Outgoing GH star Steve Burton: 'I’m Going To See What Other Doors Are Open Out There!'
Steve Burton shared his thoughts about leaving GENERAL HOSPITAL in a new interview.
"I've grappled with the decision for a long time," Burton says. "You know, it's hard to even really talk about it because I’ve been there for twenty-one years and it's been such a blessing to be able to have a job that long. I think the door is open. I’m just going to see what other doors are open out there.”
Burton, the businessman, has invested in a Chicago beer bar and a studio city gourmet pizza restaurant.
Plus, he's working on a new novela with former GH executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and guest star James Franco. He also wants to produce and direct. And his band, Port Chuck?
“Port Chuck is going to live on,” Burton assures. “We're going to go out on the road, actually, in February for another, I think, fourteen cities in fourteen days. We're going to go crazy.”
Burton knows his final days will be tough.
“I guess it would be easier to say, ‘I’m leaving,’ and then be gone and not have to be there for another month, you know? And drive onto the lot and do those things that you're used to doing every single day that now I’m going to have time to think, ‘Hey, I’m not going to be driving on this lot again.’ You know? And I just definitely have a different perspective going to work.” he goes on to say,
“I'll find myself getting, like now… it'll be hard.”
"I had met Brandon a few times through a mutual friend and knew, without a doubt, that he was perfect to play Carl Bakely. We were looking for someone that was, obviously, a great actor, but also someone who could pull off the nuance of the character. Carl is a flawed man. He is arrogant, charming, loving, unfaithful and idealistic. We needed an actor that could give a period appropriate performance, show the arc of a man who loves his wife and had the best of intentions for their marriage but who succumbed to the pressure of the times and lost his way. In fact, watching Brandon on GENERAL HOSPITAL is a huge part of what sold me on him. Johnny can be arrogant but also self-deprecating. He is extremely charismatic, but there is a vulnerability to him that makes your heart bleed. Johnny Zacchara is a modern day Carl, again, minus the mob affiliation!"
Susan Lucci knows more than a thing or two about scandal.
The soap opera star played legendary seductress Erica Kane on ABC’s “All My Children” for more than 30 years, taking her character on a roller coaster ride of failed marriages, adulterous trysts and even a stint in prison.
That’s why La Lucci is the perfect host for Investigation Discovery’s new crime series “Deadly Affairs,” which reenacts real-life salacious cases of sex, scandal and murder that have been ripped from the headlines. Sound familiar?
“They’re the kind of crimes that take your breath away,” Lucci told the Track. “Real life love triangles. They’re crimes of passion... The idea that you never know what happens behind closed doors.”
Clearly, the soap opera stalwart was the only woman for the job. In fact, when the head of Investigation Discovery came to Susan with the show’s written proposal, he had interspersed photos of Erica Kane’s biggest scandals in all the pages!
“The photos had me in jail, and with blood in my hands,” Susan laughed, recalling some of Erica Kane’s greatest hits.
In real life, there’s not so much that’s scandalous about Susan. In fact, she’s been married to Helmut Huber, an Austrian businessman, since 1969.
“I got lucky,” she said.
Patrick Muldoon had his brains sucked out by a bug-eyed alien in "Starship Troopers," and perhaps more appealing he's been both a kindly heartthrob, Austin Reed on "Days of Our Lives," and an evil heartthrob, Richard Hart on "Melrose Place."
Shirtless scenes on soap operas require attention, but Muldoon sees more than body sculpting in his fitness routines.
We all know the chiseled physique from daytime TV, but when did this all start? Were you active as a child?
I grew up in a family of lifeguards. My father was a lifeguard before becoming an attorney. I used to play under his tower in Cabrillo beach in San Pedro. My grandfather was a lifeguard too, and I spent so much time on the beach. All the guys there were big into weightlifting; it was such a competitive athletic environment for me to grow up in, and it rubbed off.
You had an impressive football career as well. Tell me about that.
I started playing football at the age of 6 and absolutely fell in love with it. I went on to play high school football at Loyola, which was a really big football school, then I went to USC to play for the Trojans, and I did fairly well for being a smaller tight end. I was 210 pounds, and without the extra weight I got run over in college. I was competitive, but for scouting I was always up against Junior Seau in the linebacker position, and I wasn't competitive against that guy. He ran over me a lot and it got me thinking I wasn't big enough for this, so I ended up going into acting.
