Soap Opera Digest: The story of your acting partnership actually began back in 2004, when Lisa screen-tested for the recast of Lois, which went to Lesli Kay.
Lisa LoCicero: Isn’t that something? It was almost like we really were destined — one way or another — to be a couple.
Wally Kurth: I remember thinking she was really, really good. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d gotten the part.
LoCicero: And I remember feeling like we had good chemistry even way back then.
Kurth: Yeah, I always felt comfortable with Lisa. We had an easy rapport.
Digest: When Ned and Olivia started keeping company in 2014, did you think, “Hmm, maybe there’s something here”?
Kurth: I did, and they must have had some idea of pairing us, because it was written that we bump into each other and walk into the Nurses’ Ball together. I was excited because I had not been on the show for a while. There had been a big Nurses’ Ball with Jack [Wagner, ex-Frisco] and Rick [Springfield, ex-Noah] the year before, and I was kind of jealous that I wasn’t part of that. I really wanted to be on the show, and to be given something romantic and fun.
LoCicero: The fans really picked up on that moment on the red carpet, and Ron [Carlivati, then-head writer] started writing it a little bit. The moment when I remember feeling, “These two characters are really sweet together; there’s something true and nice about this,” was when Olivia fell asleep on the couch and Ned walks into the other room after the drunk doggie episode [when he stopped her from adopting a bunch of animals while intoxicated]. We hadn’t been working together all that long, but I felt comfortable enough with him to be able to sort of freestyle that drunkenness. That was another sort of tip-off that we had some chemistry that might work.
Kurth: Those were really well-written scenes and really fun. I was excited for Lisa; I could see that it was a really funny beat for her and I was going to be the straight person, and I love doing that. I told her, “Just go for it! Don’t worry about anything, I’ll be there to ground it.” And she did.
LoCicero: Then there were some real-life obstacles that we had to deal with. I got pregnant [with daughter Verity, now 2] — and while we were dealing with that as a storyline, he got a contract on another show [as DAYS’s Justin]! It was the most obstacle-laden real-life scenario for a soap opera couple to possibly have.
Kurth: That was tricky. It was sort of disappointing because I really didn’t want to leave. I felt really bad, actually, about sort of leaving GH in the lurch, because they had plans for Olivia and Ned that were just getting started. And the pregnancy — I mean, someone had to get her pregnant, might as well be Julian [laughs]! That is sort of Ned’s history, having to look after a kid who’s been sired by a mob boss! Anyway, six or nine months later, I was back because DAYS let me out of my contract!
LoCicero: And we are very lucky that he became available again.
Digest: Lisa, did Wally score some big leading man points with you the day you fainted while taping the scenes of Olivia giving birth to Leo and he had to help rush you to the infirmary?
LoCicero: Oh, absolutely! When someone’s helpfulness and honest compassion is on display like that, it’s really heartwarming.
Kurth: That was a scary moment, but Lisa was a real trouper. I love that about her. And I seriously feel for any woman who is that pregnant and then has to fake labor.
Digest: When Wally returned to the show, Ned and Olivia got back together off-screen, then came out as a couple and got engaged in time to duet at this year’s Nurses’ Ball. What was that experience like?
Kurth: I take great pride in that because I told Frank [Valentini, executive producer] that we should do it. Frank was like, “Lisa sings?” I said, “Yeah, she told me she sings!” She was very humble about it, sort of playing it down, but I could tell that she wouldn’t have brought it up if she felt like she couldn’t pull it off. I don’t even think I told her that I was going to talk to Frank about it, but he came up and said, “Hey, is there a song that you want to do at the Nurses’ Ball this year?” And I was like, “I think the story calls for a duet!”
LoCicero: Frank called me and said, “A little bird told me you can sing.” I was like, “Well, I’m not Mariah Carey, but I can carry a tune.” Well, let me tell you, you may think you’re an okay singer from singing in the car, but spend an hour in a recording booth and when you hear exactly how you actually sound — I was looking at Wally like, “Oh, no! That’s not what I sound like, is it?!” Wally was so supportive. He was like, “Try this. Now why don’t you try it this way? And give this part one more shot, because based on hearing you sing it in the rehearsal the other day, I think you have a better version of that little portion than what’s on the track right now.” He really paid attention and helped me and it really made a difference.
