Anthony Turpel (R.J.)
What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at the studio? “I say, ‘Hi,’ to the security lady when I come in. We know each other by name, so that’s cool. Then, I’ll go upstairs to the office and I’ll check my box, which will have script revisions in it and stuff like that. I’ll take that back to my dressing room and read through it as I wait for my makeup call. Once I get that, I go on from there.”
Whose dressing room do you hang out in the most? “Well, I get switched around in dressing rooms a lot, so I spend a lot of time at different places each day. Everyone hangs out in John’s [McCook, Eric] room, so I’ve been hanging out in there for a while. Then, I’ll go back to my dressing room and look at my new scripts. When it comes to just talking with people, it’s usually on set.”
What’s the last thing you do before you head to the set? “Stock up on food. I bring as much food as I can in the morning and then I’ll eat it on the way in and throughout the day. I’m a huge eater. I love food, so I’ll grab a bunch of stuff and bring it with me when I head out.”
What is your favorite set? “Bill’s office. It’s so cool. I love the glass window, the leather seats — and I love that Bill has a framed picture of himself behind his desk! I find that hilarious.”
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Courtney Hope (Sally)
What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at the studio? “I go to my dressing room, drop everything in it and go straight to hair.”
Whose dressing room do you hang out in the most? “Whoever’s is the closest to where we need to go, whether it’s to the set or to hair and makeup. Location, location, location.”
What’s the last thing you do before you head to the set? “I look in the mirror and make sure everything is put together, and then I pray and I thank God.”
What is your favorite set? “Spectra is very special because it’s so nostalgic. There is so much that goes on there. Darlene’s picture is in it and you can just feel the history. I definitely have to say that Spectra is my favorite set.”
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Patrika Darbo (Shirley)
What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at the studio? “I go to my room and unpack my little bag, change my shirt and put on my little robe so I can go to hair and makeup.”
Whose dressing room do you hang out in the most? “At this point, we’ve hung out in Alex’s [Wyse, Saul] dressing room, my dressing room and Courtney Hope’s dressing room, so we rotate — or we’ll all stand by each other in hair and makeup and run lines.”
What’s the last thing you do before you head to the set? “Pee [laughs]! Honey, listen, once you’re on that set, that five [minute break] may not come as quickly as you need it to, so you have to get that stuff done.”
What is your favorite set? “Because I knew Darlene [Conley, ex-Sally], truly, being on the Spectra set and seeing the photos of her…. I’m going to cry…. the prop department found pictures of the two of us together from years ago and put them in the set, so that’s an emotional bond. I’m hoping I’m doing her justice. Whether she’s looking up or looking down, I hope she’s saying, ‘Good job!’ The Spectra set is where we belong. It’s the ultimate.”
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Danube Hermosillo (Darlita)
What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at the studio? “I go to my dressing room and set down my big bag of groceries. I bring food with me to the set, which usually includes at least one gallon of water and a lot of snacks. I try to be healthy as much as possible but sometimes I fail epically. For example, I ate a whole cake in three days this past week. I couldn’t resist so, on set at least, just because I want to be my best, I bring bell peppers and baby carrots with hummus or an assortment of salsas. I have a high metabolism so I eat a lot. I also exercise a lot so anytime I come on set, people will see me with a huge grocery bag. But I share. Ask Pierson [Fodé, Thomas] or Courtney or Courtney [Grosbeck]. I’m always like, ‘Guys, dig in!’ ”
Whose dressing room do you hang out in the most? “It depends on who has the biggest dressing room. Alex, Courtney [Hope] and Patrika and I tend to stick together, so whoever’s room is the biggest or the closest to the stage is where we’ll meet and either run our lines or just chat — or sometimes we go to Starbucks, too.”
What’s the last thing you do before you head to the set? “I make sure I have a water bottle with me, and Darlita tends to have a lot of accessories, so I always double-check to make sure I have all the rings and earrings and bracelets and necklaces.”
What is your favorite set? “Darlita doesn’t get out much so I have to say the Spectra Fashions set. I do love her desk! Maybe Coco could bring Darlita to Forrester Creations? That’s a very elegant set and it would be fun to branch out into a different set.”
Courtney Grosbeck (Coco)
What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at the studio? “I don’t have a morning ritual quite yet but that will come with time. I usually go to my dressing room. I sit down. I have a bottle of water and a Vietnamese coffee and then I look over my lines for the day and look at the rundown, and then I see what time I have to be at hair and makeup. Then, I tend to run lines with whoever I have scenes with. It’s always a fast day because I’m just having fun.”
Whose dressing room do you hang out in the most? “It varies because if I have to be in hair and makeup, then I’ll just hang out there and talk to the gang. It also varies depending on who I’m running lines with, because I do have the Spectra gang, but I also have the Forrester gang, so depending on what scenes I have when, I interchange between their dressing rooms. I very rarely sit bored, alone, because there’s no time for that.”
What’s the last thing you do before you head to the set? “I usually take a sip of water, look myself in the eyes for half a second in the mirror, and then I turn around and go out the door to the set. The walk there is so exciting. I can’t wait to get to the set, so when I hear my name, I’m out the door.”
What is your favorite set? “I like the Forrester backstage area because there are always dresses and gowns, and in between takes and before we get rolling, I love to peek through the gowns and see all the beautiful dresses. They really are beautiful. They’re not playing around here — they’re gorgeous!”
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Alex Wyse (Saul)
What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at the studio? “The first thing I do is try to find my dressing room, so I have to give myself extra time because I’m still learning where to go. Then, we go for rehearsal on the set. Usually, I’ll meet up with Courtney and Courtney and Patrika and whoever else might be in the scene and then we quickly run through all the scenes we’re going to film that day and write down our blocking. Then, I go back to the dressing room and I usually have some time when I can sit there with the other actors, and we hang out and we catch up, and we work together on our lines and our scenes. We get our act together so when we show up on the set a couple of hours later, we can be on top of our material.”
Whose dressing room do you hang out in the most? “Because we’re all new to the show and other people have their own designated dressing rooms, we are in different dressing rooms every single time, so I don’t really have my own home base. Whoever has the biggest dressing room on any given day is the one who will host. Whoever has the couches will usually say, ‘Come to my place.’ It’s a very happy experience to show up here and rehearse and work really hard to ensure being on the same page with everyone. It feels very creative. I’m so excited about doing the soap.”
What’s the last thing you do before you head to the set? “Go over my lines one last time, although I do run to the makeup room on the way to make sure I don’t look like a disaster.”
What is your favorite set? “I would love to make my way onto the Forrester sets. Those sets are gorgeous. I’ll walk through them in the morning and drink my coffee and say hello to everybody.”
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