One Life to Live's Jason-Shane Scott (ex-Will Rappaport) opens up about his dark new thriller film, Framed By My Fiancé, and his budding Lifetime writing career.
It's been a decade since Jason-Shane Scott last appeared as One Life to Live's Will Rappaport, but he's still quite connected to the soap opera world. Not only is he dating soap alum Lindsay Hartley (ex-Cara Castillo, All My Children; ex-Arianna Hernandez, Days of our Lives; ex-Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, Passions), he gets constant daytime updates from his mom.
"She was into soaps before I become involved and stayed into soaps after I was involved, so I always get the updates from her," he tells Soap Central with a laugh. "I don't watch anything right now, but my mom does, and she keeps me up to date on General Hospital, don't worry!"
Scott isn't glued to the television set, watching soap shenanigans, because he's too busy working. He's been in St. Lucia filming a romantic comedy called Honeymoon in Paradise that he describes as a riff on The Bachelorette in Paradise, and prior to that, he was filming Framed By My Fiancé, a dark thriller that's set to premiere on Lifetime on Friday, November 24.
The film follows a brilliant young lawyer (Scott) who accidentally hits and kills another driver, and rather than taking the blame, he convinces his fiancé (Katrina Bowden) that she was the one driving and frames her for the death.
"This film was really well written," Scott says. "What happens is the couple gets in a car accident, and he can lose everything he's worked his entire life -- over 20 years -- for. But if the girlfriend takes the blame, she'll just get a slap on the wrist and they can move on. But then she'll have to live with the lie and the guilt, so it's sort of like a moral question versus a social status question. And he sort of chooses to protect their social status and his professional life, which is to become a judge, and to be happily married. His pitch to his fiancée is if you just make this switch and you take the blame, then we'll live happily ever after. Nobody will know except the two of us, and that makes us stronger."
It might sound outrageous, but Scott was able to justify his character's horrendous actions. "There were actually a lot of valid points in my opinion, and hopefully I portrayed that," he says. "It is kind of a tricky dilemma: as a couple, would you do something that would better your guys' life for the next 50 years, or would you end the relationship over being forced to tell a lie? So it's kind of an interesting question, I think. And it gets very intense."
Not only does Framed By My Fiancé grapple with moral questions, but the Nevada native says it's visually exciting, as well.
"I think it's a larger scale Lifetime movie. We shot it in Buffalo and really kind of had the run of the town," he previews. "It has a lot more action than most, and I really feel like this one will stand above some others. There really are so many movies that premiere and air on Lifetime, but this one, visually, will stand out."
Viewers would probably do well to trust Scott, considering he has become a bit of an expert on Lifetime movies. He and Hartley have written three female-driven thrillers for the network, two of which have already been shot (Deadly Exchange and Reunion, whose airdates have yet to be revealed) and one that films early next year.
"It has become this whole niche that we never really planned. But kind of like with anything in acting, you'll be more welcomed in some mediums more than others and just kind of fit a lot of the roles in there," he shares. "Lifetime fans really remind me of soap opera fans, mostly in the sense that it's the same thing on a soap: every time you're on a soap, every person you meet says, 'Oh my God, you won't believe it, but I actually watch that.' Or, 'My girlfriend actually loves that.' And they do the same thing with Lifetime movies. 'Oh, I actually watch those! I actually love those!' So I actually think a lot of people watch them. They really do."
Speaking of soap operas, Scott reveals that he would be more than happy to return to the world of daytime. In fact, he shares he has already had his people talk to Days of our Lives' head writer, Ron Carlivati, who wrote quite a bit for the actor's OLTL character, Will.
"I've always been open to returning to soap operas, but the roles, especially since I've been gone, have become farther and fewer between. There aren't as many jobs available, and there are so many actors. But I would go back to a soap for sure," he says, adding that the working atmosphere of soaps can't be beat. "The people you work with become very much like a family. I'm sure you've heard tons of people on daytime say that, because it really is your second home. I don't know how it is now, but when I was on One Life to Live, I basically lived at that studio. You kind of really take them on as your family, and they become a part of your life."
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For more information about Framed By My Fiancé, which premieres on Lifetime on Friday, November 24, at 8PM PT/ET, check out the film's official website.
What do you think about the premise for Framed By My Fiancé? Would you like to see Jason-Shane Scott make a return to the soap opera world? If so, on which show? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
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