Scene and Heard
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Photo credit: JPI
Michael E. Knight (Martin, GH) hopes that his storyline path will cross again with his character’s former on-screen client, Roger Howarth (Franco). “Oh, man, I was so intimidated by Roger!” he says of their early days working together. “I’m rarely, rarely intimidated, but I am, on occasion. But what I learned about Roger is that Roger is amazing, he really is. And he’s funny! What most people don’t realize is that he’s like a bowl of dust; he’s very dry. You have to listen to what he says; he’s quiet, but he’s really funny. He got me good one day. One thing I get a lot of grief about, and I totally deserve it, I know — I don’t know why I let myself do this — but the character started without an accent and then all of a sudden, he’s got one.... All of a sudden, I’m up there doing Clarence Darrow!” After nailing a courtroom monologue “in one take, I’m so pleased with myself and I sit down, and very quietly, Roger rolls over and says, ‘So, which side of the [Civil] War did you actually fight on?’ And I started to howl. I was cackling at a very high-pitched squeak. I mean, I can’t say enough about Roger. He’s everything!”
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Photo credit: JPI
With B&B back into heavy production, Aaron D. Spears (Justin) is thrilled to be having scenes again with his TV partner-in-crime, Don Diamont (Bill). “It’s fun every day when Don and I are on set,” enthuses Spears. “We are two peas in a pod. We both like to have fun and build castles in the sand. Good times. He’s a hard worker. He takes his work seriously, but not too seriously. I’ve learned a lot over the years, like strip away the ego and be Robin to his Batman. Shut up, learn and listen. Be flexible. Come ready to play, not complain. We have a blast; just ask anyone who visits the set of Spencer Publications. It’s always a special day when someone from Forrester pays us a visit, especially Ridge [Thorsten Kaye]. It’s nonstop antics and jokes all around.” Spears is also hoping to see more of Justin’s domestic side. “There’s another side to Justin that we really haven’t seen yet,” he teases. “Hopefully, our return will explore his many verses. Let’s not forget he had a wife, Donna, a son, Marcus, and a grandchild from Marcus and Dayzee. We can start there and move forward. It’d be great to tap into that family energy again, as well.”
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Photo credit: JPI
As a longtime fan of ALL MY CHILDREN, Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea, Y&R) was understandably thrilled when she landed a part on the soap. “I watched ALL MY CHILDREN growing up so when I got the role of Annie in 2006, I was dying because of all the great actors I already knew about like David Canary [ex-Adam/ Stuart] and Alicia Minshew [ex- Kendall],” Egan recalls. But there was one cast member she was truly in awe of: Susan Lucci (ex-Erica). “When it came to meeting Susan, I was shaking in my heels,” Egan recalls. “I actually don’t remember the first time I met her too clearly, but I do remember I had been there for a couple of months and we were shooting the Thanksgiving episode. We had some downtime and I ended up chatting with Susan for five minutes about girly stuff. I was trying to be cool but inside I was going, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe I’m talking about shoes with Susan Lucci!’ I was so excited! I can’t believe that I not only got to work with Susan, but I also stabbed and choked her on the show and I was always nervous, but in a good way, because I admire her so much. Even though I was there for five years, it never got easier. Even today, I see her at events and I’m still starstruck because she’s such an icon.”
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Photo credit: JPI
Mary Beth Evans (Kayla, DAYS) had an unexpected encounter with a fellow soap star — Y&R’s Peter Bergman (Jack) — while on her morning paper run. “This was about a year ago,” Evans reports. “I ran into him in the neighborhood when I was getting a newspaper from a stand, early, early in the morning. I was practically in my pajamas, and he was, you know, polo top, aftershave, hair [done] — Mr. Clean from the get-go! He was like, ‘Oh, hi, how are you?’ My husband actually used to work with his wife 100 years ago — really, like, 35 years ago — so we had that connection. But I was kind of cowering because I was basically in my pajamas and I was so taken by how he’s so put together! It was so cute. He’s really so sweet.”
