Interview with Austin Peck by TVGUIDE.com
Seems like just yesterday that I did my exit interview with Austin Peck about leaving his role as Austin Reed on NBC's Days of our Lives.

What a Debbie Downer it was to see my "Austin Pecs" written off Days. On the bright side, the soap stud has already landed another daytime-drama gig! It's a three-year contract role on CBS's As the World Turns. Peck will play the recast Brad Snyder, who was last seen in Oakdale back in '99. But let's let the man himself tell his story....

TVGuide.com: Congrats, Austin!
Austin Peck: Thank you! My family and I are so excited about moving to New York. I've been in L.A. for 11 years and I like the lifestyle, but I also miss the East Coast. I'm really looking forward to the weather change. We're having an actual winter!

TVGuide.com: You told me you'd look for other soap work. Clearly, you wasted no time! How did this role come about?
Peck: The day I found out about being let go from Days of our Lives, I called my manager, Michael Bruno, and said, "OK, let's get on the horn." We called [As the World Turns executive producer] Chris Goutman because there was a character available. I went out to New York and screen tested and here we go!

TVGuide.com: Who did you screen test with?
Peck: They wanted me to keep quiet about that.

TVGuide.com: Oh? Was your screen-test partner perhaps a female love interest for Brad Snyder?
Peck: Yeah, I'm pretty sure, and I'm hoping so because I really felt like we hit it off well. She was great to work with. She's cool.

TVGuide.com: Tell us about Brad.
Peck: The last time this character was on the show was in '99. There were three different guys who played Brad in a relatively short span of time. [Editor's note: Nick Kokotakis, Roy Eudon and John Loprieno all portrayed Brad from 1998 to 1999.] Michael Park plays Jack Snyder, who is my brother. I got to meet him and he was really cool, so I was excited about that. But I don't know if Brad is going to be an antagonist or what type of character he'll be. I know very little. I do know that Brad left town under negative circumstances. This past weekend, I saw Lesli Kay — who was playing Molly back then — and she was filling me in a little bit on the history.

TVGuide.com: When do you start on ATWT?
Peck: I begin work sometime in early to mid-December in New York. We haven't gotten a start date yet. I'll probably start airing in early '07.

TVGuide.com: Any other big news?
Peck: Yeah, don't forget to watch me on CSI: NY on Wednesday, Nov. 1!

FYI, suds fans, all the vital info on Austin's CSI: NY episode is right here.

Oh, and just in case you never watched Austin on Days, you can get to know him better by reading my new book, The Q Guide to Soap Operas. He just happens to be listed as the No. 1 hottie in my Top 10 Soap Hunks chapter.

I'm so glad a whole new soap audience will now have a reason to find out why I sigh over this guy!

thanks for posting. And again I'm very happy for him. I'm looking forward to see him on Atwt. :)

I'm happy for him. Wish him all the best :)