Message #263865

[Janelle MacDonald]

DAVID SELBY

As 19th-century ghost Quentin Collins, David Selby didn't have much to say — at first.

"It was about three months before the character ever spoke," said Selby. "Of course, I was worried that once I opened my mouth, they won't want me!"

What the character did have was "Quentin's Theme," an instrumental that became a hit song in 1969.

"I found that was helpful," Selby said. "So that even before Quentin spoke, he had some sort of identity, some sort of mystery."

Also helpful for Selby was the way Quentin was styled.

"He had the long frock coat, which I thought was wonderful, and he had the sideburns," Selby said. "You know, he was a bit of a rogue. So I'm not sure why people have identified with him, but I'm grateful that they have."

But Selby doesn't question the appeal of "Dark Shadows."

"To this day, it's a world that you can escape to," he says. "It's not dependent upon technology or anything. It's just old-fashioned storytelling."