it. It’s as if you are written off a show. Do you necessarily want to be written off, or be killed? No.

But you play those scenes anyway, because that’s your job. I am very proud of the story and the work that [Jake Silbermann] and I have done. We are treated like any other soap couple, and currently what is being aired is, that they have broken up. Colonel Mayer, the sham marriage, is all good soapy stuff.

Here's a clip of Jake Silbermann and Van Hansis discussing embarrassing moments from the As the World Turns set:

Van Hansis has received his second consecutive Daytime Emmy Award nomination for his portrayal of Luke on As the World Turns.

''This is awesome,'' said the 26-year-old actor lastThursday afternoon, a day after nominations were announced. ''It's a huge, huge honor. This is the last year I'll be placed in this category, because I'll be too old next year.''

Hansis has been nominated as Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series for his character, who Hansis describes as a spoiled, rich kid; he took the role two and a half years ago.

The star was nominated in the same category last year, but lost to Bryton McClure, who plays Devon Hamilton The Young and the Restless.

''I've watched Luke grow up and become assertive with who he is,'' said Hansis, who began in the role at age 24 playing a 17-year-old gay teen. ''He's more of an adult now. He holds his own.''