Scene And Heard

REMEMBER THE TIME Brandon Beemer (Shawn) and Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) were excited to hear that Jay Kenneth Johnson (Philip) was coming back to DAYS to do the “Last Blast Reunion” series on the DOOL App. “It was so cool,” enthuses Bjorlin. “It brought up a lot of nostalgic, lovely memories. He looks the same except now he’s all grown up. I mean, we all are. We haven’t really kept in touch because he moved away. I was like, ‘I have two kids now.’ And he was like, ‘Really?’ I’m like, ‘I know. Remember when we were kids going out and partying in the town and now we’re like grown, responsible people and we’re much more mellowed out.’ It was fun. And it also was kind of like riding a bicycle. First day working I was like, ‘What is this gonna be like?’ And then it was just that instant kind of like fun thing we’ve always had, that little spark and that little flirtation.” Adds Beemer, “To see Jay was great. I mean, that was the big surprise for everybody. I was like, ‘Wait, Jay’s coming back?’ Nothing against any of the other Philips, but I mean ... he’s Philip. When we heard that he was coming back, everybody was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. Does he still want to do this?’ And he came back and he was on point. He knew all of his stuff. He’s professional, as he’s always been. He was super-happy to be here and so that made it all very exciting also. There were no duds in the group. Everybody was happy to be here and everybody was working well together.”

SCREAM QUEEN Lisa LoCicero (Olivia, GH) showed off her pipes when Olivia had a big reaction to the loss of her Thanksgiving turkey. “In the script, it was like, ‘Olivia lets out a blood-curdling scream.’ I was like, ‘You know what? I’m just gonna go for it. I’m just going to scream as loud as a human being can possibly scream, like, as if someone was stabbing me in the eye with a knife or something.’ ” She wasn’t expecting the volume she achieved. “If I’m honest, I even surprised myself with the sound that came out of my mouth! How loud and how long that scream was, the entire studio was like rolling on the floor. And then they were like, ‘Can you do it again?’ They needed a second because they didn’t catch something quite right. I was like, ‘Okay, hold the phone, guys. Now I’m in a contest with myself. This is gonna be the loudest, longest scream that anyone has ever heard!’ I doubled over, held my stomach and just screamed. Every molecule of sound that could be contained in my body, I pushed it out. It was very good fun. And I got a full, stand-up clap from the entire floor. I can tell you right now that was the loudest scream that GENERAL HOSPITAL’s studio has ever heard or seen! People were like, ‘That’s a special skill. Not everyone can do that.’ I was like, ‘Thank you very much!’ ”

AND IN THIS CORNER Greg Rikaart (Kevin, Y&R) was grateful that Doug Davidson (Paul) pushed for Kevin’s return to Genoa City, but there was another co-star who was vocal, as well. “Eric Braeden [Victor] was also very instrumental,” Rikaart shares. “I know he made a stink upstairs when Liz [Hendrickson, Chloe] and I both left the show.” Rikaart ran into Braeden in the hair and makeup room upon his return. “He was surprised to see me,” Rikaart chuckles. “He looked at me like, ‘What the f**k are you doing here?’ It was classic Eric.” Rikaart also appreciated the brief on-screen scene that Kevin and Victor had. “I think that particular episode was short and they actually wrote that moment between Victor and Kevin in a few days before we shot it,” he recalls. “They didn’t have any interaction since Kevin had been back, so it seemed like something organic to have them run into each other. Victor had just faked his death, so they were sort of like, ‘Hey. We know a thing or two about faking deaths.’ I loved it. I hope there will be more.”

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM Dan Martin (Bradley) is best known by soap fans as B&B’s hot dog-loving Police Chief Baker, but he has played many a cop over the years, and the actor learned a very valuable lesson early on. “When I was younger and I wasn’t as aware of what actors were required to do, there was a scene in something I was doing where my character was supposed to dive out of the back of a moving van,” Martin recalls. “Well, my stuntman had not arrived and it was time to shoot so, being young and dumb and physically active and feeling like I could do anything, I said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ So, they packed the stuff on me and I did three dives out of the van. Nothing happened to me. I was cool. I was physically fit so everything was there — but, I didn’t get an extra check. I didn’t know to say, ‘Oh, I get the stunt pay.’ It was a case of me being here for the cause and gung-ho and while I’ve done other physical things over the course of the career, that one always stands out — because I did not get my stunt check that day. Live and learn.”