The Replacements
Christina Chambers (Marty Saybrooke)
Chambers, best known for her role as Maria on SUNSET BEACH from 1998-99, steps into the shoes of a complex character with a dark history when she brings Marty back as the mother of a boy (Cole) who likes Starr, but has a tendency to be a little too reckless for Todd’s liking. Given that Todd once raped Marty, it sets up an interesting dynamic and gives Chambers a chance to immediately establish herself as the new face of the character, which won’t be easy, given that she is taking over the character from Emmy-winner Susan Haskell.
Jerry verDorn (Clint Buchanan)
After years of rumblings about Clint coming back to the canvas, OLTL struck oil, er, gold in 2005 when verDorn was taken off-contract at GUIDING LIGHT, where he’d played Ross since 1979. Within a few days of being bumped, OLTL snatched up the veteran actor and brought him to Llanview to play Clint as he supported his and Viki’s daughter, Jessica, who was battling DID. There is really no replacing Clint Ritchie, who originated the character in 1979 and played him for more than 20 years, but the fan response has been overwhelmingly positive since verDorn came on, and he’s had an interesting chemistry with Robin Strasser (Dorian).
Trevor St. John (Todd Manning)
Few recasts caused more uproar than when OLTL revealed in 2003 that Walker, played by soap newcomer Trevor St. John, was actually Todd. The character, as portrayed by Roger Howarth from 1993-2003, was a fan favorite, and it was hard for many viewers to accept another actor in the role of the dark sociopath. St. John was sensitive to the challenge he faced, and while there are those who will only consider Howarth to be their beloved Todd, St. John has won over a fair share of fans by putting his own, lighter spin on the character. 
Bree Williamson (Jessica Buchanan)
There was little question about why OLTL chose Williamson to replace 13-year-vet Erin Torpey as Jessica in 2003 — they look a lot alike. Still, the pressure was on for Williamson, who had to step into the shoes of a popular young actress who had grown up in the role from 1990-2003. Williamson has been embraced by fans and enjoyed front-burner status since Jessica was diagnosed with DID in 2005. The actress has said that it was refreshing to be able to play Tess, Jessica’s alternate personality, because it gave her the chance to create a character from scratch, as opposed to playing a recast.
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Soap Opera Digest does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.