SIS BOOM BAH
Despite their current TV sibling strife, B&B’s Matthew Atkinson (Thomas) couldn’t be more thrilled to share scenes with his fictional sister, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy), who went on maternity leave shortly after his arrival earlier this year. “When I first came to B&B, I only got to work with her for a few scenes, sadly. But ever since, I’ve been learning from her just by watching her. She’s a natural at what she does. She’s the most natural person on soap operas in general, but there’s something just so fluid about everything she brings to every scene — and she really makes the most of it. And, she’s this awesome, amazing human being, as well. The fact that she was able to come back so quickly from having a baby, I don’t think it’s physically possible to look how great she does. She’s got to be an alien. There’s no way! I don’t know how she does it all. She’s a wonderful mother and yet she still brings 110 percent to her performances. She embodies the love of the work. That’s infectious, and it’s awesome to be around.”
WE MEET AGAIN
Jessica Tuck (Cassandra, GH) describes sharing scenes with Genie Francis (Laura) as “a full-circle moment,” since she first met the actress back in the 1980s, when she waited on her at a New York City restaurant. Explains Tuck, “There is no way that she would remember that, but I remember it because it was the first time that I’d really come into contact with someone that I had sort of met on screen and then connected with off screen. It was really was lovely to meet the person behind the character and be so delighted by it. It was one of those moments that you kind of log away in a special place.” Tuck shared that memory with Francis at the studio. “I had outed myself as a fan the first time I was on GENERAL HOSPITAL. I had seen her in the halls and I didn’t want to bother her but at one point, we were both at the same place at the same time just standing there and I just said to her, ‘You know, I’ve been a big fan of yours forever,’ and I told her, ‘I actually met you in my waitressing days.’ She is just as lovely now as I remember her being that day.”
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OUT TO SEA
Doug Davidson (Paul, Y&R) has had his share of on-set flubs through the years and the actor remembers a particularly memorable one that took place in 1989. In the story, which involved the George Rawlins murder mystery, Paul, with Victor’s help, had staged his death and at one time, he used a disguise as a salty old sea captain to get around Genoa City undetected. “A wig and a beard had to be made, then old age makeup applied,” he recalls. “It was probably about a three-hour process in the makeup chair and it’s not what we normally do, which caused [an] unusual delay in production.” However, the shooting schedule started to really get behind when Davidson had trouble committing the sea dog’s alias to memory. “The scripted name was Captain Davidson and I couldn’t remember it, I just kept drawing a blank,” he chuckles. “Finally, Ed [Scott, then-producer] yelled at me, ‘It’s your real name!’ We then ended up calling him Captain Scott. I guess instinctually it just didn’t seem right for me, as Paul, to say my own name.”
REMEMBER THE PAST
Stacy Haiduk (Kristen, DAYS) was immediately on board when she read about Kristen’s surprise pregnancy in her script. “It’s an exciting story,” notes Haiduk. “And I know from what Eric Martsolf [Brady] has told me about Kristen that the one thing she’s always wanted is to have a baby. So right now it’s Christmas every day.” Martsolf has done his part to keep Haiduk informed of all things Kristen, particularly from before she took over the role from Eileen Davidson. “He’s filled me in on a lot of it, and Kristen and Brady’s relationship, because there’s so much history on her,” she says. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘She’s not so bad.’ Because I always see my characters that are evil as also having a lot of passion and vulnerability. And Eric will say, ‘Oh no. She’s bad.’ And he’ll remind me of all the horrible things she’s done, like stealing Theresa’s baby.” Drake Hogestyn (John) also helps out. “He is really wonderful, too,” Haiduk continues. “When we have scenes, he’ll tell me stuff about what Kristen and John did together and about their past and love. But since I work with Eric a lot, he always lets me know how bad she is.”
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