HAPPY HOMECOMING
Christie Clark (Carrie) made the rounds at the studio when she returned to DAYS for a visit as Carrie. “Oh, my goodness, I saw everyone that I know and love!” she enthuses. “Kristian [Alfonso, Hope], a.k.a. my chocolate friend, Mary Beth [Evans, Kayla], lady that I admire, Missy [Reeves, Jennifer], positive role model and sweet as honey, Judi [Evans, Adrienne], prankster and one cool chick, Dee [Hall, Marlena], the one who taught me all I know, Lauren [Koslow, Kate], the lady I want to be when I grow up, Drake [Hogestyn, John], the man, the myth, the legend — my forever TV dad, Galen [Gering, Rafe], the show’s Jake Ryan [from Sixteen Candles] and super-sweet dude, Stephen [Nichols, Steve], my sweetness, James Reynolds [Abe], who has the best laugh in the business, Albert [Alarr], wonderful producer with a bright smile, Richard Bloore, best costumer in the soapland, John [Sizemore], camera No. 2 who always makes things lovely, Tyler Christopher [Stefan], damn good actor and not too sore on the eyes, Billy [Flynn, Chad], blue eyes, Leann [Hunley, Anna], wonderful actress and I’ve been waiting to act with her for 30 years, Josh [Taylor, Roman], my John Wayne, and so many other wonderful folks. I could go on and on.”
“FRENEMY” TERRITORY
The introduction of one of Luke Spencer’s most fearsome GH rivals, Cesar Faison, led to a now decades-long friendship between their portrayers, Anthony Geary (ex-Luke) and Anders Hove (Faison). “Tony and I hit it off quite fast,” Hove says. “Already, way back then when we first met, he was planning his retirement to Holland and we started talking about Europe. You come in at 7 o’clock in the morning and you get out at 7 o’clock at night, and of course, you have to talk to people and live your life while being at work, so you get to know each other. He invited me out a couple of times and I went to his house and it became a lot of visits — I went to see him a couple of times in Amsterdam and he’s been to Denmark to see me. It’s like with Finola [Hughes, Anna] and with Kin [Shriner, Scott] for that matter. You can’t talk to that many people about what it means to work on GENERAL HOSPITAL, because then you’d always be in the position where you have to explain a hell of a lot of things! I have the opposite thing with Tony. When you’re looking at each other, you know exactly what’s going on and why it’s going on and why it’s good or why it’s bad. In that sense, it’s special. You have ups and downs and good times and bad times, you’ve been off the show, you’ve been on the show. You end up sharing a lot of things.”
TEAM EFFORT
Alyvia Alyn Lind (Faith) can count on a good time when working with soap parents Sharon Case (Sharon) and Joshua Morrow (Nick). “Between scenes, Sharon and I are very girly,” explains the young actress. “We sit quietly and just talk about clothes and makeup, while Josh and I joke a lot and always laugh about everything. I guess it’s the same relationship that girls actually have with their real moms and dads.” Lind enjoys watching her co-stars in action. “They always know all of their lines, but I love how sometimes they’ll change it up a little bit and give each other advice,” she marvels. “If I just say one line differently, Josh will be like, ‘Oh, that was so bad! You did so bad!’ Or whenever there’s a technical problem during a scene, he says, ‘Okay, how did Aly screw up this time?’ Josh and Sharon are so much fun during happy scenes and they’re always there for me during sad scenes. I learn from the best.”
ROLE PLAY
Before he landed his role on THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VER-SACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY, GH alum Ricky Martin (ex-Miguel) had a hunch it might be coming his way. “I knew Edgar [Ramirez, Gianni] from before and he shared with me that he was going to be portraying Gianni Versace, and I was celebrating with him,” shares Martin. “Then, I received a phone call from Ryan [Murphy, executive producer], who said, ‘We need to meet.’ So I’m like, ‘Okay. When and where? I’ll be there.’ I said, ‘Edgar, guess who I’m having dinner with tonight?’ Apparently something was in the air.” Ramirez correctly surmised it was Murphy, and predicted Martin would be offered the part of Gianni’s lover, Antonio D’Amico. “Exactly what he said,” confirms Martin. “And then, of course, I went to Ryan and he told me, ‘I have this project, Gianni Versace.’ And my first question was, ‘Who’s doing Donatella? I want to know.’ And he told me, ‘No one knows ... but it’s Penelope [Cruz],’ and I peed a little bit. I didn’t ask who’s going to be Gianni because I already knew so I told him, ‘You know I know Edgar. He’s like my brother. I love him.’ And he goes, ‘That’s all I needed to hear. You got the part.’ ”