Scene And Heard
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Photo credit: Getty
Having Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker (Uncle Eddie) in the cast of EMPIRE this season has special meaning for its star, Terrence Howard (Lucious). “Forest has been a mentor to me in my own personal life,” he shares. “You may not know that the role I played in Crash was initially Forest’s role. Forest had stepped out in order to do his directorial debut and he had recommended that I come and play that character. So, for him to be a mentor of mine on this show means a lot. One of the things that we haven’t seen with Lucious is who his past friends are beyond Shine. For me, it’s great to tap into someone with the integrity and backbone of an actor, because that’s one of the things that you want when you consider yourself a serious actor, to have someone to sharpen your teeth against. That’s why me and Taraji [P. Henson, Cookie] have such a wonderful chemistry, because only one person’s going to take the frame at the end of the day, and that keeps the competition up and it keeps the integrity of our work up. So, to be able to work with somebody like Forest and know that I don’t know who’s going to take the frame at the end of the day, that becomes a blessing for the audience as a whole because it raises what we’re all doing on the show.”
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Photo credit: JPI
Laur Allen (Juliet, Y&R) reveals that she was the recipient of a practical joke on her first day of work on the soap. “I thought I was lost and I walked into the set with this look on my face of pure confusion,” recalls the actress. “One of the crew guys asked, ‘What set are you looking for?’ and I said, ‘YOUNG AND RESTLESS.’ He goes, ‘Oh, this is BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL.’ I started to leave, and he said, ‘I’m just kidding! Come back! You should be here!’ ” Allen felt welcomed by the gesture and decided to pay it forward later that same day. “One of the day players came on the set with the same look on his face,” she chuckles. “When he said he was looking for Y&R, I said, ‘Oh, this is THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.’ He started to leave and I said, ‘I’m sorry, you’re in the right place!’ Apparently, word got around what I did, and someone told me, ‘You’re gonna get along here just fine.’ ”
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Photo credit: Getty
When DAYS’s Bryan R. Dattilo had to play Lucas falling down drunk at Club TBD, he went all-out to make the moment look as realistic as possible. Before shooting the scene, Dattilo was asked if he wanted a protective mat on to cushion his fall. “They know I’m tough,” Dattilo smiles. “I told them not to break the mat out because I didn’t want there to be a chance of it being seen on camera. It also made the fall really fun to watch. I landed straight on my face.” Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) was in the scene with Dattilo, and he shares, “Nadia looked at me like I was an idiot. She couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t take a mat when they offered one. I don’t know; I just like doing stunts,” he shrugs. “It’s the Tom Cruise in me.” Meanwhile, Dattilo had an extra challenge in the scene because he was in very close proximity to Bjorlin, who was several months pregnant. “I certainly didn’t want to fall on the pregnant lady,” he says. “That’s the wrong thing to do. I didn’t even want to scrape her belly. So it was angled out very well. But it was a hard floor, with just a little piece of carpet. At the last second, I kind of used my hand to stop my body from actually hitting the floor. I did it in one take. They seemed to be happy, and I was glad that I didn’t have to do it again.”
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Photo credit: Steven Bergman
Maurice Benard (Sonny, GH) has noticed a pronounced difference in the on-screen connection he shares with Kelly Monaco (Sam) in recent months. “I don’t know what has happened with her and I that just has never really been there in the past, but there is something going on,” he marvels. “I mean, it just clicks, man. When we’re in a scene, it’s like effortless and easy and I don’t know how to explain it. It’s almost kind of trippy because I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a situation where you’ve been around someone and worked with someone for so long and then all of a sudden, something happened, and it’s like a different person.” Benard has made it a point to let Monaco know how highly he thinks of the work she’s been doing. “You could tell that she didn’t feel like, ‘Wait, I sucked before — is that what you’re saying?’ ” he chuckles. “She didn’t give me that kind of look. But she needs to hear it, I think. I don’t think she gets enough encouragement and I don’t know that she truly believes, deep down, [in her own talent]. But after this story, I would hope that changes.”
