THE MORE, THE MERRIER
Donnell Turner (Curtis, GH) is thrilled to have Rebecca Budig back in the Port Charles mix as Hayden. “I forgot how beautiful she was,” he smiles. “Or maybe she’s even more beautiful now! It was so good to see her; it really felt like seeing an old friend. It made me realize how much has changed in the four years that I’ve been there. I’ve been there four years and I’ve already seen dozens of people come and go. To see Rebecca again was just a feeling of, ‘Ah, a familiar face!’ I’m just grateful to see her every day again. She brings such a good energy. And she’s just so lovely, visually, spiritually — just lovely to have on set.” He has also been enjoying getting to know another returnee, Ingo Rademacher (Jax). “Ingo’s awesome. Great energy, great attitude. The other day, we sat out in the parking lot in front of my Jeep and we just sat and talked for 30 minutes. Good stuff. I like having him around.”
WE GO TOGETHER
Greg Vaughan (Eric, DAYS) and long-distance lady love Angie Harmon do a lot of traveling to be together, which means a lot of trips to the airport. “I make friends with people because I’m really getting familiar with the airport and the staff,” he reports. “When Angie’s there and they see us both together, it’s a lot of DAYS fans, a lot of QUEEN SUGAR fans [where he plays Calvin] and a lot of [her shows] RIZZOLI & ISLES and LAW & ORDER fans. When the kids come in, we make a big scene at the airport, welcoming the kids and embarrassing them. We’re like, ‘Hey! We’re your family. Welcome!’ Angie is the biggest clown. It’s so funny to see this personality of this incredible woman light up. Every day is always something new. It’s this modern day Brady Bunch, but at the same time it’s blending families and personalities.” Vaughan appreciates the positive feedback he’s gotten from fans online about the relationship. “The love and support from people or just the interest alone is warm,” he smiles. “It’s very kind. We’re just living our life and putting it out there ’cause it’s funny. There’s more fun that goes on that’s behind the scenes than what we show. I feel very blessed to have found somebody that I can have this partnership with. We are each other’s anchors. We are each other’s rock. It’s nice to know she’s got my back as much as I have hers.”
SHOW & TELL
It’s been over a decade since he last appeared in daytime, and soap veteran Gordon Thomson (ex-Mason, SANTA BARBARA et al) enjoyed his short stint on YOUNG AND RESTLESS, where he played Daryl Tulane. “It was a lovely experience but fast beyond belief,” the actor marvels. “Joshua Morrow [Nick], Melissa Claire Egan [Chelsea] and myself got together for scenes and 50 minutes later, we were done. I began at 8:35 in the morning and [was] out by 9:25. That’s insane, but that just shows you the great teamwork on Y&R. I was happy that I kept up because after we were done, Joshua said to me, ‘This is not your first time at the rodeo, is it?’ and I said, ‘Oh, no, it’s not [laughs].’ ” Thomson was also an impressed observer. “I came down to set to stand by and had the chance to watch and listen to Melissa and Catherine Bach [Anita] rehearse together,” he shares. “I saw a really dedicated, patient, loving interaction emerge from them as they worked and it was a real treat for me.”
Photo credit: OG Photography
THE NAKED TRUTH
One of Scott Clifton’s (Liam, B&B) early acting jobs was MTV’s sexy drama UNDRESSED, but it’s not one he looks back on fondly. “I remember that they all referred to it as a soap opera, but I remember thinking, ‘It’s not like a real soap opera, but I get it,’ ” Clifton recalls. “It’s the soap opera sort of model. If you Google it, you can actually find one photo of me from that show and I have to say, I had no idea I looked like that. I had no idea I sounded like that. We spend most of our lives looking at ourselves in mirrors but back then [in 2001], there was no social media. There weren’t iPhones that could take a million pictures. You actually had to develop pictures of yourself. I started soaps at a time when people really didn’t know how they looked or sounded. It was very jarring, and that’s to say nothing of the content of my performances, too. I mean, I would do things that I thought played a certain way and then I would watch them and go, ‘That didn’t work at all!’ So, that was the beginning of a very harsh education for me. Everybody was on UNDRESSED at one point or another. It was like hazing for coming to L.A. and being an actor.”