Your "Days of Our Lives Character" was a boxer. Is this art imitating life?
Yeah, they'll write a character and incorporate things about the actor. Austin Reed is a musician and a boxer, and [I] dabbled in both of those things.
I got into boxing and martial arts because after football you go through a bit of a depression. Once football is over, it's over forever, and I really missed having a sport, having something competitive to do. My father and grandfather both did a bit of boxing, and Muhammad Ali was my idol, so I bounced from gym to gym and started picking things up.
In one of the "Days of Our Lives" episodes I boxed against a real professional boxer who was the nephew of Tim Witherspoon, who was heavyweight champion of the world for a while. It definitely made for more realistic scenes in the show.
And it's grown from there, hasn't it? You're getting more and more into combat sports.
I'm back into Krav Maga after some years off. It's not really a martial art but is a combat system created by the Israeli army. It's full body, so you need to know things like jiujitsu and kickboxing. I've been working with Darren Levine in L.A.
I go in spurts. I like to switch things up every couple of months so I don't get bored and to give that part of my body a rest. I'll hit boxing hard for two months and then switch to Krav Maga, then I'll go into weight training for two months. I got into lifting weights mostly for football. It's hard for me to lift weights for cosmetic reasons. For me weights always had to have some kind of athletic purpose.
Did those shirtless scenes motivate you to work out on days you don't want to?
Yeah, but that motivation is mainly fear. Fear can be a great motivator. When you get a script and it says "five days from now Austin takes his shirt off," fear is the motivator. So you'll be hitting your gut and training hard, but it's also a wake-up call to diet.
I don't get that crazy with it, though. If you maintain yourself within certain boundaries, then you don't have to do those extreme things to the body. At the base of all of this for me is that, even though I'm an actor, I'm an athlete at heart. But still, I like to enjoy myself. I love bad food, but if I have one bad day, then the next day I try to be really good. If you play you gotta pay.
When suds superstar Ronn Moss abruptly quit his role as Ridge on The Bold and the Beautiful last month, the show's exec producer Bradley Bell admits he was taken aback. But he wasted no time regrouping. Not only will Bell recast Moss's role and already has several high-profile actors in mind, he also plans to move Ridge's heartthrobby half-brother Rick (Emmy winner Jacob Young) into full Ridge mode.
"Rick is a young man sick of sitting on the sidelines and will finally come into his own," says Bell. "He'll become a passionate, sexy, driving force of the show, making a strategic play for Caroline [Linsey Godfrey] and going after Ridge's position as head of Forrester Creations."
Is this Bell's quiet revenge against Moss? If so, he denies it. "This was always my plan for Rick," Bell says. "It just works so much better now, what with Ridge going off on an extended honeymoon doing God knows what. It gives Rick a legitimate reason to take control."
Also this fall, look for yet another Emmy-bait plot for the fantastic Heather Tom. Her character, Katie, will discover how evil her hubby Bill (Don Diamont) truly is just as she's about to give birth to his son. "Katie's going to have big issues with the guy she's married to and will wonder whether or not she can share a child with him," Bell says. "She's going to have to really draw the line." Adds the boss man: "Heather may have four Emmys already but this story is really going to test her."
What about those lesbians? Bell made big news last spring with his same-sex story involving Karen and Dani, played by Joanna Johnson and Crystal Chappell, but after an intriguing start the characters went straight to the back burner. Blame it on Johnson, who grabbed a producing gig at the new CW series Emily Owens, M.D., and hasn't been available to the soap.
"Joanna will definitely be back, if only for a day or two here and there," says Bell. "And once her [Emily Owens] schedule backs off a bit I want her back for something meaty. We may not see Karen for the time being but we'll play her as if she's still around and that she and Dani are still a happy couple. [Laughs] I'm not going to have Dani go off and seduce one of our guys."
Bell surprised many when the assumed villain in the lesbian story —Karen's brother Bill — turned out to be okay with her sexuality. Karen stayed in the closet for much of her life fearing what her badass bro would think. How come he turned out to be such a pussycat?
"I originally had it written that Bill would be a real a--hole homophobe and was having a lot of fun with all the bad things he could do," says Bell. "Then I realized it made him seem really stupid and sheltered. I like that Bill was cool about Karen's secret, since he's so horrible about so much else. I liked having him come through at the end."
