he won the year i first started handling starstruck promos. he was a huge crush of mine that season, from the first pictorial where i kept telling him not to squint while smiling, through that whole shirtless-in-the-rain video (where he totally brought it!) that got everyone to sit up and notice, up until he won.
when he started working, he soon gained a reputation of being one of the nicest young men in the network's stable of stars. i haven't met anyone who has worked with him who didn't instantly like (if not love) him. he was always so sweet to me whenever he's see me around the network.
he was just getting started. he had some good turns, but was pretty much untested and really had to still get his big break. a plum indie role a couple of years down the line, or maybe just as part of the natural turnover process for leads in the network. i figured time would take care of that, since it didn't look like he was going anywhere anytime soon. who knew?
it's a cliche, i know, but it's at times like these that you really think, the good ones go first. why couldn't it have been some other inflated a-hole or talentless hack?
i'm so shocked and sad.
i first thought about you when i heard the news. i remember your e-mail and the good words you only had for him.
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