VC Andrews’ Dawn Star Joey McIntyre Explains That Michael Sutton Reveal: ‘It Was a Different World’
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If a man in a VC Andrews story seems like a good guy, he’s more than likely the worst. That rang especially true with Michael Sutton in Episode 2 of the Lifetime limited series VC Andrews’ Dawn, titled ‘Secrets of the Morning.”
Dawn (played by Brec Bassinger) moved to New York City to study singing and earned a coveted spot in Sutton’s class. That was a big deal, given that he was (allegedly) a Broadway star with dashingly good looks.
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To his credit, Michael seemed genuinely invested in helping her become a stronger singer. But then they became romantically involved, and he eventually slept with her. When Dawn learned that she was pregnant, she also realized everything about him was a lie. His apartment wasn’t really his, he had no intention of building a future together like he promised, and he ditched her without saying goodbye.
If we’re holding Michael and Dawn’s relationship to modern standards, it wasn’t a forbidden love so much as it was a creepy teacher preying on his young student. Joey McIntire, who plays Michael, acknowledges the power imbalance in the relationship, but also notes their situation harkens back to a different time.
“It does takes place in the 1970s. It was a different world,” McIntyre tells TVLine. “Obviously, we’re still slowly reckoning with this misogynistic… this power that he really played over her. She is very young, so I think in that world, you can understand why she would have made those choices, and why he really took advantage of her.”
At one point, Michael convinced Dawn that their love was pure, and that led to an extremely intimate love scene. For McIntyre, having an intimacy coordinator on hand allowed him to fully commit to that moment with peace of mind.
“Sometimes actors say these intimate scenes are really robotic,” he shares, “but I think that’s good in a sense because you create these boundaries that are safe so you can really go there and get uncomfortable and get intimate in a safe way.”
And despite Michael’s actions, the actor says his character wasn’t all rotten. “Michael was not a great guy, and he really was self-centered and was only thinking of himself,” McIntyre explains. “But in those moments, he really did believe that he loved her and wanted to share his life with her.”
Note: This interview took place before SAG-AFTRA officially announced a strike on July 13.
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