Was Bell worried he'd get flack from gay advocacy groups? "Not really," he says. "I think they would have stuck it out with me. There's value in having a homophobic character on the canvas to help show the reality of what gay people deal with. We can bring on other homophobes. I just didn't want it to be Bill."
"I don't know how other shows worked because "All My Children" was the only show I was on, but we were all so busy every day from year to year there was no talk of Emmy. There was only talk of running lines and if the scene worked and on to the next. It really was an ensemble of wonderful actors. I knew at the end of the day that the people I worked with and for were happy with my work. The people I respected respected me. The audience response was enormous for me all the way through, which means the world to me. For myself, as an actor, I always feel that I have more to learn and more to grow. So if I didn't win, let me go back and see if I can do better."
Kirsten Storms returned to GENERAL HOSPITAL on Wednesday as Maxie. Maxie's first line was spoken to Patrick: "This must be difficult, coming back here."
Maxie later added, "I haven't been here in a long time."
Neither had Storms, who looked fantastic in her return after a year away. Maxie was played by Jen Lilley in the interim. As much as I enjoyed Lilley's interpretation of the role, and value her being a class act in an awkward situation, Storms felt like a breath of fresh air.
Did you enjoy the return of Storms as Maxie? Watch it below.
Billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island. He has been changed by his ordeal and must hide the truth about the man he's become while making amends for the actions he took as a boy. His story drives ARROW, which premieres on October 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW. THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL's Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy) guest stars in the opener. Watch a preview of the show below:
The September 14 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine includes a story about Jane Romney, the 74-year-old sister of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Jane is an actress and longtime Beverly Hills resident. Among her credits is a role in DAYS OF OUR LIVES.
In the Summer of 1993, Jane appeared as "Miss Lee" in DAYS for eight episodes.
Jane made a splash in the news last week when she commented on her brother's stance on abortion contradicting what he's said during this year's campaign.
Mitt Romney would never make abortions illegal as president, Jane Romney said when National Journal asked her about the subject after a "Women for Mitt" event. "He's not going to be touching any of that," she said. "It's not his focus."
Does anyone remember "Miss Lee" from DAYS?
AS THE WORLD TURNS' Jake Silbermann (Noah) has made quite a career for himself on the stage after production of the soap closed down. And now, the talented actor is about to tread the boards once more in the new production of Marie Antoinette for the American Repertory Theater.
Silbermann will be portraying the role of Axel Fersen, a Swedish count who was historically alleged to be one of Marie Antoinette's lovers. The "barbed and brassy tragiocomedy" opens on Friday, September 7, and will run through Saturday, September 29, at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, MA.
Michael Clarke Duncan, 54, an Oscar-nominee for The Green Mile, passed away on Monday, September 3 at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles where he was being treated for a heart attack. Veteran B&B fans may recall Duncan's turn on the half-hour soap as "Slash," Thorne's fellow prisoner in 1995.
"Michael was a gentle giant so filled with a love for acting," Jeff Trachta (ex-Thorne) tells Soaps In Depth. "He was very excited about playing Slash. His mom was a huge B&B fan and Michael asked if I could call her and say, 'Hi.' We did from my dressing room and I remember what a nice son he was and such a kind person. I later laughed because he was asking me for any acting tips, and [in 2000] he was nominated for an Oscar! I promise nothing I said could have improved a thing. He was brilliant!"
Five years in remission after battling Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL's Linsey Godfrey (Caroline) is still doing her part to beat cancer. On October 6th, she'll participate as an "Honored Hero" in the Leukemia And Lymphoma Society's "Light The Night Walk" to help raise awareness and funding for cancer research. It's the first time the actress will participate in the event, and she's currently rallying support for her "Oh My Godfrey" team.
To find out how you can help, simply visit Godfrey's personal team Web site. "People can contribute, or join the team and come walk with me at the event," says the actress. By visiting her site, you can also read more about the Godfrey's personal fight against cancer and see pictures of her throughout the course of her treatment, including after she'd lost her hair as a result of her chemotherapy. "It's one thing for me to say I used to be sick and another thing for people to actually see it," she explains.
