With his good looks and boyish charm, it's not hard to see why 28-year-old Michael Rady was cast as the love interest in movies like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and shows like Greek. He's currently starring as aspiring filmmaker Jonah on Melrose Place and tells us how the struggling drama has been given a fun revamp for 2010.


For someone who has never seen the show, how would you sell it to them?
Sexy people doing sexy things, around a pool. Oh yeah, and I'm there, too! Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW. 

What can we expect when the show returns this month?
Now that the murder's been solved, the show is a lot more fun and romantic. There's a lot more comedy.  Jonah becomes involved with Ella but it's not so easy getting over his five year relationship with Riley. Oh, and Amanda continues to stir the shit.

Did the energy of the cast and crew change at all when Heather Locklear came back?
Well, we've had a great crew all along, but when she arrived we were all really enthusiastic that she liked what we were doing on our show enough to decide to be a part of it.


We were lucky enough to have Katie Cassidy as our November 2009 cover girl. What can you tell us about Katie that people might not know?
She is a licensed Private Investigator and Air Traffic Controller and I think she just purchased a small island off the coast of equatorial Guinea. And she's really fun to play jokes on.

Do you prefer Jonah with Riley or Ella?
Hmm, I truly can't decide because they've each brought out some really fun parts of Jonah for me to play. With Riley he has a history of love and life that informs his impulsiveness and inspiration - she really grounds him to a sweet and comfortable spot. And with Ella, he has new and different levels of physical, emotional and creative space. Also, the element of the unknown with Ella adds a fun level of intrigue for him.


Do you like the fact that Jonah is the “nice guy” or would you prefer he was more of a bad boy sometimes?
 In the upcoming episodes we get to see a Jonah  where I prefer him - right smack in the middle of the moral barometer. To me, the ambiguity present for an audience when a "good guy" screws up and makes a mess of things is much more interesting than either a "good guy" who doesn't rock the boat or just a "bad boy". We all screw up. Everyday. And I love showing that and exploring that.

We have to ask: Did you watch the original MP?
I'd say I was marginally aware of the original show. I was doing my homework while my sister Suzanne was watching it. My only grasp of it was that a really hot blond and a slick, handsome guy were always around a pool. But, now I've heard it was a little more interesting than that so I'm gonna Netflix it.

What TV shows are you currently watching?
I don't really get a chance to watch much TV, but there is one show that I will bend my schedule around: Modern Family. It's brilliant!

By Carla Thorpe