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Sunset Beach January 6, 1997 - December 31, 1999 Well, folks, it's over. No more "Sunset Beach." Everyone associated with the show has moved on, and it's passed by just as quickly as it came. And everyone deserves a big cheer for all the hard work they put in. So, every few days, we'll be spotlighting a different cast member, starting in alphabetical order with the cast, then some of the bigger recurring characters, and then moving on to crew. We are now on the seventh cast member. To review past spotlights visit: Spotlight Archives. |
HANK CHEYNE Character: Ricardo Torres Ricardo was a good man. Then--without explanation, but with enough reason--he was a bad, bad man. Through a lot of joys, problems, and a wild curve thrown by the ever-unpredictable writers, Hank was there completely. He WAS Ricardo, pastel shirts, non-matching ties, and all. Ricardo was the first character I saw on the show. He was on the inverted S.S. Neptune, in the ballroom, and he was telling the injured and shaken passengers how things looked. He was saying that the ship was taking in water, that they'd die if they stayed here, but if they went with him they might live. Straight-forward, a little tough (but not too much), and offering hope and help to others: that was Rick. And you could always rely on Hank to make sure that Rick was consistent in that way, that he was always just like he should be. But in the great Antonio/Ricardo/Gabi (or ARG, which it spelled for Ricardo in the end) triangle, even though it supplied storylines for over a year, there was a flaw in the climax of it all: the writers made a horrific and shocking move by sacrificing character for story when they turned Ricardo into a sick, twisted, plotting psycho. Ricardo was once the show's white knight, he was good on par with Casey! Look at Ricardo in the original opening credits: that big smile--he just looks literally ecstatic to be alive. How would someone like that ever frame someone for his own murder? All of a sudden, he became what was very obviously, a villain. It made no sense, sure, and we later found out that Hank really didn't appreciate it, either. But it didn't mean he let his performances lack. He gave a long series of very tight, spellbinding performances as the wild-eyed, lying, revenge-bent Ricardo. And the emotion that he displayed was incredible. Just a few examples I can think of are when Ricardo made Gabi watch the tape of her having sex with Antonio after she and Ricardo had just slept together. Also, when he kept having flashbacks in the cabin, and his regret and no-way-out feelings at the end of the show. An even better example is one of the final episodes, when Ricardo and Antonio had a shouting match in the interrogation room of the police station. Someone who gives his all no matter what...that sounds like Hank. And interestingly enough, that sounds like the Ricardo we once knew. Duante
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