Pat Mastroianni (Joey Jeremiah) Interview by Natalie Earl

Sunday August 23 1998—All across Canada viewers tune into Showcase to watch the Degrassi "School’s Out" movie. Including Pat Mastroianni himself. He had invited friends and family over to see the movie. His girlfriend (a high school sweetheart) has never seen it. My phone call literally interrupted his party but he was sweet enough to chat with me. I admitted that I had no prepared questions because I was expecting to set an appointment date. Pat thinks it would be more fun to watch me squirm though an impromptu interview. His girlfriend playfully heckles both of us in the background. I congratulate her on snagging one of the finest guys in the Western Hemisphere. The unfolding Joey/Tessa/Caitlin love triangle must be highly amusing for her.

Since 1992 Pat (born Pasquale) Mastroianni has pursued acting as a full time career. He spends six months out of the year in Los Angeles and the other six months in Toronto. Recently Pat appeared as an Apache Fighter Pilot in Godzilla. He admits to difficulty in Los Angeles because the agents and casting directors are not familiar with the Degrassi series. He also loses money when he exchanges Canadian currency for American currency (the exchange rate is almost 2:1). At one point Pat, Stefan Brogren (Snake) and Stacie Mistysyn (Caitlin) were all in Los Angeles simultaneously. He bumped into Stefan at a Toronto audition last week. Pat maintains friendship with his best Degrassi bud Siluck Saysanasy (Yick).

A big obstacle for Pat is breaking out of the Joey Jeremiah typecast. He deliberately changed his look and image to break into a new roles but the Zit Remedy association won’t die. Thirteen year old kids, who are watching Degrassi reruns on Showcase, treat Pat as if the episodes were shot last week. "It sucks when you peak at age 15" he says, "I hope the best years of my life are still to come." He does not resent Degrassi, in fact he has fond memories of fun and jokes. He just hates being stuck in a time warp.

Pat once applied to York University but they wanted him to quit acting for four years in order to study full time. He decided that acting was the higher priority. Pat appeared as Frank on Liberty Street for two seasons (Linda Schuyler’s post-Degrassi, pre-Riverdale series on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Pat was hired to bring star appeal to the series when Stacie left the show. In 1995, He hosted nineteen episodes of Music Works on CBC, replacing Alanis Morissette. Music Works features Canadian bands or artist performing in an Ottawa warehouse studio space before a live audience.

Post-Degrassi life has not been all auditions and curtain calls. He has worked at a restaurant and with his father’s painting and construction business. He admits to having a slacker phase and to dealing with periods of depression and uncertainty. Pat confirms the rumor that he did date Neve Campbell during Degrassi High [Back then she was an unknown, now that she is famous he jokingly adds] "but I had to dump her because she held me back"

Pat says that the money and attention acquired from Degrassi was never grand enough to make him feel like a star. The show was admired but not at the same level as major productions. Pat had a lower self-esteem than the flashy, extroverted Joey Jeremiah did. He was never given special treatment on the set. "Big exposure meant going to Calgary for a press release," he says "The low budget environment made Degrassi seem like a bunch of kids making a home video." The actors were forced to wash their own dishes after lunch and help carry equipment for the crew. He remembers a candid photograph of he and Darrin Brown (Dwayne) washing dishes with cigarette butts hanging out of their mouths, it was very typical of their real life personalities and the unglamorous side of Degrassi.

Pat wanted the Degrassi Web Ring to know that he does visit our websites and that he is appreciative of our efforts. He is also grateful to the fans that have been loyal to Degrassi.

He admits that we are more connected with the show than the cast and crew. He says that a Degrassi sequel or remake is improbable but he would be interested in attending a Degrassi Reunion.

Pat confirms the rumor that he did email AJ Taylor regarding his bizarre spelling of "Mastroianni" and the misinformation about his employment as a pizza delivery driver. This is funny because on a certain episode of Degrassi, Snake teases Joey that someday he will be delivering his pizzas.

The episode that meant the most to Pat is "Bad Blood". He remembers getting injured during the fight scenes and exhausting rehearsals. Originally Playing With Time decided not to cover the topics of suicide or AIDS because they were afraid that the message would appear phony. However, when Pat traveled cross country with Degrassi Talks, a young man who was HIV positive came up to him and thanked him for helping him deal with his time of crisis. He had no idea that fans were turning to Degrassi for comfort and guidance.