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Photo credit: JPI
RUDE AWAKENING
“I absolutely love working with Mishael [Morgan, Hilary],” gushes Cait Fairbanks (Tessa), whose recent Y&R story has brought her into more scenes with the actress. “She and I had a conversation about how much fun we’re having. As far as I’m concerned, the nasty scenes are like glitter moments to me. Our characters are so mean to each other, but we’re laughing all of the time about it. Because I adore Mishael so much, I think it’s even more funny whenever Hilary puts Tessa down. I love it!” In the beginning, Morgan was a tad reluctant to hurl insults in character. “Mishael felt a little bad about saying the mean stuff but I told her, ‘Bring it on!’ ” chuckles Fairbanks. “But Hilary needs to be knocked down a few notches when her ego is getting a little big, and now Tessa doesn’t let her get away with anything. So Hilary is put in her place from time to time, which is a good thing. But when Hilary is being extra mean and after we cut, Mishael will say to me, ‘I’m so sorry!’ Then she’ll laugh and say, ‘You deserved it.’ ”
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Photo credit: ABC
A TAD DIFFERENT
The first soap role Wally Kurth (Ned, GH; Justin, DAYS) tried out for was not the one he landed (Justin): It was ALL MY CHILDREN’s Tad, which went to Michael E. Knight. “I had just finished Pirates of Penzance in New York and I thought, ‘I am ready to do a soap; that sounds fantastic!’ ” recalls Kurth. “I tested with Marcy [Walker, ex-Liza]. I remember watching the show and I totally fell in love with Kim Delaney [ex-Jenny]. I had such a crush on Kim that I was kind of intimidated. I was like, ‘If I have to test with her, I don’t think I’ll be able to speak!’ I thought she was so cute. Luckily, I tested with Marcy, who I thought was cute, too. She was wonderful, lovely and supportive. I remember meeting Michael when I went in to screen-test. He was a really nice guy and I thought to myself, ‘If I lose it, I could lose it to this guy.’ And sure enough, he got the role! But they liked me enough that they had me test for another character on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Danny Wolek. I was totally fired up about it, but then I moved to California and, of course, ended up on DAYS a few years later.”
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Photo credit: JPI
COOPER SCOOP
Felisha Cooper (ex-Sasha, B&B) has been busy since leaving B&B, between her recent film LMN flick, FIANCÉ KILLER, the upcoming second season of SWEDISH DICKS, which debuts on POP on July 26, and the soon-to-be-released film Plus One, from Ben Stiller’s production company. “I play the love interest of the main character,” Cooper shares of the film. “I was very flattered to be asked. [Stiller’s] an actor I very much admire.” Despite her hectic schedule, Cooper would love to see an Avant family reunion. “I’ve kept in touch with Rome [Flynn, ex-Zende], Reign [Edwards, ex-Nicole] and Obba [Babatundé, Julius]. I talk to them quite frequently. I still get a lot of fans tweeting at me asking, ‘Where’s Sasha? What’s she up to?’ and I tell them, ‘I’d love to come back guys, but it’s not up to me.’ But what I love most about soaps is, you just never know.”
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Photo credit: JPI
ALL TALK
Freddie Smith (Sonny, DAYS) and longtime girlfriend Alyssa Tabit have started a podcast, THE FREDDIE & ALYSSA SHOW. “We have a very creative title. You can see we thought outside the box!” he cracks. “We have episodes out on iTunes, and then we also record them while we’re filming the podcast and we put them on YouTube, as well. This way, if someone wants to watch it they can, or if they just want to listen to it while they’re working out or driving or whatever, they have the option of audio and video.” The actor is hoping to make a lasting impression on their listeners. “We’re just going to bring on a bunch of really cool guests with all different backgrounds and stories,” Smith shares. “Our main goal is just to leave people with more value than they came in with, and maybe something that will open someone’s mind to think about new ideas and new opinions. We just want to use it as a platform to have this talk about positivity. I think if we can all come together as a community and work out problems together, it can make the world a better place.” Mixing business and pleasure has not been a problem for the duo. “We get along very well. We share the same beliefs and ideas, and we respect each other so much, so it’s kind of cool that we get to sit down and be able to pass the ball back and forth. It helps because I would probably never shut up if it was just me!”
