Scene and Heard
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Photo credit: ESPN
When Stephen A. Smith reflects on his nearly five-year run as Brick on GH, one scene sticks out as the most memorable because of the connection he felt to the material and his co-star, Maurice Benard (Sonny). Explains Smith, “When Sonny and Brick were talking about his father’s illness, we got emotional. That was almost in the immediate aftermath of me losing my mother when she lost her long battle with cancer, so Maurice was talking to me about that and he said, ‘That’s a sensitive thing and it’s not going to leave you,’ but he was telling me how it was going to help me in the scene. He said, ‘Whether you know it or not, it’s going to crop up with you emotionally, and it’s okay to let that go.’ It made me regret not exploring being an actor earlier on in my life, because when he broke it down, the way that he broke it down, it just crystallized to me what the most sensational part of being an actor is: You get to be whatever the role allows you to be. You’re not yourself, you’re something else or some- body else, and ultimately, when you go home, you’re allowed to be yourself, but when you’re on that set or that stage, you have to take on a different character, and it just made me marvel at the great actors and actresses even more, because I understand how difficult that is to do — more so now than ever before.”
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Photo credit: NBC
Emily O’Brien is thankful for the support she has received from her co-stars as she has navigated Gwen’s journey on DAYS. “I honestly feel so fortunate to be working with this group of people,” she enthuses. “Every single person puts in so much energy to their role and who they are. Like Marci [Miller, Abigail], for instance. I’ve been watching her work. She constantly blows me away. I don’t want to sound surprised — I knew how great she was — but she just conveys her feelings as Abigail so beautifully. I think she’s wonderful. And the way she and Billy [Flynn, Chad] work together, I think, is fantastic. Same with Lauren [Koslow, Kate] and Brandon [Barash, Jake]. It’s so much fun.” Matthew Ashford (Jack) and Cady McClain (Jennifer) have also been there for O’Brien, especially during the scenes where Gwen’s secret was revealed. “Matt and Cady were so incredibly involved, from the beginning through the end,” she reports. “All weekend while I was going over the script, Cady was texting me, checking in on me, talking to me, because I put a lot of pressure on it and I wanted it to be something that viewers feel like they earned because they put so much time into watching the buildup, and working with them was just wonderful. They’re just so receptive and present and nurturing.”
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Photo credit: JPI
B&B’s Lawrence Saint-Victor appreciates that his alter ego, Carter, crosses paths with so many people on the canvas. “The best part is the fact that I have a character who intermingles with everybody,” he says. “I can be in a scene with anybody, and it’s really fun when I get to do scenes with people I usually don’t get to work with, like Rena [Sofer, Quinn], and since he’s also a lawyer, that opens a lot of doors, too. I remember the first time I really got to work with Annika [Noelle], it was around [Hope] getting a divorce from Liam [in 2019] because she felt that she couldn’t give him the child that they should have, so we were sitting there going over her papers and Carter was trying to talk her out of it. That was cool because Carter has that relationship with so many people. Remember when Ivy wanted to stay in the country so she was getting married to Liam [in 2015] and he was talking her through it? It was great to get to work with Ashleigh [Brewer, ex-Ivy]. Getting to work with everybody is just one of the things I love about playing Carter.”
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Photo credit: Adam Torgerson/CBS
“I was so excited!” relays Hunter King (Summer, Y&R) of her reaction to hearing that her character would cross paths with B&B’s Darin Brooks (Wyatt) and Katrina Bowden (Flo) during the crossover arc. “I’ve known that the two shows have done crossovers before but I’ve never done one. It’s always exciting to go over to other CBS shows. I always have so much fun when I make appearances on PRICE IS RIGHT, so I was thrilled that I could go over to B&B, too.” Mixing it up with the B&B actors didn’t disappoint. “I’ve met Darin and his wife, Kelly [Kruger, ex-Eva] many times, so I already knew how funny he is,” King enthuses. “We actually had to do a few takes for these promos we were shooting about the crossovers and he made me laugh so hard, that it took several times to get it right, which was really embarrassing. I told the crew, ‘This is not how I normally am, honest. I blame Darin for this!’ And oh, my gosh, Katrina is so lovely and sweet. I’ve only met her maybe twice before this and she made me feel at home and asked questions to get to know me a little more. Now we’re back and forth on Instagram. I loved her on 30 ROCK.” And King is up for more crossovers, declaring, “It was so much fun to work with the other actors who you normally see in the hall- way and you kind of know them, but not really.”
