Next Big Thing: Bailey Chase

            Bailey Chase could easily be an arrogant guy. If he were, he’d pretty much have the right to be. He’s undeniably sexy, played college football via a scholarship at Duke, and is now starring opposite Holly Hunter on TNT’s Saving Grace. But during a recent enjoyable conversation with him, he proved that he’s modest, sensitive and a kid at heart.            
            Growing up in Naples, Fla., Chase was an active child, and acting was the furthest thing from his mind—although he was inspired by one iconic actor in particular. “I watched a lot of TV and Clint Eastwood movies,” he says. “I was raised by a single mom, and Clint just kind of became my role model. I wanted to be like him.” Whether it was Eastwood’s influence or something deeper inside him, Chase turned to performing arts after he figured out early on in college that a pro football career wasn’t in his future.
            At his college graduation, he told his family he was moving to L.A. to pursue an acting career. “They were all pretty surprised, just because my life up until that point had been very structured and regimented and ‘Okay, this is when you go class, this is when you practice, this is when you have your  games,’” Chase says. “To go to, ‘Okay, I’m moving to L.A. and I’m going to wait tables and get into acting class,’ was a total 180. But my mom’s an artist and she was totally behind it. I probably get my creative genes from her.”
            Even with all his enthusiasm and determination, there were times Chase wasn’t sure if he would make it in Hollywood. “There were definitely days where, I mean I graduated from Duke, I had a lot of options in terms of different careers or going back to graduate school or whatever, and there were some dark days where I contemplated doing other things with my life that were safer, more of the main road that people take,” he admits. “Hindsight’s 20/20, and I’m really glad that I’m not stuck in a job that I’m not passionate about doing. I love what I do and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. So everything for a reason, right?”
            Although Chase still has many more goals to work toward, by all accounts he has made it. He’s landed a few film roles, has recurring roles on Ugly Betty, Las Vegas and Criminal Minds, and, of course, plays a cop who tries to keep Hunter in line in Saving Grace. Working on the show has “been a great education,” he says. “I think that my work has grown tenfold since starting the show.”
            He recently played his first gay character on Law & Order: SVU a few months ago, plays a serial killer on Criminal Minds, and a “total dog” on Ugly Betty—but still manages to stay lighthearted about acting. “I’m loose on the set. I like to have fun, I don’t take it too seriously,” he says. “I think acting is a kid’s game, as a lot of great actors do, and I treat it as such. And I just try to have fun, even if it’s something that’s very serious in the subject matter, in the moment. You know, it’s fun to play pretend.”                         Perhaps that’s one reason Chase is so good with kids and would prefer sitting at the kids’ table than with the adults. “I’m not around kids that often, but when I do get around them, I’m not the guy to just sit on the couch and watch the game. I’m more apt to be out back throwing the ball with the kids and, you know, just rolling around,” he confesses.
            In addition to romping with kids, Chase blows off steam by taking to the golf course. He plays as much as possible in the L.A. sunshine, but it’s also one of his goals to execute his swing on every continent. His most recent golfing excursion brought him to Tokyo, and he’s planning another trip to Scotland and Ireland with his older brother. And although he’s an active guy, he can also be quite introspective. Recently, he visited an ashram in India for two weeks, where he practiced hours of yoga, meditation, and abstained from drinking—and was very happy to return to his regular life afterward.
            At the moment, that regular life doesn’t include a lady friend, but finding the right person is becoming more of a priority for Chase. “I’m a big believer in everything is as it should be for a reason and when it’s time and I meet the right person, then everything will fall into place,” he says.
            So far, it’s clear that things have fallen into place quite nicely for Chase. After questioning what he wanted and going down some other roads, Chase has come to recognize that he has it pretty good in L.A. “Yeah, it’s a good place,” he admits.