Having Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker (Uncle Eddie) in the cast of EMPIRE this season has special meaning for its star, Terrence Howard (Lucious). “Forest has been a mentor to me in my own personal life,” he shares. “You may not know that the role I played in Crash was initially Forest’s role. Forest had stepped out in order to do his directorial debut and he had recommended that I come and play that character. So, for him to be a mentor of mine on this show means a lot. One of the things that we haven’t seen with Lucious is who his past friends are beyond Shine. For me, it’s great to tap into someone with the integrity and backbone of an actor, because that’s one of the things that you want when you consider yourself a serious actor, to have someone to sharpen your teeth against. That’s why me and Taraji [P. Henson, Cookie] have such a wonderful chemistry, because only one person’s going to take the frame at the end of the day, and that keeps the competition up and it keeps the integrity of our work up. So, to be able to work with somebody like Forest and know that I don’t know who’s going to take the frame at the end of the day, that becomes a blessing for the audience as a whole because it raises what we’re all doing on the show.”
Photo credit: Getty
Laur Allen (Juliet, Y&R) reveals that she was the recipient of a practical joke on her first day of work on the soap. “I thought I was lost and I walked into the set with this look on my face of pure confusion,” recalls the actress. “One of the crew guys asked, ‘What set are you looking for?’ and I said, ‘YOUNG AND RESTLESS.’ He goes, ‘Oh, this is BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL.’ I started to leave, and he said, ‘I’m just kidding! Come back! You should be here!’ ” Allen felt welcomed by the gesture and decided to pay it forward later that same day. “One of the day players came on the set with the same look on his face,” she chuckles. “When he said he was looking for Y&R, I said, ‘Oh, this is THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.’ He started to leave and I said, ‘I’m sorry, you’re in the right place!’ Apparently, word got around what I did, and someone told me, ‘You’re gonna get along here just fine.’ ”
Photo credit: JPI
When DAYS’s Bryan R. Dattilo had to play Lucas falling down drunk at Club TBD, he went all-out to make the moment look as realistic as possible. Before shooting the scene, Dattilo was asked if he wanted a protective mat on to cushion his fall. “They know I’m tough,” Dattilo smiles. “I told them not to break the mat out because I didn’t want there to be a chance of it being seen on camera. It also made the fall really fun to watch. I landed straight on my face.” Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) was in the scene with Dattilo, and he shares, “Nadia looked at me like I was an idiot. She couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t take a mat when they offered one. I don’t know; I just like doing stunts,” he shrugs. “It’s the Tom Cruise in me.” Meanwhile, Dattilo had an extra challenge in the scene because he was in very close proximity to Bjorlin, who was several months pregnant. “I certainly didn’t want to fall on the pregnant lady,” he says. “That’s the wrong thing to do. I didn’t even want to scrape her belly. So it was angled out very well. But it was a hard floor, with just a little piece of carpet. At the last second, I kind of used my hand to stop my body from actually hitting the floor. I did it in one take. They seemed to be happy, and I was glad that I didn’t have to do it again.”
Photo credit: Getty
Maurice Benard (Sonny, GH) has noticed a pronounced difference in the on-screen connection he shares with Kelly Monaco (Sam) in recent months. “I don’t know what has happened with her and I that just has never really been there in the past, but there is something going on,” he marvels. “I mean, it just clicks, man. When we’re in a scene, it’s like effortless and easy and I don’t know how to explain it. It’s almost kind of trippy because I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a situation where you’ve been around someone and worked with someone for so long and then all of a sudden, something happened, and it’s like a different person.” Benard has made it a point to let Monaco know how highly he thinks of the work she’s been doing. “You could tell that she didn’t feel like, ‘Wait, I sucked before — is that what you’re saying?’ ” he chuckles. “She didn’t give me that kind of look. But she needs to hear it, I think. I don’t think she gets enough encouragement and I don’t know that she truly believes, deep down, [in her own talent]. But after this story, I would hope that changes.”
Photo credit: Steven Bergman
