Ryan Paevey talks acting, Hallmark, 'General Hospital,' and fans 

Acclaimed actor and model Ryan Paevey chatted with Digital Journal's Markos Papadatos about his acting career, his career-defining moments, his advice for aspiring actors, and his company Fortunate Wanderer.

"I've been fine," he said, while quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Quarantine life is not all that different from my normal life. I'm a homebody anyway so I've been working at home, doing home workouts, and riding my motorcycles."

On his daily motivations as an actor, he said, "Honestly, I grew up doing construction. I was always pretty fit, I worked out a lot. I had some friends who were models back in the day, and I was the grumpy friend. On their behalf, I dabbled into the modeling world for a little bit from 17 to 18. I wasn't a particularly successful model, but I was successful enough to not get fired. I did that for a little while, and I ended up at LA Talent, where that turned into commercial acting. I did that for a few years before the head of the commercial division called me into her office, and asked me what my next steps would be. She made a phone call afterward to set me up to my current managers, and the rest is history."

"A few months later, General Hospital happened, and then my relationship with Hallmark began, and that's that," he added.

Paevey is known for playing the role of Nathan West on the hit ABC daytime drama General Hospital from late 2013 until early 2018.

When asked how he handled being dialogue-heavy on that show, Paevey responded, "I have a photographic memory for dialogue. That was easy. Soaps obviously shoot at a really intense pace because they generate so much content. It's a fantastic trainer. When you get used to working at that pace, and dealing with that amount of information, all the other jobs just seem easy. The record for the most pages I've memorized in one day is 76 at General Hospital. The brain really is like a muscle. The more you do it, the easier it gets."

Paevey had nothing but the nicest remarks about Dr. Liesl Obrecht (played by Kathleen Gati), his former on-screen mother on General Hospital. "Kathleen is great," he said.

He also spoke about Fortunate Wanderer, his outdoor adventure-inspired company based in Los Angeles. It is known for handmade gear, photo travels, photography, good vibes, and motorcycles. "I actually shut the business down 1.5 years ago," he said. "My family and I will turn it into a family endeavor. I am in the middle of reviving it right now. Some of the old products will be back but it will be mostly new products. Fortunate Wanderer will be back in the near future."

"Photography has always been something I enjoyed. I like to photograph the places that I've been," he said.

On his career-defining moments, Paevey said, "Getting the job on General Hospital was a defining moment for me since I didn't get into acting as a personal desire. It just happened to me organically. Also, keeping my job on i]General Hospital was another defining moment for me. I managed to produce something there. Then, the beginning of my relationship with Hallmark was a major turning point in my career. It totally changed my life."

Speaking of Hallmark, he listed A Summer Romance and Christmas at the Plaza as two of his favorite films that he has ever done.

For young and aspiring actors, he encouraged them to persevere. "The answer can't be 'no' forever. This is an industry of rejection, and you will get so many more 'nos' than 'yeses.' Don't let that discourage you. Most of this job is being able to digest the word 'no.' Remove the pressure you put on yourself to be perfect. Go out there and be a 'bad actor' since that's the only way that you can become a 'good actor.' It is never going to be perfect. I tell everybody that my job is 'to make-believe.' Keep your chip up. Don't be afraid to be bad at it since that's how you get good at it. You need to crack a few eggs to make an omelet," he elaborated.

On being an actor in the digital age, Paevey said, "My introduction to acting was very much in the digital world. To me, the digital age is fine. I am a consumer of streaming services, so they are cool, provided that performers are taken care of, and the content being distributed is quality. Streaming services take a little bit pressure off the creators in terms of budget. You can make very good content without spending tons of money."

If he were to do any track and field event, he said that he would do the 100 meter dash or the 400 meter dash or the 4 × 400 meter relay. "I ran track and field back in the day. I was a really good short sprinter," he said.

He underscored the importance of eating right, in an effort to stay in top-notch physical shape. "It's always about eating right," he said. "I have been a fanatic about training. I like training for a therapeutic nature, it makes me feel better and it gets my mind right. It also makes me better at all of the things that I like to do. To stay fit, 80 percent of it is what you eat."

Paevey revealed that sushi is his "favorite food" in the world. Fans can check out his homemade sushi recipe in the video below. "Sushi is arguably my favorite food so that was my favorite segment to shoot," he admitted.

On the title of the current chapter of his life, he said, "Productive Lockdown." "I am still working on Fortunate Wanderer and I using this time that I am given right now to prepare what's next," he said.

A California native, Paevey defined the word success as "being happy with what you see when you look around at your life and feeling some sense of accomplishment with it."

For his fans, he concluded, "I hope everybody is staying safe during this time. Hug your loved ones, if you live together, and wash your hands. Thank you for continuing to support storytellers."

To learn more about actor Ryan Paevey and the latest news on Fortunate Wanderer, follow him on Instagram.