What's Up, Doc?

By Robert Schork

A year ago, GH's Jason Thompson was just another struggling actor in L.A. who, by his own account, could barely afford lunch. But life took a big turn when Thompson was cast as GH's own Dr. McDreamy. When WEEKLY caught up with him, the Canadian expatriate was picking up the keys to his brand-new house.

WEEKLY: Congratulations on your new home!

THOMPSON: Thanks! Everything is still in storage because I haven't had time to do anything. I have to keep working to pay for it.

WEEKLY: You were living with Greg Vaughn until now?

THOMPSON: Yeah, until last week when he got married. My lease was up at my old place, so I was living with Greg until I bought this place.

WEEKLY: Were you living in L.A. when the GH role came up?

THOMPSON: I've been living here six or seven years. It's a lot more fun having a job.

WEEKLY: What was life like growing up in Canada?

THOMPSON: Cold (laughs)! We played hockey a lot, it was great. We didn't have a lot of money, but we had a sweet and comfortable upbringing. We were happy. My parents were very supportive of everything.

WEEKLY: Do you have a big family?

THOMPSON: I do. 50 people come to our place on Christmas Day and that's just on my mom's side. I've got an older brother who's married with two kids, a younger brother and my parents. Tons of cousins and kids. Its always good time to go home and see my friends and my two partners in the bar I own.

WEEKLY: How did you get involved with that?

THOMPSON: That was something the three of us talked about doing for a long time. Coming out of high school I was really into design and architecture. It was an outlet for that and my partners were game for risking it. We were young enough and naive enough to go for it. Now we are coming up on our seven year anniversary on the one bar and the two year anniversary a couple of months ago on the other place and they're doing both well. It's nice to have that creative outlet.

WEEKLY: Do you feel Americanized now?

THOMPSON: I'll probably get flak from my friends for saying this, but I've done a lot of my growing up here the time when you become your own person. I'm very proud of being Canadian, but I feel comfortable here.

WEEKLY: Is GH as popular north of the border as it is here?

THOMPSON: Yeah.

WEEKLY: You get recognized a lot then?

THOMPSON: Sometimes I just completely forget. Someone says, "Hey you!" And I go, "Oh? That's me, I guess." Its so new. There are weekend things or the Fun in the Sun events, where you put your work face on and become something else. It's a balancing act. I don't want to give too much of myself away or exploit myself, because then I wont have anything left for myself, or anything left for my family and the people that mean a lot to me. So I try to keep myself reined in a bit.

WEEKLY: Being "Reined in" is probably not what some fans might expect, given your character's rep as a ladies' man.

THOMPSON: I think when fans meet me they're a little disappointed. I'm not that guy. The character is so different. It's fun because I don't have that much confidence in my real life. I'll probably be compared to him quite often, but I'll have to take it.

WEEKLY: You don't share your character's confidence?

THOMPSON: With the ladies? No, I wish I had a little of it at least.

WEEKLY: Have you learned anything from Patrick on your dating life?

THOMPSON: A majority of it actually (laughs). No. One thing we have in common is that he's passionate about his job. That goes for me too. I want to be the best person I can in this industry.

WEEKLY: You must have heard the comparisons to Dr. McDreamy on Greys Anatomy. How does that feel?

THOMPSON: He takes the cake on that one! Patrick's got confidence, so he doesn't care what other people think. I'm not saying I care, but he's got a different way of handling women than I do!

WEEKLY: How is it playing that? Is it liberating?

THOMPSON: It is. He has a good time. But there are also definitely moments, like with the Patrick and Robin storyline, where feelings creep in and that's obviously new for him. Its broadening his horizons.

WEEKLY: You and Kimberly seem to be having fun.

THOMPSON: I hope that comes across. Sometimes its tough, because we move so fast and we've got a lot of dialogue. You've got so much going on in your head.

WEEKLY: Have you and Kimberly become friends?

THOMPSON: We have. She's threatened a couple of times not to be friends because she said, "Usually I'm not very good friends with the people at work. Its just one of those things." She's a sweetheart and so fun to work with.

WEEKLY: Were you surprised to find out your character would be romancing a HIV-Positive character?

THOMPSON: I'm excited about it. I feel fortunate to go there with Kimberly. I trust her. Maybe a lot of people would run away from this, but I think its great for us to show that people with HIV can have relationships and be sexually active with their partners, as long as they take all precautions and are responsible. Life doesn't end with HIV. It's a story that needs to be told.

WEEKLY: Does it make the sex scenes awkward? Do you feel you're doing a PSA?

THOMPSON: To a certain extent. I don't know how many times I have said "Spermicidal jelly and latex condoms!" But for those two seconds that it does feel awkward its the right thing to do.

WEEKLY: In contrast, you are all lightened up with that girls night out at the bar. How was that?

THOMPSON: No disrespect to the husbands of the ladies, but I had a good time! I was a little nervous about it because Im being a fantasy for all these women but I didn't feel "sexy." I hope it played well, because it could have looked cheesy. Someone could say "Why are they fantasizing about that chump?"

WEEKLY: I think the fans would disagree with you on that. What do you do in your downtime?

THOMPSON: I play hockey a couple times a week. I surf also. Now that I've got the house, that will be a project.

WEEKLY: So you keep fit through sports?

THOMPSON: Basically, I don't even remember the last time I was in the gym. From what I've heard from some of my buddies, everyone's laughing at me because everybody thinks I'm skinny.

WEEKLY: Do you socialize much?

THOMPSON: I go to dinner with my friends. The odd party now and then. I don't really do the club thing in LA.

WEEKLY: Are you seeing anyone?

THOMPSON: Nope a single guy! My relationship is going to be with my new house for a little while (laughs). I'm looking enough that I'm not pushing people away, but at the same time I'm not actively looking, I'm just going to see what happens.

WEEKLY: So you're not actively seeking the way that Patrick is actively seeking?

THOMPSON: Nooo! Not even close!

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