Estes is very pleased with the positive environment on the set of Providence. “From the producers to the writers to the actors, everybody is really intelligent and wants to make a really good piece, and there’s total lack of ego,” he says. He admits that in real life he’s actually a lot like his character on Providence. “Like John, I’m very unorganized. And like John, I’m in a relationship with someone who’s very organized,” he says, referring to his wife of eight years, actress Josie Bissett. “And thank God. I mean if she didn’t do it, it would be really bad,” he says laughing.

     Estes hasn’t always confined his talents to the small screen. Having always loved doing theatre, several years ago Estes auditioned for the Tennessee Williams play The Rose Tattoo at the Hudson Theatre. After being rejected during two auditions due to his Melrose Place association, he finally got the role. Estes, however, was uncomfortable with the way he looked compared to how his character (Mangia Cavallo) was supposed to look, so he started going around Santa Monica dressed as the character. He was made up to look messy and dirty and wore mismatched, extremely outdated clothes. “I had big fake ears made by the guy who does Star Trek, because I wanted to be something other than what I was.” The ears, he says, made him look very much like Prince Charles. He walked into restaurants unrecognized, and people definitely treated him differently. “They felt sorry for me, and I felt they were much more readily available,” he explains. “It was an experience I really enjoyed. In TV, a lot of the time you don’t really get to spend a lot of time preparing for characters.”

     A recent father, Estes says his career choices will now be heavily swayed by his son, Mason Tru, who’s just over a year old. However, having done some directing on the sets of Silk Stalkings and Melrose Place, Estes expresses interest in doing more of it in the future. “Directing takes a lot. And for me, I find I’m best at it when it’s a project I really care about, and I really care about things that I help build. I would also like to do film and some more TV, but I would like for it to be a show that I really have a say in. For the last four years I have stepped onto shows that have already existed, and I’m really interested in making something from the ground up, and seeing how that goes.”