ve and found it empty, “You know I put my own spin on it!” chuckles Donnell Turner (Curtis), whose character is no fan of the macabre. “It was an ad-lib when I said, ‘I’m probably gonna die first!’ When I threw that at them in rehearsal, it was belly laughs all around. You would have thought Martin Lawrence was on set! They said, ‘Please say that [when we tape].’ The other ad-lib happened when Curtis looks in the crypt. He was supposed to say, ‘Duh, it’s empty!’ I don’t want to be the guy stating the obvious. So, when I got to set for rehearsal, when I looked in, I said, ‘Well, where’s she at?’ Again, house laughter. That’s when Larry [Carpenter, director], who I love so much, said, ‘Please say that!’ It was hilarious. So they’re letting me just go, and we’re having so much fun.” The actor adds that Curtis’s squeamishness is something he can relate to. “That’s Donnell, too!” he says. “I will fight a 250-pound man, I’m trained in weapons and tactics, but don’t show me no rat! And I don’t need to go in nobody’s cemetery, crypt, mausoleum, sarcophagus — I’m good!”
Daniel Hall (Scott, Y&R), who played GUIDING LIGHT’s Jake, knew it was only a matter of time until a shirtless scene popped up. “Fortunately, someone usually gives you a heads up a couple of weeks in advance,” Hall chuckles. “I got a, ‘Hey, just wanted you to know that Scott’s going to be in a towel.’ That’s when you stop eating late-night desserts at 2 in the morning.” When the shooting day arrived, Hall was ready. “You always wish you could do a few more push-ups before the scene,” he admits. “It’s definitely a unique experience because you’re in front of three to four cameras, the producers, makeup artists and someone spraying you with water, and despite all of that, it wasn’t really awkward for me. That’s because my co-star was so cool. Gina [Tognoni, Phyllis] said, ‘You look great,’ so I didn’t feel as self-conscious as I thought I would. I’m still finding my way, so it’s nice to have someone as supportive as Gina. And as soon as that scene was shot, I immediately ate pizza and cheesecake.”
A Martinez (ex-Eduardo) will miss working with his on-screen children on DAYS. “I was disappointed that we didn’t get to do more than we did,” he sighs. “I felt particularly with Camila [Banus, Gabi] that I owed her a make-up after playing her dad on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. It was nice to be able to play the stuff that we got to do. She does such a wonderful job of taking care of those girls who play her daughter [Sydnee and Harper Udell, Arianna]. I love how she brought me into that process. I learned how to be with them through working with her, just finding ways to make that be okay for everybody. I really loved that stuff.” As for the actors who played his sons, Martinez praises, “Galen [Gering, Rafe] is kind of like a miraculous guy. He just has a way about him that you love so much. He’s a genius with people. He always plays true. I found it particularly in the end. It was amazing [to see] the strength of the choices that he brought to the parting of the father and son. He was singular. It was pretty great. And Jordi [Vilasuso, Dario] and I got to really play fire and have it turn into something that was finally deeper than that. I loved the process of going about putting the work in with all of them. It was really a blast. Wonderful actors and also wonderful people.”
B&B alum Bobbie Eakes (ex-Macy) and hubby David Steen are a two-actor household — and have had a very busy few months. David’s latest film, A Very Sordid Wedding, the sequel to the cult hit Sordid Lives, opened to a boffo box office. “I’m so proud of him — and the movie,” Eakes beams. “It was the No. 1 specialty film in the country,” adds Steen. “It opened in Palm Springs [CA] and we had sold-out houses for the first six or seven screenings. It’s traveling the country now and playing in select theaters. You can see the schedule on Facebook [at www.facebook.com/averysordidwedding].” Eakes was happy to be in attendance at B&B’s 30th anniversary party. “You know, David and I met just before I joined B&B, so we went through the whole B&B experience together. We still keep in touch with everyone — and I couldn’t be more thrilled that Patrika [Darbo, Shirley] is a Spectra! She’s a friend, so when we saw her, I gave her a big hug and said, ‘Welcome to the family!’ ”