You can bet Camryn Grimes (Mariah, Y&R) enjoys the scripted zingers her character gets to spout. “I’m so lucky because they write the best lines for me,” enthuses the actress. “I crack up sometimes just reading them. It can get so hysterical and I’ll say to myself, ‘I can’t believe I get to say that.’ That makes me look forward to work so much because I love playing those beats. If I make the camera guy laugh during rehearsal, then I know that it’s genuinely funny. He’s always my barometer when it comes to the comedic lines.” Of course, Mariah has a certain target that helps her comebacks hit the bull’s- eye. “Everyone on the set loves the snarky scenes between Mariah and Hilary,” she chuckles. “Mishael [Morgan, Hilary] and I have so much fun with those scenes, especially because we honestly like each other. Mishael is awesome and we get along really well, so having these scenes where you get to pretend that you hate somebody who you actually really like is always fun to play.”
At the recent PASSIONS reunion, Eric Martsolf (Brady, DAYS; ex-Ethan, PASSIONS) couldn’t help but marvel at the road that he and Galen Gering (Rafe, DAYS; ex-Luis, PASSIONS) have traversed together. “When Galen walked into the room, it felt as if we were on the set of DAYS,” Martsolf recounts. “We weren’t at DAYS, we were together again at PASSIONS. It brought back a huge flood of memories for the two of us. It also reminded me of how parallel our lives have actually been for almost two decades. He and I got married around the same time, we had two boys that are similar ages, and we’ve been on the same two soaps for almost 15 years. It’s kind of funny how our lives have mapped out together that way.” Martsolf further reconnected with his Harmony pals at an after-party that Kim Johnston Ulrich (ex-Ivy) hosted in her home. “It was terrific,” smiles Martsolf. “I got to see Natalie Zea [ex-Gwen]. I had never really spent a lot of time with [my PASSIONS predecessor] Travis Schuldt [ex-Ethan, her husband]. It was just really nice getting to know him. Crew members, directors and producers showed up at Kim’s house, as well. It was just a big PASSIONS lovefest.”
When Lisa LoCicero (Olivia) got a debilitating case of the giggles during the taping of Ned and Olivia’s GH nuptials, Wally Kurth (Ned; Justin, DAYS) advised her to seek counsel from one of his DAYS co-stars. “I told her, ‘The only other actress I know who does that is Mary Beth Evans [Kayla], and the next time you talk to her, you should ask her about that. Write that down.’ Because Mary Beth has been known to get the giggles to the point that they say, ‘Stop, we’re moving on, we’re going to another scene and we’ll come back to this.’ She just can’t help herself! In fact, when she was playing Katherine [on GH], we had a bed scene and she started giggling and I actually took it personally, like, ‘Really? We’re supposed to be married! Why are you laughing?’ She said, ‘Wally, I’m just not used to kissing you, you’re my friend!’ ‘Well, start acting! I’m starting to take it personally here!’ She’s notorious! So I’m sure Mary Beth has all sorts of tricks for that up her sleeve that could help Lisa out because she is definitely susceptible, on a daily basis!”
Photo credit: Steven Bergman
“It’s great fun to have him back,” reports John McCook (Eric) of fan fave Ian Buchanan (James). “When Ian was first on the show, back in the ’90s, Peter Bergman [Jack, Y&R] used to come over and visit with us. My dressing room was, and still is, the meeting place where people would gather and talk about acting and trade stories of our experiences. Well, one time when Peter was here he made the comment, ‘My dressing room over at YOUNG AND RESTLESS is Edward Albee, and then I come over here to BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL and it’s Noel Coward [laughs],’ which I thought was a very astute observation. Ian definitely brings that dry wit to the table. He’s very charismatic, so much so that I have a tendency to want to speak in an English accent when I’m talking with him and have to make a conscious effort to resist that temptation. I am simply charmed by Ian — and always have been. He’s a very smart and talented fellow, and it’s lovely to work with him again.”