Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Paul spent his early childhood, until ten years ago, living a "very urban existence." His family then moved to Radnor Township, which was voted as one of the best suburbs to live in by "Philadelphia" magazine. "I went from being one of the only white kids in my school to then moving to the suburbs saying: hey, where are all the minorities?" He describes it as a difficult transition but thinks that is why, as a result, he loves being in the city. "I also need to get out in the country as often as I can. I have this sort of dual need to remain whole." He goes on to say that it "definitely took awhile to get used to, but I had a very enjoyable childhood, playing pee-wee football and little league."

Signs of the creativity he would find inside himself were also apparent at an early age. "My school always wanted to do musicals and that was the big event," he said with a sparkle in his eye as he fondly remembers. "If you were the star of it, you were just the coolest kid on the block. Everyone in the school wanted to be in the show, including all the jocks, and I was on the football team at the time. There wasn�t this big separation between the athletes and the people who did theatre, all the jocks were in the chorus. It was a big, fun school event." Based on the encouragement of his music teacher, Paul auditioned for their production of Oklahoma and landed the role of "Curly."

"My parents came to see the show and they had no idea that I sang" he says appearing to be excited to tell the story which he says his parents love to share. "They knew I had been in the chorus but they had no idea that I could sing solo. There were sitting in the audience as the lights went on, clutching each other, not knowing what the reaction was going to be. Fortunately, they were pleasantly surprised," he says humbly. When all the other boys on the football team began to get bigger and wider, Paul decided he needed to focus on one thing and really immersed himself in theatre.

Music plays a large role in Paul�s life and when not singing, he enjoys listening to all types of music. There is no style that he doesn�t like "if the singer is good, and sings with soul", he says thoughtfully. When asked what would be found in his CD player right now, he recites a variety of different artists from India Davenport, Mary J. Blige, Ella Fitzgerald and Lauren Hill to Funk and the Beastie Boys.

The first adjective used to describe himself is proven fitting when asked what he would do if he were not an actor. "I�d probably be trying to save the rain forest or doing something involving animals," he says with conviction and compassion. When asked if he considers himself a spiritual person he responds, "I actually think of spiritual as a dirty word. I just try to be a good person. It�s hard sometimes but I try to have respect for everyone and everything. It�s definitely a challenge living in New York and being in this business. I just really try to be the best person I can be. I really don�t care for the "business" that much, but I love what I do."

Recently quoted in an interview, Paul stated that he was trying to get in touch with some deeper, scarier places within himself. What scares him? "I don�t know if anything really scares me. I try not to let things scare me. But, I�d say the anger I feel when something like what occurred in that high school in Colorado happens, this anger erupts in me that is pretty intense. What I love about this part I play, is that I can use it and tap into it. I try to channel those intense emotions into this character." He describes that as what he loves about his character and storyline, that it gives him the opportunity to do that.

Paul sees "Danny" different in the aspect that he is not "quick tempered and hot headed," he laughs. "I have it in me but I think I keep it checked more than Danny does. I think one of the great things about this part is that I can exercise those elements of myself that are Danny and then leave work and have a normal life. Not to have to experience those types of emotions, that I can get them out of my system at work."

Like Danny, he describes himself as passionate about everything he does but loves Danny because he is so full of contradictions "because I think we all are," he continues. "That you can be romantic one minute and yet still be full of vengeance and hate the next. I just like that you can�t easily categorize him as any one thing." He believes that is try of everyone. "No one is easy to categorize." It is obvious in the calmness of his voice, that Paul has given a lot of thought to these differences and how to use them so effectively on screen. "I love riding that line of good and bad and seeing how far I can push it and keep people on their toes." He likes coming to work and asking himself whether viewers should have him today or like him. "I love playing with that. It�s all fun."

Paul was previously on Loving as "Casey Bowman." When asked what the biggest difference between the two shows are he quickly responds very matter-of-factly that it�s a much longer day with a lot more material, since Loving was a half-hour show. "It�s a more exhausting day in terms of the amount of concentration and energy that needs to be focused. I find that I�m a lot more wiped out at the end of the day here than on Loving." He also describes how nice it is to work at Guiding Light without the continual question of whether or not the show is going to be canceled. "It�s hard to do your job when you feel the guillotine hanging over your head every day. It�s like when ice skaters, brilliant in doing their exhibitions never fall or miss a salchow. And as soon as they�re being judged and critiqued, mistakes occur."

He felt he had to work a lot harder at Loving to shield himself from that energy. "In the end, I don�t think it so much affected me or my work as much as it just created a very different energy in the studio. But my job is to do the best job, every day, and when that job is done, say okay, what�s tomorrow?"

The popularity of the "Danny/Michelle' story has grown to enormous proportions in a relatively short amount of time, even being described as the next "Luke and Laura," a reference to the General Hospital super couple of the early eighties. Paul appears shocked when learning of this. "Oh my god! Really?!" he states almost dumbfounded. He seems sincerely amazed and appreciative as he is told about the number of web sites dedicated to he and Joie Lenz (Michelle) on the internet. "Wow, that's really amazing; very flattering. It's cool to know that the hard work that Joie and I are putting in is paying off and that people are enjoying it That is really the [purpose] of what we do, is to keep the fans entertained, increase viewership and make the show as interesting and exciting as we can."

Paul seems almost annoyed when asked if he is online and ever visits any of the web sites, as if he is asked this often. "No, I'm not "ONLINE" he smirks. "I hardly have enough time in the day" he laughs. "First you would have to describe to me what a web page is" he jokes. "I am NOT a computer person. I think it is really fascinating and cool but I know I would have the same response to a computer as I did when I got Nintendo for the first time, which is that I don't get anything done!" he continues laughing. He also compliments the creativity of one of the pages dedicated to him that he was shown when he was at a photographer's studio.

"I AM getting a computer though and I'm sure I will check them out," he follows up. One of the most popular questions found on the internet seems to be whether or not Paul is seeing anyone. He quietly responds that he is, but "mums on that." Another question asked by fans on the Guiding Light Fan Club web site, is whether or not he remembers his first kiss. He laughs, "Oh sure! Totally! Kate Daniels, fifth grade pool party! Chaperoned!"

As he struggles to find the three adjectives which best describe himself, he pauses to ask me how I would respond to the question. At that moment I realize also how right he is in the difficulty of finding the most fitting words. I rely on my instincts to quickly answer, as usually that seems to be the most honest reply. I respond with "Strong, loving and open."

"That�s nice! That�s really good, you�re good at that!" Paul replies sincerely and with genuine compliments. After a short pause he states: "I�ll take those!" As we laugh, I am thinking how absolutely right he is in his joke, even if perhaps he isn�t aware of it. My experience of him after only a short visit is that those three words could not be more suitable for this exciting and generous man.