Scene and Heard
1
of
4
1 of 4
Photo credit: Instagram
On Lauren Swickard’s first day of work at GH as Ferncliff nurse Janice, one of her scene partners, Josh Kelly (Cody), went the extra mile to make sure she felt comfortable on set. “I was a feeling a little bit of nervous butterflies,” she explains. “So he lent me something that is a tiny little stuffed animal that senses your heartbeat if you hug it. And it was so cute and I really loved it!” Picks up her husband, Josh Swickard (Chase), “I thought he gave it to her as a gift, like, ‘Welcome to the show!’ I was like, ‘Oh, that’s so sweet.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, well, bring it back to my room when you’re done.’ Like, ‘Dude I’m only lending it to you.’ ” Chuckles Lauren, “He brought it to our dressing room in a little cardboard box that said ‘Live Animal’ on it. I looked at him like, ‘You have a live animal with you? You have a pet in your dressing room?!’ And then he pulled it out and it was just this cute little furry thing. It was so funny!” Kelly explains, “It’s a robot calming animal doll. It’s called a Furby and it’s for kids with anxiety, and grownups, too. You pet it and it purrs. And, you know, it was her first day so I thought she might be nervous — but I think Josh was more nervous on her first day than she was!”
2 of 4
Photo credit: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
John-Paul Lavoisier (Philip, DAYS) says he was happy to connect with Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) more for his current Salem stint. “The first time that I was there I didn’t work with Nadia all that much,” he recalls. “I had scenes with her, but it wasn’t as much as this time. Also, last time I worked with Nadia she was full-blown pregnant. It was the first time I ever worked with a pregnant woman, which was a new thing for me. Now, Nadia is not pregnant, and you’d never believe she’s [had any kids]. We had so much together; it was a very emotional roller-coaster ride. I worked with her a lot. So it kind of felt like the first time. She’s a professional, but she’s so laid-back. And I’ll tell you, legitimately, doing scenes with her when it’s just the two of us being very open and very vulnerable ...… When she has moments when she’s talking and it’s more than just a sentence, when it’s actual paragraphs, I have to remind myself that I’m also in the scene and have a job to do as well. Otherwise, I’ll just fall into her eyes and get lost. It’s so pleasurable watching her work.”
3 of 4
Photo credit: JPI
Ever since Y&R’s Mark Grossman took over the role of Adam in 2019, one of his favorite scene partners has been his soap son, Judah Mackey (Connor). “What a great kid,” enthuses the actor. “I’ve always loved working with him. And right away, people on the set have said he was great casting because, ‘Man, he really looks like you,’ which is a big compliment to me. The father and son thing really works with us in my opinion, because Adam and Victor’s relationship is what it is, but the last thing that Adam wants is for his relationship with Connor to be like his dad, and I think that shows because Judah and I share such a great bond. I think it’s a shame that we’re not in more scenes together, so that’s why I loved when Missy’s [Claire Egan, Chelsea] and my character sat down for that important conversation where Connor talks about his anxiety and depression, because Judah is so talented and really breaks your heart.” Now, Grossman marvels at how Mackey is sprouting up before his eyes. “It’s kind of a trip,” he chuckles. “His mom, Lacy, is always with him, and we were just talking about how much he’s grown. When we first met four-and-a-half years ago, he came up to my waist and now he’s at my shoulder. It’s unreal and I just know in a blink of an eye he’ll be 15 and that’ll really freak me out.”
4 of 4
Photo credit: JPI
Much like the Emmy-winning storyline which highlighted Eric’s experience with ED in 2021, John McCook (Eric, B&B) is thrilled to once again be tackling an important topic. “I’m so glad we are addressing the issue of ageism,” he proclaims. “The ageism thing is real, and it is something I carry with me as an actor. Soaps are one of the few places you can be as an actor who has been doing this since the 1960s. I have been an actor since I was 18 years old, and it can be alarming to see an actor on TV who you haven’t seen in 30 years and think, ‘’Wow, he has really aged.’ Well, of course he has because you haven’t seen him. But that is the blessing of being on a soap opera all these years, because you age every day along with everybody else, and so it is not such a big surprise how somebody looks when they are in their late 70s, as opposed to all of a sudden. There is a great blessing being in a situation where an older actor is important to what we do, because the stories we tell on daytime are generational, and I’m very grateful about that.”
