Our intrepid Cameron Mathison headed into the rehearsal studios backstage at “ Dancing With the Stars” over the weekend to hang out with J.R. Martinez and his pro partner Karina Smirnoff.

The highlight? He says it was “fun to show the fans the J.R. they don’t know yet and let them see the J.R. I’ve been lucky enough to know and work with for several years now.” (The two worked together on “All My Children”).

Click here to read more about J.R.’s past and time on “Dancing.” 

Cameron describes J.R. as “the practical joke king.”

“I got him to teach me a thing or two… so he and  I could pull one on Karina. Also I love talking to J.R. about his mission in life. Not just the story that got him where he is, but what he’s done with it. His message of transforming every situation into a positive. His message of ‘true beauty’ and that ‘it’s what’s inside that matters most.’”