A Martinez Shares A Surprising Reunion From a Movie He Did With Farrah Fawcett

A Martinez can testify to the fact that the show business world is indeed a small one. While shooting a guest spot on the season finale of The Rookie, which stars One Life to Live alum Nathan Fillion in the title role, the ex-Days of our Lives actor ran into a dear old pal.

A Martinez: Makeup to Makeup

Over three decades ago, A Martinez, following his Daytime Emmy Award-winning role as Cruz Castillo on Santa Barbara was cast opposite the late Farrah Fawcett (Charlie’s Angels; The Burning Bed) in Criminal Behavior, a TV movie of the week (remember those?). There, he had his makeup done by makeup artist Kathleen Crawford. “She was the most excellent real-life makeup artist, I was playing a cop named Pike Grenada who loved Jessie Lee Stubs –– as played by late great Farrah Fawcett,” Martinez recalls. “It was one of those gigs you never forget.”

Criminal Behavior also featured two familiar faces from daytime — Hugo Napier (ex-Gunnar, As the World Turns), Mark La Mura (ex-Mark, All My Children), and Joyce Guy (Phyllis, General Hospital). Napier played Mr. Bidwell, La Mura was District Attorney Davenport, and Guy played the role of Estelle.

Last week Kathleen and I reunited in the makeup trailer of The Rookie, and she did my makeup again. It’s a two–episode stint that wraps up Season 6, in which I play an OG gangster whose lifelong inferiority complex–driven greed is about to get the best of him. As it did 32 years ago, Kathleen’s skill brought out the best in my face.

“This journey proceeds like a tribe of ardent gypsies, shuffling together through time, the ranks thinning when we lose those beloved ones who need to rest, and swelling again as eager new blood joins the ongoing parade,” Martinez philosophizes. “It’s a privilege to be a part of it, and to make emotional connections that last a lifetime.”

The Rookie stars Fillion as John Nolan, one of the oldest rookies ever to join a police force. The show’s Season 6 premiere is set for Tuesday, February 20 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.