Patrick Faucette plays Tony in Tyler Perry's "The Have's and the Have Nots" on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The network recently ordered 16 additional episodes due to the high ratings and great response from the audience. Patrick's Twitter and Instagram: @patrickfaucette. Patrick's Facebook.
Photo by Corina Marie Howell.
Talk about honesty. I sent Patrick Faucette a list of questions that I was sure he would not answer. To my surprise and delight, Patrick answered every single one AND even elaborated.
Patrick is an actor to put on your radar. He has a list of goals and it appears he won't stop until he reaches them!
Do you still love football and baseball? Who are your teams? When you used to play, what position were you?
I do still love football and baseball. My team is the Pittsburgh Steelers and in baseball it's the Philadelphia Phillies. In college I liked the Texas Longhorns because my brother used to coach there. I don't follow college baseball. My love is for professional football and my Steelers. I played Linebacker in college. That was about 35 pounds ago.
How do you feel about improvisation vs. reading word for word what's on the script page?
I love improv; you can discover so much about your character with it. Crystal Fox and I did an improv for our second scene together because originally I was supposed to be in just one episode as Hanna's blind date, but when I got on set Crystal mentioned to Tyler Perry how much I look like Tyler Lepley, who plays Benny, her son; and at the end of our first scene, Tyler Perry changed the script and made me Benny's dad! Then we had to change a lot of our second scene together so we improv'd a lot of it with the help of Tyler Perry. It was awesome to be a part of that creative process. Tyler Perry is not one of those directors that goes crazy if you change one word -- sometimes writers/directors are like that. I like to stay pretty close to the script though I may change a word or two here and there. If I have an idea of something else I feel my character would say, I'll ask Tyler Perry about it and he's pretty open to it.
What's it like working on a cable series vs. network series?
The Haves and the Have Nots shoots at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta and everything is on par with the LA studios. The dressing rooms were really nice and the craft service [food] was great. I think the biggest difference is Tyler Perry shoots a lot faster than the network shows so you have to bring your A game from Take One.
Have you ever had a health scare?
No big health scares thank God. But when I was in college I played football. During our spring football season I broke my right wrist during a scrimmage. I didn't know it was broken until I got an x-ray three days later. I got it cast that same day (Monday) and was back at practice on Wednesday with a foam cast over my cast. At the end of practice we had a little goal line scrimmage and I broke my left hand! I had two casts on for 6-1/2 weeks. Not fun!
How does promotion for Have and Have Nots work? Is it in your contract that you have to do a certain amount of promotion? Who works out your schedule?
I'm not sure about promotional clauses in contracts, but I personally try to do a lot of promotional work for the show. I have a publicist, who is awesome and she sets my promotional schedule.
Patrick Faucette goofs off with his youngest son, Zachary.
What was your family's reaction when you received your Physical Therapist degree?
I went to Boston University and got a degree in Physical Therapy. I moved to San Francisco and started working as a Physical Therapist. After living in San Fran for almost four years, that's when I booked a national commercial and decided to quit my job and move to LA to pursue my acting career. My oldest brother thought I must be crazy to quit my job and move to LA. My mom was very supportive because she's a musician and understands the life of an artist, and she knew I was a licensed Physical Therapist and could find work if I had to.
The Have and Have Nots is shot in Atlanta, GA. How often during filming did you get to go home? Did you ever bring your family out to Atlanta?
Yes, "The Haves and the Have Nots" shoots in Atlanta which can be a little tough on the family. I'm married and have three kids: Noah, Zeyna, and Zachary (16, 13, and 10). The first season I was only in three episodes so I was there for a week then came back to LA for a week then I was back in Atlanta for two weeks. This season I was in 12 of the 20 episodes so I was in Atlanta for almost the whole month of October, then I came home for a little over a week then I was back in the Atlanta until almost Thanksgiving. The family hasn't been to Atlanta yet but they want to come. Maybe if we're shooting when school is out they will come down.
What goals did you have that you achieved and what goals do you still have that you have NOT yet achieved?
I set a lot of goals big and small. As I reach my small goals I set bigger and bigger goals until I reach my ultimate goal of having a blockbuster movie career a la Denzel Washington. Since I've reached my goal of being a recurring character in a TV series, my next goal is to become a series regular. Then a large role in a big feature film. Then a starring role in a feature film then a huge film career. You have to dream big in this businesses. I'm on my way.
Tell us a story from your youth that you're NOT proud of.
When I was in 8th grade my friend got into a fight with this high school kid. When the high school kid started winning the fight I jumped in to help turn the tide. After that the high school kid and his friends used to chase me home from school for months. I was terrified. Finally I had another high school kid broker a deal with him where he got to punch me in the face in return for a truce. My jaw had a painful click when I opened my mouth for about two weeks. Yes, I regretted jumping in that fight.
What's the scariest dream you ever had?
I love my dreams, even my scary dreams. When I'm dreaming I'm never really that scared even when the dream is crazy. Once I had this dream where I woke up in my bed and heard something in the kitchen. So I got out of the bed (in the dream) went into the kitchen and there was a little staircase leading down to a basement so I went down the stairs to see what was going on and there was a morgue with body parts all over the floor, and one of my friends from college was down there loading body parts into these carts. When he saw me come down the stairs he asked me to help him load the carts. I didn't have a problem with it. I even made a joke about him needing a hand when I picked up a severed hand. I wasn't even scared but when I woke up I thought it was pretty freaky!
Anything else you'd like to say?
For people who want to know what I'm working on or what I'm up to, they can follow me on Twitter and instagram @patrickfaucette or on Facebook at Patrick Faucette actor.