Godfrey hopes sharing her own experience with cancer helps encourage viewers who may be going through a similar ordeal. It's a cause that's close to her heart, not just because of her own battle, but because her step-mom also survived Hodgkins Lymphoma. "I'm five years in remission and she's eight years in remission. I'm happy to be able to celebrate her fight, as well as mine. So this is a cause that's important to me on many levels."
Fans of ONE LIFE TO LIVE will have a chance to say a final farewell to some of their favorites in October as the Loving Llanview event returns to hit three states in three days!
Scheduled to appear are Kassie DePaiva (Blair), John-Paul Lavoisier (Rex), Melissa Archer (Natalie), Hillary B. Smith (Nora), Trevor St. John (Victor) and Tuc Watkins (David).
"Loving Llanview gives us the opportunity to interact with our fans across the country," says DePaiva. "This is THE chance of a lifetime for our faithful viewers to ask us their burning questions, hear entertaining and endearing stories from on and off the set, and meet other ONE LIFE TO LIVE fans. With Loving Llanview, our fans get to know the actors in a way they never dreamed possible."
The two hour tribute event will allow fans to get up-close and personal with the actors, and will conclude with an emotional trip down memory lane as well as a chance for the fans to try and stump the actors with a trivia quiz!
Loving Llanview will be at the Stamford Center For The Arts' Palace Theater in Stamford, CT, on Friday, October 12, at 7:00 pm; the Akoo Theater in Rosemont, IL, on Saturday, October 13, at 7:00 pm; and the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, IN, on Sunday, October 14, at 2:00 pm.
The GENERAL HOSPITAL studios are in California, but some of the soap's stars are hitting the East Coast for some personal appearances!
On Saturday, September 8, Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) will be at Bamboo Bernies in Pasadena, MD. The show runs from 12:00 pm to 2:30 pm, and tickets are $60. For more information call (302) 423-5310!
Also on Saturday, September 8, Kelly Sullivan (Kate) and Jen Lilley (ex-Maxie) will be at Brokerage Entertainment Club in Bellmore, NY. The show starts at 2:00 pm, and the $67 ticket includes a meet-and-greet, autographs, photo ops and a Q&A. For more information call (516) 781-5253.
Sullivan and Lilly will then be heading to Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, on Sunday, September 9, where they will be appearing at Uncle Vinnie's at 10:00 am. Tickets are $60, and include autographs, Q&A, meet-and-greet time, and photo ops.
Scott Reeves (Steve) and Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) will be making the rounds the following weekend, with multiple appearances and different venues. On Saturday, September 15, the duo will be at Uncle Vinnie's in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ at 12:00 pm. Tickets are $70.
Later on Saturday, September 15, Reeves and Herbst will be hosting an intimate dinner at Le Boite en Bois in New York City from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm. The $200 ticket includes a three-course meal and a complimentary glass of wine. But space is limited to 50 people. Email paula@coastalentertainment.com for more information.
On Sunday, September 16, Reeves and Herbst will be appearing at Brokerage Entertainment Club in Bellmore, NY at 10:00 am. The $73 ticket includes a meet-and-greet, autographs, photo ops and a Q&A. For more information, call (516) 781-5233.
Finally, on Sunday, September 16, at 3:00 pm, Reeves and Herbst will be at Treehouse @ Marisa's in Trumbull, CT. Tickets are $65, and there is a $15 minimum for food and drink. For more information, call (203) 268-5857.
The first airdate for storylines from Jill Farren Phelps and Josh Griffith will be October 12.
Daytime Emmy winner Sharon Case (Sharon) spoke with Soap Opera Uncensored’s Nelson Branco for an intriguing interview, where Case admits the difficulties and balancing act playing Crazy Sharon, Campy Sharon, or Doormat Sharon! She also addresses her concern for all the different men that Sharon has had in her life recently, and where things stand for the future of a reconciliation for Shadam or Shick. And she takes this opportunity to address Eric Braeden’s (Victor Newman) recent comments to On-Air On-Soaps when asked what happened to the Sharon and Victor romance in which he mentioned his displeasure over a colleagues tweets on Twitter, which to many seem to implicate that he was directing that comment to his co-star Case, although Braeden never mentioned her by name.
Here are some interesting excerpts from the interview below!
