Where are They Now? Marcus Patrick (ex-Jamal Cudahy, 2006)
Marcus Patrick took over the role of Jamal Wilson McIntyre-Cudahy in June 2006 after the character had been off-screen for almost 10 years, last portrayed by Amir Williams. Jamal's return to the canvas was a surprising move for fans as his on-screen mother, Livia Cudahy (Tonya Pinkins), was just dropped to recurring status in late 2005.
The character of Jamal had a very complex history. Tom
and Livia Cudahy (Richard Shoberg and Pinkins) adopted him in 1993 after
the death of his mother, Janine Wilson, due to complications with AIDS.
Janine was a recovering drug addict, and Jamal recognized signs of the
disease in new best friend Tim
Dillon (Tom Michaels). Unfortunately, Patrick got to play out very little of
his character's history in his five month stay in Pine Valley. The storylines
playing out were a far cry in complexity and realism compared to Jamal's
storylines in the 1990s. Jamal was now, "a hero, going to Law school
and rescuing battered women, while working shifts at a bar." All My Children approached Patrick for the role
of Jamal. His only prior daytime television experience was the recurring
role of Father Denny on NBC's defunct soap opera, Passions.
He was in fact only one of two African American actors on contract with
All My Children, the other being his onscreen cousin Tanisha
Lynn (ex-Danielle
Frye).
Patrick's main storyline has Jamal working with an underground
network to help women escape their abusive husbands. He helped Erin
Lavery (Connie Staton) hide Annie
Novak (Melissa Claire Egan) in Pine Valley after Annie learned her
husband was a pedophile.
He was especially fond of onscreen mother, Pinkins. "Tonya
is cool!" Patrick said. "She could show up and just memorize
her lines on the spot and knock it out of the park. I think she was
the best actor on the set." Veterans like Pinkins did their best
to fill Patrick in about the complexities of Jamal's history on the
show.
"Soaps were not my passion. I guess because I have
the "Soap" look they wanted me on the show. I have always
wanted to be a film star and not (a television star)," Patrick
said. In 2007, he returned to daytime television with another short stint on Days of Our Lives in the contract role of Jett Carver . "(It was the) same stuff really. I had a better story involvement to begin with, but it eventually went south," said Patrick. "They may have been shocked by my PLAYGIRL."
Patrick posed for PLAYGIRL magazine in 2007. Patrick is
one of only a few celebrities to be featured with full frontal nudity
in their photo spread. "I am a lot wilder than Jamal," said
Patrick. "Just go to YouTube and type in my name... you can see
how radical Marcus is." |
For more on Marcus Patrick check out his Website
For more on Jamal Cudahy check out his Quick
Guide Biography
Interview conducted on May 15th, 2008