Chatting in Llanview
Scores of faithful ONE LIFE TO LIVE fans crowded Weekly‘s Chat room during our first-ever online set visit.
Weekly‘s OLTL Editor Kate Walsh enticed your favorite Llanview stars with the chance to talk directly to their fans (and the chance to partake in the fruit/sweets platter she brought along as incentive). The combination worked — many actors and actresses stopped by within the hour to say hello and/or take questions. The Chat took on a festive mood, as the cast was dressed up for a glittering black-tie gala that will air in September.
Matt Metzger (Duke) was the first actor to face the computer masses. He fielded questions on co-workers Dan Gauthier (Kevin), Heather Tom (Kelly) and Melissa Gallo (Adrianna), his take on Duke’s state of mind, and the surreal feeling of working at the soap he used to watch in high school (“I was dating a gal…and well, she got me hooked,” he wrote.
Melissa Gallo followed and managed to keep Adrianna’s pregnancy status a secret (watch Aug. 20 for the reveal), despite a lot of questioning. Pat Elliott (Renee) came in next, apologizing to the fans that she will miss the OLTL Fan Club Luncheon this year due to a family reunion. But she made up for it by answering many questions about her working relationships with many of her co-stars.
On Mark Derwin (ex-Ben): “I miss Mark too, but we have a great relationship online and send each other dirty letters all the time,” Elliott said. When asked about Dan Gauthier, she replied, “I love working with Dan…we really work on our scenes , discuss them, play around and find their reality. I’m thrilled that I get to have a grandson since I lost my son.”
Elliott also had good things to say about Kassie DePaiva (Blair): ” She is a doll, and we love being mean to to each other.” She wrapped up her visit by introducing Trevor St. John (Todd), “As for Trevor, does he rock or does he ROCK as Todd. I think he is off the charts and not bad to look at either.”
St. John talked about his favorite music (jazz), song (Equinox, by John Coltrane) and sports (college football and basketball), before heading back to the set. As he stepped out, Kamar de los Reyes (Antonio) stopped in briefly, just long enough to say hello and to thank the fans for watching.
While fans waited for DePaiva to arrive, Weekly posted major casting news: David Fumero is returning to the show as Cristian this fall. Then Hillary B. Smith (Nora) arrived, much to the fans’ delight.
Smith answered the popular question, “Do you want Nora with Bo or Daniel?” by responding, “Both“, and joked about Nora’s enforcer side ” Nora’s way too permissive? You don’t see what happens off camera…there’s a woodshed with a switch.”
She also talked about her favorite sports (tennis, paddle tennis, skiing, golf, and sailing to do, and pro football — the Miami Dolphins — to watch), and about how she misses Ty Treadway (ex-Troy/Colin): “We still talk but it’s not the same thing. I don’t get to sleep with him anymore.”
DePaiva came in to finish things up. She was cagey about Blair and Todd’s next move (“What isn’t up with Blair and Todd?” she asked), but she alluded to Blair’s relationship with Duke (“She’ll do anything she can get away with (to Duke),” she said.).
And then it was over. The Chat was twice as long as usual but seemed to go by twice as quickly, to both Weekly, the fans, and the actors. DePaiva and Smith couldn’t believe their time was already up and Dan Gauthier popped his head in and was dismayed to learn he’d missed it. Also, special thanks to Robin Strasser (Dorian) who came at 3:30 to chat (not quite understanding our Chat schedule), but then missed the actual Chat because she had to go onstage.
Check in at SoapOperaWeekly.com regularly to find out when and where our next set chat will take place.
Conversation
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