Just when Courtney Hope thought she was out, B&B Executive Producer/Head Writer Bradley Bell pulled her back in.
After a splashy introduction to B&B in 2017 as part of the rebooted Spectra clan, Hope was bumped to recurring this past March with little story promise ahead. By May, however, the actress was back filming and thrown right into the thick of things in a storyline with Darin Brooks’s Wyatt. Hope says her time away granted her new perspective. “I feel like this time around I’m a little more grounded,” she reflects. “The first time it was such a whirlwind that near the end of my year rounding the sun, I was finally coming into this realization that I was actually doing what I love to do for a living, so now I’m even more grateful to be here. Every time I go to set, even if I have one or two lines, I’m happy. Some people just want to get in and get out, but not me. I love being here and when I’m here, I’m fully here. When I’m not here, on my days or weeks off, I’m living my life and not worried about my work. I find now that I love the separation, where I can go thoroughly enjoy my work and then step away from it and enjoy my life.”
Sally may currently be flying solo but would love to see the return of the Spectra clan. “I’m constantly fighting for that,” she says. “They’re my family. Fans will say, ‘Oh, we loved Sally last year,’ and a huge part of who Sally was was the rest of the Spectras. It wasn’t just her; it was the team and what we created. Every single one of them helped me create Sally, and I would love for them to come back around.”
But she’s thrilled by her new partnership with Brooks. “Darin is a joy to work with,” beams Hope. “He’s hysterical, and he makes every scene so much fun. I appreciate actors who go by the scripts but at the same time, make it their own and bring in the nuances that aren’t written. He is notorious for doing that. We haven’t had many serious scenes, although one of the first scenes we had together [when a drunken Sally pulled a gun on him] was very serious, and it was a huge testament to him that we’re similar in the sense that even if something is serious, where guns are being fired and people are crying and screaming, when they yell, ‘Cut,’ we’re still laughing. I appreciate that. He takes his work seriously, but he has to be having fun because otherwise, it’s not worth it to him and I love that.”
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They’d love to expand their circle within the soap. “I think a quadrangle with Katie and Thorne would be awesome,” she offers. “I love Sally and Wyatt together, but Darin and I both agree it would be fun to throw in some baggage. Heather [Tom, Katie] and Ingo [Rademacher, Thorne] are both fantastic actors, and it makes sense history-wise because of his past with Katie, and Thorne was such a big part of the Spectra family. I think it’s a great idea.”
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Off camera, Hope’s personal life is thriving, as well. The actress has been in a relationship with GH’s Chad Duell (Michael) since March 2016, and on August 15, she turned 29, which has given her food for thought for the year ahead. “When I was in my early 20s, I made lists of things I wanted to accomplish by the time I turned 30, and the week before I turned 29, it hit me that I was in the last year of my 20s!’ I had this gasp moment like, ‘It’s here!’ Life flew by so fast, but I definitely exceeded my expectations. Almost everything I thought that I wanted to accomplish came to pass in one way or another — maybe not exactly how I thought it would, and obviously there are still some things I want to do, but it doesn’t have to be in the next year. This year, I am focusing on being happy because in this industry, as you get older, the stresses of adulthood take a toll. My goal is to focus on my family and my work and all the positive things in my life. No matter what I want to accomplish, I know I will at some point — and if I don’t, it wasn’t meant to be.”
Beyond that, she hopes to snag other acting roles. “Definitely prime-time and film,” she states. “And I definitely would love to direct. I do write. I have a couple of treatments for some movies, so I’d love to finish those and get them in the works. But definitely, directing and acting-wise, prime-time and movies. I want to be a real Renaissance woman.”
JUST THE FACTS
Birthday: August 15
Hails From: Plano, TX
K.I.T.: Hope still keeps in touch with her former co-stars. “Pierson [Fodé, ex-Thomas] and I got to be really good friends and I talk to him often. Rome [Flynn, ex-Zende], I talk to on social media. I haven’t talked to Reign [Edwards, ex-Nicole] in a bit because she’s been so busy but I do keep up with people on Instagram and see what they’re doing. And, Courtney Grosbeck [ex-Coco] and I were just talking the other day. I love her! Hopefully, one day, we’ll get to play sisters again.”
Game On! Hope plays Jesse in the video game Control. “I love the gaming world, and it’s definitely something I want to try and stay in as long as possible. It’s Remedy’s first female lead in a video game, which is super-exciting and fun. It’s a paranormal action adventure game.”
Dating Game: Hope and real-life beau Chad Duell (Michael, GH) have encountered viewers who are tickled by their romance. “We’ve had a handful of fans say to us, ‘I only watched BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL, but your boyfriend is on GENERAL HOSPITAL and now I watch that,’ and vice versa. Even my family, like my aunts my uncles, are now watching both soaps.”
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In The Beginning
Hope remembers her first day at B&B like it was yesterday. “I was so nervous!” she recalls. “They put me in the dressing room onstage, up these stairs, and when they called me to set, my first scene was with the woman who was playing the voice of the original Sally. It was just a phone call, and I wasn’t even on-screen. I was just reading on the other side of the phone call. But the second I came down, John McCook [Eric] was standing there and he said, ‘Courtney! Molly’s [his daughter’s] friend!’ and gave me a huge hug. It was at that moment where I was like, ‘This is a family. I’m home.’ It wasn’t just, ‘Hi, welcome, new girl.’ John McCook runs that place. He’s the original and having him equate me with a friend of his daughter’s, it gave me this boost. I walked over to the mic and read my phone conversation and after, everyone came up and said, ‘Nice to meet you!’ and ‘Welcome!’ It was such a great first day. The nerves quickly melted away because everyone was so welcoming, and I will never forget that.”
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