Psssst. Want to know a secret? GUIDING LIGHT’s Coop (John Driscoll) may soon be ditching his good-guy image to get down and dirty. Get a preview of what’s to come here, then check out the Jan. 8 issue of Weekly for the full story.
Soap Opera Weekly: So, what’s going to turn Coop into a bad boy?
John Driscoll: He becomes furious about a lot of things. He’s been so happy since his family won the election, but with any good [thing] another one goes wrong, and that’s when Coop loses it.
Weekly: So something about the election ticks him off?
Driscoll: Something with Bill Lewis comes into play, because Bill knows the election was rigged in Buzz’s favor.
Weekly: Bill is definitely a bad boy, but it’s hard to imagine Coop behaving that way.
Driscoll: Coop is very impulsive. That’s where he’s very much like his dad, Buzz. If he feels like he’s being pushed around, he won’t stand for it.
Weekly: So Coop’s bad streak is a result feeling threatened?
Driscoll: That, and he had a couple of drinks. He wasn’t completely inebriated, but it gave him that extra courage to do [what he wanted].
Weekly: What’s it like to be able to act a little out of character?
Driscoll: It’s been great. It’s always nice to see different colors and different sides to characters. It creates a better, more vivid picture of that character, one that can be memorable to a lot of different people.
Weekly: How do you think your fans will respond?
Driscoll: I hope everyone looks forward to seeing what happens. Fans usually love bad boys. Like with Tom Pelphrey‘s character Jonathan — they loved the bad boy, but at the same time, when the baby [Sarah] came, they loved that soft side, too. And his love for Tammy.
Weekly: Will there be any big changes with Coop and Ashlee’s relationship?
Driscoll: Like the fans, sometimes we have no clue what’s coming up (laughs). The fact that everyone is really rooting for the Coop and Ashlee relationship is great.
Weekly: Coop and Ashlee are one of the show’s most popular couples.
Driscoll: I can’t tell you how many people I talk to say, “This story really means a lot to us. It’s a story that we want to see and one that needs to be told.” I don’t think Caitlin (Van Zandt, Ashlee) and I had one doubt in our minds that this was not going to be an extremely important story. We’re both [still] very gung-ho and very excited about it.
Weekly: So everything will be fine with the couple while Coop deals with his issues?
Driscoll: At this point, Coop just doesn’t want to lose her. He already lost her to juvenile hall once, and losing her [again] would be a lot for him to have to take.
Weekly: What’s one thing viewers should look forward to with the new story?
Driscoll: Up until recently GL has kept Coop as the all-American guy. He’ll do the right thing and say whatever he should say. Now we’ll see that he is a guy who’s going to make mistakes. You have to be real about that, and I think between the writing, the directing and the performance, that will really come through in the scenes.
