An Interview with Thomas Calabro (Michael Mancini, 'Melrose Place')

March 2010

It's hard to believe that it has been almost 20 years since the original Melrose Place hit the scene and became a huge cultural sensation in the '90s. The show also helped launch the careers of Marcia Cross, Doug Savant, Courtney Thorne-Smith and Kristin Davis.

When I think about the term 'the character you love to hate,' the very first image that usually comes to mind is the dastardly Dr. Michael Mancini, played by Thomas Calabro. The notorious womanizer wormed his way in and out of the hearts of some of show's most memorable women, but despite all of his wrongdoings, we just couldn't help but fall in love with this complex character.

Ten years after Melrose Place ended, the CW decided to turn the lights back on and revive the series. As a diehard fan of the original series, imagine my delight when I learned that Thomas Calabro would return to the role he made famous! I had the immense fortune to speak with the charming (and very, very funny) actor about his decision to return to MP, what's ahead for the good doc and his favorite moments from the original series...

Q: What made you decide to return to Melrose Place?

Thomas: "A great meeting with the two executive producers. They had their own vision that they were basically going to do a show with the premise about a bunch of people living in an apartment complex, but what I really loved is that they had their creative take on it and weren't going to try and duplicate with had been done before. That was a very exciting prospect for me. They had a new vision for Michael and where he was ten years later in his life. It was like being on a new show."

Q: We learned in the beginning of the series that you now have a son in his twenties, had David showed up on the original show, how do you think Michael would have handled it?

Thomas: "He would have been changing diapers or pushing him up against the wall for stealing a $2 million painting! It was so long ago; I'm not sure how to address that question... he probably would have enlisted him as a co-conspirator."

Q: So far, we've only seen a serious Michael, will your character start to lighten up soon?

Thomas: "I don't know if my character will, so to speak, lighten up, but the show will. I think it'll be a lot more fun, more of that old quipy dialogue we remember from the past. I think it bodes well for the show moving forward."

Q: What's ahead for Michael?

Thomas: "He's going forward with more nefarious deeds, but more fun. He's been very powerful and hard to knock off the block, I think we're going to see a little more vulnerability and what he can do and what he can't do. We'll see some chinks in the armor."

Q: Will you and Heather Locklear share more scenes together?

Thomas: "Oh gosh, it's so much fun to work with Heather. Yes, we will. They've (TPTB) set up a history between us and I'm sure they intend to mine it."

Q: Now that your wife is dead, do you think you'll get a new love interest?

Thomas: "I don't think there's a Michael Mancini without some sort of love interest."

Q: Is there a chance that Michael and Heather will spark it up again?

Thomas: "There is absolutely a chance. The thing you have to remember about Michael is that if any woman shows up, there's a chance. Michael and Amanda do have a history, there have been some references to them having some intimate time together and there always seems to be some flirtation between them."

Q: Are we going to learn what happened to Peter Burns?

Thomas: "I have a scene with Heather that addresses exactly that. There's not a lot of weight given to it, but it is addressed."

Q: What was your favorite Michael Mancini moment?

Thomas: "There are two that come to mind. One is when I discover that Sydney is a stripper and I remember pointing at her and laughing. That might have been the ultimate in cruel for Michael. It was fun because it was one of those things you'd never do because you have a conscience -- and he doesn't. The second one was equally humiliating for the character that was in the scene with Michael and that was when I served Kimberly (Marcia Cross) divorce papers. She confronted me in the hospital hallway, she's crumbling against the wall and I look at her and tell her to get a grip already. It was so callous."

Q: Favorite Melrose Place moments?

Thomas: "Kimberly revealing her scar was maybe one of the most defining moments. For me, it's not so much a moment, but the scenario with Peter Burns and Sydney Andrews when we all had Burns/Mancini together. It was like the Three Stooges, I just remember having a heck of a time playing out the arc of the three of us working in the office together."

Q: Do you think the show will come back next season?

Thomas: "I'm hugely confident we're coming back for a second season. I think it's a quality show that's well run by really, really talented people. I believe we have some of the best actors on television right now; we've got some great talent. I'll be surprised if we don't."

Find Thomas Calabro Online

• Official Thomas Calabro Site
• Follow Thomas on Twitter
• Find Thomas on Facebook