Case on if she wants to integrate the different sides of Sharon Newman:
“I definitely want to integrate Crazy Sharon and All-Mighty Powerful Sharon; and I think that’s easily done. There were a few moments when Sharon was married to Jack where I got away with some campy stuff but never on a regular basis. As for my performance, I couldn’t do it without the writing. They both have to be there. The writing really backed me up. I couldn’t have gotten away with this without those lines.
Case on how she rationalized the Victor and Sharon pairing and what would motivate her character to be with a man who is the father of two of the most important men in her life and former lovers to boot!:
“When I first had a meeting about this story, I didn’t understand how I was going to sell a love story between Sharon and Victor for obvious reasons. What motivated Sharon to fall in love with Victor when she’s in love with Adam and Nick? As an actor, I couldn’t seem to get there. What I did see right away was that I could play the fact that Sharon began enjoying the power and wealth she inherited from the marriage. As long as it’s about power and revenge, it makes sense because, as an actor, I have to get from point A to point B rather reasonably in order for it to make sense! I really hope Sharon doesn’t lose everything because Victor comes back home again. We’ve all seen that happen so many times before. I’d like to see all the aggressive changes Sharon made at Newman, in terms of expanding the cosmetic company, be successful ones resulting in stock prices skyrocketing and culminating with the stockholders making her CEO. What if Sharon did take over Newman? Or has to work alongside Victor as Co-CEO? Wouldn’t that be fascinating? For once, I’d like to see Sharon not fail.”
Case addressing comments made by Eric Braeden regarding Twitter and a colleague:
“I think what Eric misunderstood and misinterpreted a tweet that someone told him about because he’s not on Twitter. My guess is that it was a misunderstanding because I would never say anything bad about Eric on Twitter. I mean, why would I? Or about anybody. I rarely voice any opinions about storyline on Twitter. What I tend to do is re-tweet one or two opinions about anything from a storyline, current events, or politics which everyone agrees on massively — whether they are negative or positive. That doesn’t mean I agree with them. I like hearing the discourse between the fans. That’s why I like Twitter. So I can’t imagine what tweet he’s referring to. You know, it’s so easy to misinterpret people’s tweets when you can only use 140 characters. Look at Michael Muhney — people are always misunderstanding his tweets! Even just last night that happened and he had to clarify his tweets. Things can be easily taken out of context, especially when you’re not reading someone’s entire timeline, etc. Twitter needs to be a bit more positive but I’m fine with people airing out their feelings. Listen, what are you going to do? It’s Twitter. It’s all just sound bytes in the end.”
Case on too many men in Sharon’s life!
” Over the year, I have expressed my concern over Sharon being paired with too many men. It waters her down. It waters everything down. But what can I do except say, “I told you so?” (Laughs)
Deidre Hall made Days of Our Lives history this week when her landmark 4,000th episode of the NBC soap aired — and we have your exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the emotional celebration that ensued for the woman behind Salem’s matriarch with the most, Marlena Evans Black.
Hall, the first Days actor to reach the major milestone, was surrounded on set Thursday by countless castmates — including Alison Sweeney (Sami) and Eileen Davidson (Kristen) — crew members and five giant cakes to commemorate her unparallelled achievement (which aired on Aug. 21).
Her character has been possessed by the devil, fallen from a 30 story window, and been married and kidnapped more times than she can remember.
Here are her eight favorite scenes, with video clips to follow:
1. Episode 4688, Tom arranges a shotgun wedding for Marlena and Eugene (Airdate: April 13, 1984):
“It’s chock full of such wonderful dynamics,” Hall recalls to EW. “Roman is meant to be underground. Everyone thought he was dead but he’s underground. Everyone was so animated and incredulous. It played like slapstick, too. It felt like we were in a different genre, like a sitcom. And what was funny was that Eugene didn’t mind marrying Marlena so much.”
2. Ep. 6858, Stella spikes Marlena’s drink at Wings (Sept. 18, 1992):
“We don’t get to play a lot of those scenes, when we get to cut loose and do comedy. We have so much fun. We talked a lot about how the audience will love this. Those moments we created weren’t in the script.”