Kurth: I didn’t really help her that much, but I was totally encouraging because I sort of felt like I was responsible for dragging her into it! I thought she did great and I am so glad that the audience reacted the way they did.
LoCicero: Absolutely, bar none — babies, birthdays — that was the biggest response I’ve ever gotten to anything on Twitter in my life. My Twitter was on fire for days. People seemed to really like that we had fun, and we really did have a blast doing it.
Digest: And now, your characters are officially Mr. and Mrs. Quartermaine. What stands out about taping the wedding?
LoCicero: This is a story that’s going to get told over and over. The justice of the peace kept saying Olivia’s name wrong: “Olivia Maria Falconeti.” By the third or fourth time, I mean, I was already crying just from the walk down the aisle, but the tears that you saw when I was standing at the altar were from laughing. It’s not like saying someone’s name wrong is that funny, it was just that it happened again and again.
Kurth: I actually thought she was holding it together pretty well until the laughing fit, but that’s when she started with the tears.
LoCicero: It was right when I had to say my heartfelt vows and a slight hint of panic washed over the whole room. Dominic [Zamprogna, Dante] was behind me, whispering, “Think of dead kittens,” trying to help me keep it together.
Kurth: I had to take out my hankie and hand it to her while she was stating her vows.
Digest: Were you cracking up, too, Wally?
Kurth: Honestly? I felt like I needed to not do that. I had talked to the actor playing the justice of the peace earlier, so I felt like he was my bud. I was trying to help him get through this thing because it was starting to unravel quickly! Poor Lisa. She said to me later, “Wally, have you ever done a scene where you just start laughing and you can’t stop?” I was like, “Yeah — but this was not that scene for me!”
Digest: That’s going to be hard to top, but does anything else stand out to you, Wally?
Kurth: Well, I had to sing, which can go either way. Singing at a wedding in real life or singing at a wedding on television, the cheese meter can go through the roof, or it can be really lovely and a magical moment. It’s hard for me to be objective, but I think it worked. I’ve been known to sing and write songs in my real-life weddings, so why not do it on television [laughs]?
Digest: How are you feeling about what marriage will portend for Ned and Olivia?
LoCicero: People say, “On a soap opera, getting married is death,” because you just become boring and there’s no storyline for you, but it seems like we’re the kind of couple that a wedding will be helpful to, that it could make for more story rather than less.
Kurth: Yeah, in this case, I don’t feel like getting married is the end of the story. I love the fact that they are making us the new Mr. and Mrs. Edward Lawrence Quartermaine, sort of keeping that tradition of the Quartermaine name alive. I think it’s great! With Olivia and Ned, if there was an arc with their romance and the story of them getting together, it probably happened more off camera than on, and I think that that gives us room to explore a lot of the stuff that couples go through in a marriage. And let’s face it, a lot of people go through more stuff in a marriage than they do before the marriage! Hopefully, the writers can find some really interesting obstacles that are just bound to come up when two people are married and living the life of the Quartermaines.
Digest: So, in summation: You both feel like you married well on the show?
LoCicero: I certainly do. I could not be any more blessed. Wally is soap royalty! He literally could not be a more supportive, more fun, more wonderful person to work with. I always thought he was a really sterling guy, but you don’t really know until you actually start working with somebody. A lot of annoying quirks are easily hidden, but when you’re working with someone day in and day out, it’s sort of like traveling with your boyfriend or girlfriend for the first time [Kurth laughs]. That’s when you really get to know if they’re a good deal or a pain in the ass, and Wally’s just such an all-around good deal. He’s such a doll, truly.
Kurth: And I’m such a fan of Lisa’s. I love working with her. Acting with someone is a dance, and I feel like we hear the same music. w
