JUST THE FACTS

Birthplace Turlock, CA

Favorite Movie: Life Is Beautiful.I think it was one of the best-written and acted films.

Favorite Actor: Marcello Mastroianni. "I'm amazed by the presence and charm of people like that.

Favorite Actress: Gwyneth Paltrow

John Martin and his SUNSET BEACH character, Hank Cummings, seem like two peas in a pod: soft-spoken but articulate, friendly and fiercely loyal to family. Still, Martin believes that his alter ego could use some home improvement. "I think the character maybe goes off a little bit too much without listening at times," he admits. "I'd like to present the kind of father I try to be to my son. On TV, you can't always do that."

Martin's own father was an exec at a large insurance company, which meant a lot of shuttling around. "It was very hard making those moves," recalls the actor, who went from California to Colorado to Florida before he hit high school. "I remember walking into a class and feeling like a real oddball, like I was a Martian. It probably made me learn to be an extrovert, but it also created this feeling of loneliness, being different."

Martin was a teen when he first acted in a local commercial in Florida. But he opted not to pursue a show-biz career. "None of my family came from any of that," he shrugs. "There wasn't the frame of reference to talk about doing something like that."

Instead, Martin majored in political science at the University of Florida and became the director of finance for the Republican Party in the Sunshine State, "back when I was a conservative Republican instead of a liberal Democrat like I am now." He switched parties after the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan years. "I was disillusioned that somebody could run a government outside of government and call themselves conservatives. I just started looking at things differently," he reflects. While Martin is quick to point out that he remains conservative in many ways, his interest in social issues and the environment pushed him to the left.

After leaving the Republican Party, Martin took a turn on the career highway working for Mercedes-Benz, a job that brought him to Southern California. "Then my wife and I divorced at the same time that there were some political things going on at Mercedes-Benz, so I resigned and did nothing for a while," he says.

During this period, Martin's interest in performing was awakened. A friend, comedian Joey Bishop, taught an improvisational acting class and soon, Martin was hooked. His first professional gig was replacing Corbin Bernsen (ex-Arnie, L.A. LAW and son of YOUNG AND RESTLESS's Jeanne Cooper, Kay) as the Winston cigarette man. His first acting job? A guest spot on Aaron Spelling's THE LOVE BOAT. "It was a couple of scenes. I remember I was so scared that I totally forgot my lines," Martin confesses. "There were like 100 people there, and on 'Action', I totally forgot everything. The dialogue coach took me aside and said, 'We're not curing cancer, here. Take it easy.'"

Martin survived. After a two-month stint as DAYS OF OUR LIVES's Robert Brennan, he landed the role of private eye Jon Russell on ONE LIFE TO LIVE in 1986. The actor not only had to uproot himself (OLTL tapes in New York City) but his second wife, Cynthia, who was pregnant with their son, Nicholas. "There were all sorts of changes, but it was a great experience," Martin recalls, adding that he's still friends with Jessica Tuck (ex-Megan) and Grace Phillips (ex-Sarah).

After OLTL, Martin shifted gears again. "I got into the finance business as a stockbroker and ended up creating my own company where I sell and place people's money with money managers and also do socially responsible work," he explains. He was so involved in "the financial stuff", in fact, that when BEACH beckoned, Martin wasn't sure he wanted to get back into acting. "But when I met everybody and realized what a laid-back, nice group of people it was," he smiles, "it made it really fun." And thanks to a light BEACH workload, his other business is booming: "I only do the show five to 10 days a month, and there are people running those portfolios.

On the personal front, Martin lives in Santa Barbara, where he and Cynthia share custody of Nicholas. "We only live a mile from each other," he says. "It was very important to both of us that we have a good relationship and a working relationship when we split up. We always try, and usually succeed, in putting him first."

Indeed. Along with his two jobs, Martin is the assistant coach on Nicholas's Little League team. "He's a great athlete. A born athlete," brags Dad. "He's also a very sensitive, loving kid. You have a child, and you realize how the rest of life really wasn't that important." Hank Cummings could have said it better.