BRING THE FUNNY
Joshua Morrow (Nick, Y&R) is known for keeping the workplace atmosphere light. “When they see my name on the schedule, I want everybody to go, ‘Okay, this is going to be quick and effective, but also fun,’ ” says the actor. “I want them to enjoy it. I want to have a good time in this stressful environment and make people laugh.” When it comes to which co-star can crack up Morrow, it’s a three-way tie. “To me, Camryn Grimes [Mariah], Melissa Ordway [Abby] and Amelia Heinle [Victoria] come very close,” he explains. “Camryn has this very female Ron Burgundy-esque sense of humor that just slays me. Her brain just fascinates me and she could very easily be on a comedy show as the one-liner king. Ordway has this amazing way of being physical with her comedy and sense of humor. She reminds me of Elaine from SEINFELD but much hotter and taller [laughs]. And Amelia is just the goofiest person I know. She has extremely silly dancing and singing and in no way takes herself seriously. She has this self-deprecating thing down flat. So they’re three very beautiful and super-funny women.”
LET HER RIP
Arianne Zucker (Nicole) says she got a kick out of the Kristen-masquerading-as-Nicole reveal on DAYS. “Sometimes I don’t always get to watch things in real time,” she explains. “But I was in the makeup room and I watched the ending [of the episode where Kristen was exposed]. I have to admit, I thought the editing was really kind of cool. It wasn’t just your two-dimensional, ‘Here’s the reveal.’ I liked the way they used the flashbacks. It was a great way to get to a climax.” Shooting the end of the story’s arc, however, “was bittersweet because I knew they were my last moments, really, as Kristen because the mask was getting torn off,” shares the actress. “I was a little sad because the character is amazing and such a wonderful villain to play. Some of the scenes that I have watched, I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh, there’s just so much freedom with this character.’ At the same time, finally someone caught on that it’s not who they really think it is. I was kind of happy it came to that head. Somebody had to realize the truth. And it’s obviously not Brady! He didn’t realize that it’s a prosthetic. We love him. Isn’t he cute?”
SO HAPPY TOGETHER
John J. York (Mac, GH) considers himself a very lucky man to have been paired with Kristina Wagner, who recently marked her 35th anniversary in the role of Felicia. “Kristina is just amazing,” York praises. “We’ve worked together so much through the years and I couldn’t ask for a better partner. A lot of times, we would be rehearsing a scene before taping it and it was almost time to tape the scene and Kristina would say, ‘You know, I don’t think you’re reading that line right.’ And I would go back and I’d read the line [the way she suggested] and it would change the whole inflection of the scene. I was like, ‘Thank you so much, Kristina, for helping me in this scene.’ She was always delicate. She never said, ‘You’re an idiot.’ She was always helpful, always willing to run lines and go over the scenes and rehearse, sometimes trying to find a little something extra to bring to the set. Getting to know her and her family has been a joy. I feel very lucky that I ended up with Kristina.”
I’LL TAKE MANHATTAN
In 1983, Michael O’Leary quite unexpectedly landed the role of Rick on GUIDING LIGHT, which went off the air 10 years ago this week in 2009. Recalls the actor, “I was working as an usher at CBS for THE PRICE IS RIGHT and I heard about an audition, for the roles of Beth and Mindy. I squirreled my way in there to read and Betty [Rea, casting director] says, ‘We’re not looking for any guys right now but you gave a nice read. Would you read with the Beths and Mindys?’ And I said, ‘Sure!’ About two days later, I came home and my mother was watching GUIDING LIGHT. I’m sitting there going, ‘Why are you wasting your time watching this crap?’ And then the phone rings and it’s my agent. My agent goes, ‘Michael, you’re not going to believe this, but they’re getting rid of the [current] Rick Bauer and they want you to replace him. Are you interested?’ I said, ‘Are you kidding me?!’ They said, ‘They want you back in New York on Friday.’ This was on Wednesday. I said, ‘Holy crap.’ And so I get off the phone with my agent and I look over to my mother and said, ‘Mom, you’re not going to believe this, but I’m gonna be on your show. I’m gonna play that character right there!’ I was on a plane to New York the next day.”