Charles Esten On His ‘Nashville’ Character: ‘I Definitely Feel For The Guy’

It’s the classic Ross and Rachel situation… will they be together or not? Were they on a break? Did she get off the plane? Well, when it comes to ABC’s hit show “Nashville,” fans are constantly asking whether or not Rayna James and Deacon Claybourne will finally be together, and if so, will the show lose its drama?

Charles Esten, who plays Deacon, isn’t worried about the show losing its intensity if his character gets back together with Rayna. “I actually am not of that camp that thinks if we’re together things can’t be interesting or problematic or dramatic. I mean, I have a wonderful marriage, about 23 years of marriage, and it’s interesting and it can be dramatic and there’s things that happen in life, and that’s from a marriage that’s happy and healthy.”

And for Esten, as an actor, playing a role with some drama is always a fun task. “I absolutely get invested in this character of Deacon, but probably in a different way than the viewers do. I have to admit that part of me, I definitely feel for the guy for the rough path that he’s been on, and for the difficulties he faces. But as an actor, those are the things that you relish, getting to play those things. So, would I prefer Deacon just got to sit on his swing and life was good and everything was fine? For him, yes: for me, no. I love the journey, the getting there. I love not knowing too. People think we know way out in front of the story what’s gonna happen. I don’t.”

New episodes of ABC’s Nashville air every Wednesday night at 10pm ET/9pm CT on ABC starting tonight. Will you tune in?