When Stephen A. Smith reflects on his nearly five-year run as Brick on GH, one scene sticks out as the most memorable because of the connection he felt to the material and his co-star, Maurice Benard (Sonny). Explains Smith, “When Sonny and Brick were talking about his father’s illness, we got emotional. That was almost in the immediate aftermath of me losing my mother when she lost her long battle with cancer, so Maurice was talking to me about that and he said, ‘That’s a sensitive thing and it’s not going to leave you,’ but he was telling me how it was going to help me in the scene. He said, ‘Whether you know it or not, it’s going to crop up with you emotionally, and it’s okay to let that go.’ It made me regret not exploring being an actor earlier on in my life, because when he broke it down, the way that he broke it down, it just crystallized to me what the most sensational part of being an actor is: You get to be whatever the role allows you to be. You’re not yourself, you’re something else or some- body else, and ultimately, when you go home, you’re allowed to be yourself, but when you’re on that set or that stage, you have to take on a different character, and it just made me marvel at the great actors and actresses even more, because I understand how difficult that is to do — more so now than ever before.”
Photo credit: ESPN
Emily O’Brien is thankful for the support she has received from her co-stars as she has navigated Gwen’s journey on DAYS. “I honestly feel so fortunate to be working with this group of people,” she enthuses. “Every single person puts in so much energy to their role and who they are. Like Marci [Miller, Abigail], for instance. I’ve been watching her work. She constantly blows me away. I don’t want to sound surprised — I knew how great she was — but she just conveys her feelings as Abigail so beautifully. I think she’s wonderful. And the way she and Billy [Flynn, Chad] work together, I think, is fantastic. Same with Lauren [Koslow, Kate] and Brandon [Barash, Jake]. It’s so much fun.” Matthew Ashford (Jack) and Cady McClain (Jennifer) have also been there for O’Brien, especially during the scenes where Gwen’s secret was revealed. “Matt and Cady were so incredibly involved, from the beginning through the end,” she reports. “All weekend while I was going over the script, Cady was texting me, checking in on me, talking to me, because I put a lot of pressure on it and I wanted it to be something that viewers feel like they earned because they put so much time into watching the buildup, and working with them was just wonderful. They’re just so receptive and present and nurturing.”
Photo credit: NBC
B&B’s Lawrence Saint-Victor appreciates that his alter ego, Carter, crosses paths with so many people on the canvas. “The best part is the fact that I have a character who intermingles with everybody,” he says. “I can be in a scene with anybody, and it’s really fun when I get to do scenes with people I usually don’t get to work with, like Rena [Sofer, Quinn], and since he’s also a lawyer, that opens a lot of doors, too. I remember the first time I really got to work with Annika [Noelle], it was around [Hope] getting a divorce from Liam [in 2019] because she felt that she couldn’t give him the child that they should have, so we were sitting there going over her papers and Carter was trying to talk her out of it. That was cool because Carter has that relationship with so many people. Remember when Ivy wanted to stay in the country so she was getting married to Liam [in 2015] and he was talking her through it? It was great to get to work with Ashleigh [Brewer, ex-Ivy]. Getting to work with everybody is just one of the things I love about playing Carter.”
Photo credit: JPI
“I was so excited!” relays Hunter King (Summer, Y&R) of her reaction to hearing that her character would cross paths with B&B’s Darin Brooks (Wyatt) and Katrina Bowden (Flo) during the crossover arc. “I’ve known that the two shows have done crossovers before but I’ve never done one. It’s always exciting to go over to other CBS shows. I always have so much fun when I make appearances on PRICE IS RIGHT, so I was thrilled that I could go over to B&B, too.” Mixing it up with the B&B actors didn’t disappoint. “I’ve met Darin and his wife, Kelly [Kruger, ex-Eva] many times, so I already knew how funny he is,” King enthuses. “We actually had to do a few takes for these promos we were shooting about the crossovers and he made me laugh so hard, that it took several times to get it right, which was really embarrassing. I told the crew, ‘This is not how I normally am, honest. I blame Darin for this!’ And oh, my gosh, Katrina is so lovely and sweet. I’ve only met her maybe twice before this and she made me feel at home and asked questions to get to know me a little more. Now we’re back and forth on Instagram. I loved her on 30 ROCK.” And King is up for more crossovers, declaring, “It was so much fun to work with the other actors who you normally see in the hall- way and you kind of know them, but not really.”
Photo credit: Adam Torgerson/CBS
