Timothy Stickney
		Lovin' Life Timothy Stickney explains why playing Llanview’s resident bad boy has allowed him to make great strides — both personally and professionally.

	Viewers first fell prey to ex-con R.J. Gannon’s dangerous charm back in 1994. And for his portrayer, Timothy D. Stickney, landing the role was a critical turning point in his career — and in fact, his life. "I have been blessed because when I started on the show, there were simply no people on TV that looked anything like me," says the graduate of the American Academy Of Dramatic Arts. "I was born in this country. I was educated in this country, but every time I was cast I had to be foreigner, because I was told that [my type] did not exist. So I would have to go in [to an audition] and convince them that they wanted me, but I’d have to sell them an accent. I had to be Jamaican or something. I could never be me." Role Model For Stickney, who appeared in such films as Green Card, Presumed Innocent, and The Return Of Superfly, playing Hank Gannon’s evil brother was unique for another reason: "This is the first job that I got where they didn’t want me to cut my hair," says the performer, who concedes that there were a few other stipulations: "I was going to be evil, but surprise, it’s America, I’m dark, I’m going to be evil.     "But when I started doing the gig," he continues, "I would go to school, like I always did, and people would talk to me and say that I was the first guy on television that looked like somebody in their family, so they started thinking, ‘Maybe this is a job that I could do, too.     "With this year’s Academy Awards and the [tribute to] Sidney Poitier, I was one of those actors who sat there and said, ‘Hey he was like my father.’ I remember thinking when I was younger, ‘Maybe I could do that.’ So I tried. Otherwise I’d be doing something very, very different today. So with this job I get to continue that." — Irene Vitale