RUDE AWAKENING
“I absolutely love working with Mishael [Morgan, Hilary],” gushes Cait Fairbanks (Tessa), whose recent Y&R story has brought her into more scenes with the actress. “She and I had a conversation about how much fun we’re having. As far as I’m concerned, the nasty scenes are like glitter moments to me. Our characters are so mean to each other, but we’re laughing all of the time about it. Because I adore Mishael so much, I think it’s even more funny whenever Hilary puts Tessa down. I love it!” In the beginning, Morgan was a tad reluctant to hurl insults in character. “Mishael felt a little bad about saying the mean stuff but I told her, ‘Bring it on!’ ” chuckles Fairbanks. “But Hilary needs to be knocked down a few notches when her ego is getting a little big, and now Tessa doesn’t let her get away with anything. So Hilary is put in her place from time to time, which is a good thing. But when Hilary is being extra mean and after we cut, Mishael will say to me, ‘I’m so sorry!’ Then she’ll laugh and say, ‘You deserved it.’ ”
A TAD DIFFERENT
The first soap role Wally Kurth (Ned, GH; Justin, DAYS) tried out for was not the one he landed (Justin): It was ALL MY CHILDREN’s Tad, which went to Michael E. Knight. “I had just finished Pirates of Penzance in New York and I thought, ‘I am ready to do a soap; that sounds fantastic!’ ” recalls Kurth. “I tested with Marcy [Walker, ex-Liza]. I remember watching the show and I totally fell in love with Kim Delaney [ex-Jenny]. I had such a crush on Kim that I was kind of intimidated. I was like, ‘If I have to test with her, I don’t think I’ll be able to speak!’ I thought she was so cute. Luckily, I tested with Marcy, who I thought was cute, too. She was wonderful, lovely and supportive. I remember meeting Michael when I went in to screen-test. He was a really nice guy and I thought to myself, ‘If I lose it, I could lose it to this guy.’ And sure enough, he got the role! But they liked me enough that they had me test for another character on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Danny Wolek. I was totally fired up about it, but then I moved to California and, of course, ended up on DAYS a few years later.”
COOPER SCOOP
Felisha Cooper (ex-Sasha, B&B) has been busy since leaving B&B, between her recent film LMN flick, FIANCÉ KILLER, the upcoming second season of SWEDISH DICKS, which debuts on POP on July 26, and the soon-to-be-released film Plus One, from Ben Stiller’s production company. “I play the love interest of the main character,” Cooper shares of the film. “I was very flattered to be asked. [Stiller’s] an actor I very much admire.” Despite her hectic schedule, Cooper would love to see an Avant family reunion. “I’ve kept in touch with Rome [Flynn, ex-Zende], Reign [Edwards, ex-Nicole] and Obba [Babatundé, Julius]. I talk to them quite frequently. I still get a lot of fans tweeting at me asking, ‘Where’s Sasha? What’s she up to?’ and I tell them, ‘I’d love to come back guys, but it’s not up to me.’ But what I love most about soaps is, you just never know.”
ALL TALK
Freddie Smith (Sonny, DAYS) and longtime girlfriend Alyssa Tabit have started a podcast, THE FREDDIE & ALYSSA SHOW. “We have a very creative title. You can see we thought outside the box!” he cracks. “We have episodes out on iTunes, and then we also record them while we’re filming the podcast and we put them on YouTube, as well. This way, if someone wants to watch it they can, or if they just want to listen to it while they’re working out or driving or whatever, they have the option of audio and video.” The actor is hoping to make a lasting impression on their listeners. “We’re just going to bring on a bunch of really cool guests with all different backgrounds and stories,” Smith shares. “Our main goal is just to leave people with more value than they came in with, and maybe something that will open someone’s mind to think about new ideas and new opinions. We just want to use it as a platform to have this talk about positivity. I think if we can all come together as a community and work out problems together, it can make the world a better place.” Mixing business and pleasure has not been a problem for the duo. “We get along very well. We share the same beliefs and ideas, and we respect each other so much, so it’s kind of cool that we get to sit down and be able to pass the ball back and forth. It helps because I would probably never shut up if it was just me!”