inMagnolias, an adaptation of the popular Sherryl Woods book series of the same name.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How didSweet Magnoliascome about for you?
JUSTIN BRUENING:This is a new division for Netflix.
Credit: ELIZA MORSE/NETFLIX
It varies on who you ask, but it’s like the friends, family,nicerdivision.
I came on very early in the process.
They gave me the first two scripts.
Richard Cartwright/ABC via Getty Images
When you watch the first two episodes, I’m not really in it that much.
I was like, “Oh cool.
He dies somewhere in that 10 episodes.”
That’s how I took it.
I’m an idiot.
So I start reading the book and realized this character is awesome.
He’s truly a great guy.
I was like, I need to take my wife out on a date.
Then I flip to the end and was like, huh, I’m still alive.
What was going on?
Didn’t they tell you that you would be a romantic lead?
Well, that’s the thing.
I just went off of the first two scripts.
What is Cal’s backstory?
He came to the town of Serenity to start over.
He wanted a new life, and this [romance] was not part of the plan.
There’s a moment where he and Maddie have this spark.
He basically says, “I can’t ignore this.”
There’s something between them, but it’s a catch-22.
He’s trying to navigate the drama with their family without making it worse.
It’s an interesting relationship when it comes to her kids.
That’s the whole core of this show, how our decisions as adults affect the children.
So this is your first series role after being onGrey’s Anatomy.
Are you getting typecast as the really nice guy or what?
I know, it’s tough.
I have to go murder a bunch of people in my next project.
Look atChristian BaleinAmerican Psycho!
He was a great-looking guy and he was insane!
I hope I get to play those types of characters.
But it’s not a bad thing to be the nice guy.
You played Tad Martin’s son, Jamie, onAll My Children.
Was he a good guy?
Well they called him the white knight!
He was another good guy.
I remember one time somebody got murdered.
I can’t remember who it was.
And they suspected Jamie!
I was like, oh comeon.
No one is going to buy this.
I actually went to jail.
Sweet Magnoliasis a romantic drama.
Can we expect the inevitable shirtless scene with Cal?
We got it out of the way.
There’s also a scene where Maddie does a drive-by and I’m changing my shirt in the driveway.
It’s like an ’80s montage shot, like Phoebe Cates coming out of a pool.
Just wait until episode 8.
Somebody compared this to a Hallmark movie.
I said, “Uh, you won’t ever see episode 8 on Hallmark.”
I’ve done Hallmark movies.
I don’t remember ever having to do anything likethat.
My wife [actress Alexa Havins, fromTorchwood] thinks Cal is allergic to clothes.
I have a billion pet names now, by the way.
She’ll be like, “Mr. Unicorn man-candy, can you take the trash out for me?”
What’s the feedback been like so far?
It’s been fun and positive.
It’s good mixture of everything.
Do you still hear from fans aboutGrey’s?
It’s funny, the show has such a wide-reaching fan base.
I got stopped at a grocery store recently.
They can’t place where they recognize me from.
I’ll say Matthew.
I take it as a compliment.
I did my job.
You realize it will likely be Japril forever for most fans though, right?
I know where I stand, all right.
I guess there was some Mapril people.
There’s a lot of sympathy for my character because he is so nice.
In their minds, Matthew did all the right things.
But an attraction is an attraction.
you might’t fight that.
I’m more than happy to take the back burner to Japril.
That’s the love story.
It’s Romeo and Juliet.
So technically, I won.
Sweet Magnoliasis currently streaming on Netflix.
