Antonio Sabato Jr. Talks About DWTS, His First Dance, Cheryl Burke, General Hospital, and More

This is a fun interview with Antonio Sabato Jr.! Daytime Confidential asks him questions about his new home improvement show, ‘Fix It & Finish It’. They also ask him about a possible return to General Hospital and joining Dancing with the Stars. Below is Antonio talking about dancing. More at the link. I love this guy!

DC: Ever since the new DWTS cast was announced, viewers have been teased that Alfonso Ribeiro will do the “Carlton Dance.” Do you know if or how you’ll incorporate Fix It & Finish It, or other past roles like Jagger or your Calvin Klein modeling, into DWTS yet?
ASJ: I don’t know. Right now I’m just really concentrating on one dance, which is our first dance, [a Cha-Cha], which is the week from Monday. It’s such a huge challenge to be dancing like this with an amazing partner. That’s what I have to focus on right now. Then, if I make it to the next week, we’ll see what they do with me. So far, I know that we have our dance, and then there’s another song that they want us to dance to, which is a slower song. Now, all I have in front of me is one dance, and that’s what I’ve been rehearsing every day. We’ll see. I’m sure they’re going to throw out something fun to do, and we’ll do it. We’ll have a great time.


DC: Good luck, it seems like quite the challenge.

ASJ: Yep, it is. It is a challenge because, you know, I don’t have any dancing background of any kind, and this is something else. It’s a whole new beast. It’s just, like, the number one show in the country, and I’ve been asked to do this by my fans for the last 10 years, so it’s finally here. I’m finally doing it. You know? What a great time! I’m just so fortunate. I’m just taking it each day, one day at a time.

DC: You’re working on the Cha-Cha now. Did you have any say in choosing the type of dance you’re doing—
ASJ: No. [Laughs].

DC: …and is there one you’re looking forward to, like a jive or salsa, should you advance?
ASJ: I’m looking forward to all the dances. This one right here…you know, I mean I didn’t have a say in it, which might surprise you. They give you a week’s notice, and then you pretty much have seven days to get one dance down. It’s really something else. It’s a huge challenge. I’m looking forward to dancing Cha-Cha, but I’ve also got some time to go. I have one week to perfect it. As soon as I’m done [here], I’m going over to rehearse with [partner Cheryl Burke]. She’s probably waiting for me at the dance studio right now.

DC: You’re going to be very busy!
ASJ: A challenge is something I love confronting head on. Fix It & Finish It is a huge challenge to do 150 shows in a year across [the] country. I’m working a lot on renovations and demo, and things like that — things I personally do. Then, throughout that, I got another blessing. I got a call saying, “Would you like to be involved with Dancing with the Stars?” My first thing was, you know, “I can’t do it.” It sucks for the producers and my team. If they want me to do it, if they’re okay with it ‘cause Fix It & Finish It was my main priority. So, it all worked out, and now we have somewhat of a busy, seven-day-a-week schedule. I don’t have free time, but Dancing with the Stars is something I considered for a long time. My fans and my family are so, so happy that I’m doing this. I love the challenge. I think it’s an amazing journey that I’m taking right now. You know, Cheryl Burke is on the road with me right now, which is really cool. I don’t know. I just take every challenge as it is, and maybe they work. You know, I go to work every morning [and] I ambush the families and then I go into the rehearsals, and then I go back and keep doing work, and that’s a seven-day job. We’ll just keep going, [and] as long as I’m healthy, and I’m eating and getting some rest—I’m happy.