Imagine! Just one week after learning you’d been nominated for a Daytime Emmy award for your first contract role you get asked to host ABC’s pre-and post-Oscar coverage. "It’s kind of been an overwhelming experience," PC’s Brian Presley (Jack) admits, grinning. "I was a nervous wreck!"
The shows, which were co-hosted by film critic Roger Ebert, entertainment journalist George Pennacchio, and Los Angeles newscasters Mark Brown and Laura Diaz, were filled with the red-carpet glitz and glamour everyone has come to expect, but Presley got an unusual assignment. Dressed in Hugo Boss designer duds, the actor introduced on-line poll topics while standing in the balcony of the historic El Capitan Theater across the street. "Roger and George talked about what they thought were the best pictures and went through all the nomination categories, then they’d say, ‘Okay now we’re going to Brian Presley live in the El Capitan Theater who’s gonna give us our instant E-poll,’" the actor recalls. "I would chime in with my opinion and say ‘You’ve gotta go to www.ontheredcarpet.com and vote — I said that like 100 times!"
Starstruck
Although he didn’t get to meet any of the celebrities himself, Presley did have a couple of close encounters. "We went outside, and we got to see Russell Crowe and some of the big people," he dishes. "I think the [best] part of the whole night was when I was giving them a poll and then I said, ‘Now we’re going to go back down to the red carpet with George Pennacchio and Roger Ebert who were ready to interview Robert Redford. And I thought ‘That’s pretty cool — I got to lead into Robert Redford!'"
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of Presley’s evening was the experience of doing live television. "We had a rehearsal Saturday and we did a live show that night for the news, which was sort of a warm-up, but it didn’t help much because everything is so spur of the moment," he says, recalling the cue cards that were literally scribbled throughout the night. "The show changes the whole way through and people are talking in your ear. Finally I was like, ‘You guys have gotta quit talking in my ear — I can’t do two things at once!’"
Luckily for the first-timer, he didn’t have to go the evening alone. There to cheer him on was girlfriend and fellow PC castmate Erin Hershey (Alison). "It’s neat to have someone to experience things with," he relates. "She was reciting my lines on the side — she was my coach. I said next time, she’s doing it and I’m gonna watch!"
The Show Goes On
Accompanied by hoards of star-crazed fans brought in from the bleachers, the couple watched the Academy Awards on the El Capitan Theater’s movie screen before Presley had to get back to work. "The post-show was talking about best dressed and worst dressed and I kind of chimed in with, ‘You know what? I think they were all pretty damn good looking!’" he says with a chuckle.
Speaking with Soaps In Depth just hours after the late night ended, an exhausted Presley reflected on the unusual job. "I have a whole new respect for journalists who have to work live like that — it kind of takes you out of your comfort zone," he offers. "I wouldn’t choose to do it every day, but it’s good to be stretched and just to be a part of the Academy Awards in some way was just a really cool experience and a huge honor." — Kelli M. Larson
Brian Presley