Michael E. Knight (Martin, GH) hopes that his storyline path will cross again with his character’s former on-screen client, Roger Howarth (Franco). “Oh, man, I was so intimidated by Roger!” he says of their early days working together. “I’m rarely, rarely intimidated, but I am, on occasion. But what I learned about Roger is that Roger is amazing, he really is. And he’s funny! What most people don’t realize is that he’s like a bowl of dust; he’s very dry. You have to listen to what he says; he’s quiet, but he’s really funny. He got me good one day. One thing I get a lot of grief about, and I totally deserve it, I know — I don’t know why I let myself do this — but the character started without an accent and then all of a sudden, he’s got one.... All of a sudden, I’m up there doing Clarence Darrow!” After nailing a courtroom monologue “in one take, I’m so pleased with myself and I sit down, and very quietly, Roger rolls over and says, ‘So, which side of the [Civil] War did you actually fight on?’ And I started to howl. I was cackling at a very high-pitched squeak. I mean, I can’t say enough about Roger. He’s everything!”
Photo credit: JPI
With B&B back into heavy production, Aaron D. Spears (Justin) is thrilled to be having scenes again with his TV partner-in-crime, Don Diamont (Bill). “It’s fun every day when Don and I are on set,” enthuses Spears. “We are two peas in a pod. We both like to have fun and build castles in the sand. Good times. He’s a hard worker. He takes his work seriously, but not too seriously. I’ve learned a lot over the years, like strip away the ego and be Robin to his Batman. Shut up, learn and listen. Be flexible. Come ready to play, not complain. We have a blast; just ask anyone who visits the set of Spencer Publications. It’s always a special day when someone from Forrester pays us a visit, especially Ridge [Thorsten Kaye]. It’s nonstop antics and jokes all around.” Spears is also hoping to see more of Justin’s domestic side. “There’s another side to Justin that we really haven’t seen yet,” he teases. “Hopefully, our return will explore his many verses. Let’s not forget he had a wife, Donna, a son, Marcus, and a grandchild from Marcus and Dayzee. We can start there and move forward. It’d be great to tap into that family energy again, as well.”
Photo credit: JPI
As a longtime fan of ALL MY CHILDREN, Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea, Y&R) was understandably thrilled when she landed a part on the soap. “I watched ALL MY CHILDREN growing up so when I got the role of Annie in 2006, I was dying because of all the great actors I already knew about like David Canary [ex-Adam/ Stuart] and Alicia Minshew [ex- Kendall],” Egan recalls. But there was one cast member she was truly in awe of: Susan Lucci (ex-Erica). “When it came to meeting Susan, I was shaking in my heels,” Egan recalls. “I actually don’t remember the first time I met her too clearly, but I do remember I had been there for a couple of months and we were shooting the Thanksgiving episode. We had some downtime and I ended up chatting with Susan for five minutes about girly stuff. I was trying to be cool but inside I was going, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe I’m talking about shoes with Susan Lucci!’ I was so excited! I can’t believe that I not only got to work with Susan, but I also stabbed and choked her on the show and I was always nervous, but in a good way, because I admire her so much. Even though I was there for five years, it never got easier. Even today, I see her at events and I’m still starstruck because she’s such an icon.”
Photo credit: JPI
Mary Beth Evans (Kayla, DAYS) had an unexpected encounter with a fellow soap star — Y&R’s Peter Bergman (Jack) — while on her morning paper run. “This was about a year ago,” Evans reports. “I ran into him in the neighborhood when I was getting a newspaper from a stand, early, early in the morning. I was practically in my pajamas, and he was, you know, polo top, aftershave, hair [done] — Mr. Clean from the get-go! He was like, ‘Oh, hi, how are you?’ My husband actually used to work with his wife 100 years ago — really, like, 35 years ago — so we had that connection. But I was kind of cowering because I was basically in my pajamas and I was so taken by how he’s so put together! It was so cute. He’s really so sweet.”
Photo credit: JPI