On Lauren Swickard’s first day of work at GH as Ferncliff nurse Janice, one of her scene partners, Josh Kelly (Cody), went the extra mile to make sure she felt comfortable on set. “I was a feeling a little bit of nervous butterflies,” she explains. “So he lent me something that is a tiny little stuffed animal that senses your heartbeat if you hug it. And it was so cute and I really loved it!” Picks up her husband, Josh Swickard (Chase), “I thought he gave it to her as a gift, like, ‘Welcome to the show!’ I was like, ‘Oh, that’s so sweet.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, well, bring it back to my room when you’re done.’ Like, ‘Dude I’m only lending it to you.’ ” Chuckles Lauren, “He brought it to our dressing room in a little cardboard box that said ‘Live Animal’ on it. I looked at him like, ‘You have a live animal with you? You have a pet in your dressing room?!’ And then he pulled it out and it was just this cute little furry thing. It was so funny!” Kelly explains, “It’s a robot calming animal doll. It’s called a Furby and it’s for kids with anxiety, and grownups, too. You pet it and it purrs. And, you know, it was her first day so I thought she might be nervous — but I think Josh was more nervous on her first day than she was!”
Photo credit: Instagram
John-Paul Lavoisier (Philip, DAYS) says he was happy to connect with Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) more for his current Salem stint. “The first time that I was there I didn’t work with Nadia all that much,” he recalls. “I had scenes with her, but it wasn’t as much as this time. Also, last time I worked with Nadia she was full-blown pregnant. It was the first time I ever worked with a pregnant woman, which was a new thing for me. Now, Nadia is not pregnant, and you’d never believe she’s [had any kids]. We had so much together; it was a very emotional roller-coaster ride. I worked with her a lot. So it kind of felt like the first time. She’s a professional, but she’s so laid-back. And I’ll tell you, legitimately, doing scenes with her when it’s just the two of us being very open and very vulnerable ...… When she has moments when she’s talking and it’s more than just a sentence, when it’s actual paragraphs, I have to remind myself that I’m also in the scene and have a job to do as well. Otherwise, I’ll just fall into her eyes and get lost. It’s so pleasurable watching her work.”
Photo credit: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
Ever since Y&R’s Mark Grossman took over the role of Adam in 2019, one of his favorite scene partners has been his soap son, Judah Mackey (Connor). “What a great kid,” enthuses the actor. “I’ve always loved working with him. And right away, people on the set have said he was great casting because, ‘Man, he really looks like you,’ which is a big compliment to me. The father and son thing really works with us in my opinion, because Adam and Victor’s relationship is what it is, but the last thing that Adam wants is for his relationship with Connor to be like his dad, and I think that shows because Judah and I share such a great bond. I think it’s a shame that we’re not in more scenes together, so that’s why I loved when Missy’s [Claire Egan, Chelsea] and my character sat down for that important conversation where Connor talks about his anxiety and depression, because Judah is so talented and really breaks your heart.” Now, Grossman marvels at how Mackey is sprouting up before his eyes. “It’s kind of a trip,” he chuckles. “His mom, Lacy, is always with him, and we were just talking about how much he’s grown. When we first met four-and-a-half years ago, he came up to my waist and now he’s at my shoulder. It’s unreal and I just know in a blink of an eye he’ll be 15 and that’ll really freak me out.”
Photo credit: JPI
Much like the Emmy-winning storyline which highlighted Eric’s experience with ED in 2021, John McCook (Eric, B&B) is thrilled to once again be tackling an important topic. “I’m so glad we are addressing the issue of ageism,” he proclaims. “The ageism thing is real, and it is something I carry with me as an actor. Soaps are one of the few places you can be as an actor who has been doing this since the 1960s. I have been an actor since I was 18 years old, and it can be alarming to see an actor on TV who you haven’t seen in 30 years and think, ‘’Wow, he has really aged.’ Well, of course he has because you haven’t seen him. But that is the blessing of being on a soap opera all these years, because you age every day along with everybody else, and so it is not such a big surprise how somebody looks when they are in their late 70s, as opposed to all of a sudden. There is a great blessing being in a situation where an older actor is important to what we do, because the stories we tell on daytime are generational, and I’m very grateful about that.”
Photo credit: JPI