3. Ep. 6954, John and Marlena finally make love — on a plane (Feb. 4, 1993):
“We shot that all in one day. Once again, it was about listening to your audience and knowing how badly they wanted that scene to happen. We did this scene several times and after the last time we thought, gosh we nailed it. Then the producer came onto the floor and said, ‘quick [messing] around with this. I want to see abandon out there!’ Drake [Hogestyn] and I looked at each other. We hadn’t played like that before. We feel so safe with one another. So we did it one more time. I couldn’t stop crying when the scene was over. It felt like a completely different dance. There was no technique to it.”
4. Ep. 7515, a possessed Marlena seduces John (April 26, 1995):
“It was a blatant seduction. We felt it from the audience — do it! Don’t do it! Don’t kiss her! They want each other so bad but she’s the devil! In playing the scene, I got to be suggestive and seductive and inappropriate in a lovely, innocent way.”
5. Ep. 9791, Hattie Adams (Hall) returns to Salem for two episodes (Feb. 24, 2004):
”I see a through-line with my scenes. They were such alive moments! I had so dang much fun doing that. What you don’t get to see in some of those scenes are the moments that are not on camera. I spit gum and it hit Peter [Reckell] on the face. I was doing whatever crazy stuff I could think of. I said ‘Peter, I may spit on you,’ and he replied, ‘I don’t think so.’ When the moment came, I spit a wad on his face and it stuck to his forehead. I thought we would both wet our pants.”
6. Ep. 10606, John and Marlena on the beach (July 4, 2007).
“I just looked good in it.”
7. Ep. 10678, John dies with Marlena, family and friends present (Oct. 17, 2007):
“I was kind of alone out there in this scene. Usually Drake and I can play off of each other — he’ll lovingly pet my face. But he couldn’t do anything. That scene was so quiet, you can feel other people’s heartbeats in the room. It’s a real ensemble performance. I believe in letting go of people who need to leave. The audience feels Marlena releasing him. It was an extraordinary act of love, letting him go with peace and dignity and tenderness.”
8. Ep. 11002, John and Marlena wed before leaving for Switzerland (Jan. 23, 1009):
”We had been let go, and it was quite a shock to us. There was a sudden need to wrap up our characters and get them out of there. We were gonna walk off the set and never come back. That’s how it went for us. John was paralyzed. He couldn’t hold me, he couldn’t stand up. This was not what the audience would have written. It was just like the airplane scene. We did it our way. Bless his heart, Drake, all he could do was speak and tear up.”
Deidre Hall (Marlena) got a huge surprise at the Days of Our Lives studio, when she and her fellow cast mates were called on stage on Thursday, August 23, 2012. Turned out the gang was summoned together to celebrate a milestone: Hall's 4000th episode as Days' Marlena.
Hall reported the news on Facebook, noting that she originally thought the gathering was called to announce the soap had been renewed.
"As I entered the stage and saw Greg (Meng, Days' co-executive producer), I was even more convinced," posted Hall. "Until, that is, I saw the 4000 cake and cast and crew looking at me! Stunning and a complete surprise. Photos to come."
Hall got yet another surprise when she returned to her dressing room and found a beautiful bouquet of flowers with a card attached "that said, 'Congratulations on 4000 episodes. A huge accomplishment for an even larger talent. Sincerely, Schuyler.'"
That's Schuyler as in Schuyler Yancey, who plays Cameron.
Hall was understandably touched and impressed.
"Class shows!" she posted.
Days of Our Lives’ Nicole finds herself blessed with yet another miracle pregnancy. But based on the character’s track record – and the writers penchant for making Nicole suffer - does anyone actually believe she’ll end up with a beautiful, healthy baby? Actress Arianne Zucker discusses Nicole’s baby mama drama and the differences playing it now that she’s a real-life mother. Plus, she reveals her thoughts on those hot pregnancy sex scenes with Shawn Christian’s Daniel.
When you found out Nicole was pregnant again, did one part of you go, “Oh great, she’s having a baby,” while another part of you went, “Oh great, I’m going to have to play another miscarriage?”
(Laughs.) Yes. But you know what? We don’t know if she’s having a miscarriage, yet. I was thrilled that they wanted to give me another pregnancy, as much as I don’t want to wear that fake baby belly. This character has been longing for a child for so long... I love the torture, and I love the drama.
It’s good that you love the torture, because the writers are constantly making Nicole suffer.
They are, and I don’t know why. Well, it’s great drama. That’s why we watch TV. We love the human interaction. You hear these stories, and you’re affected by them.
Would you like to see Nicole actually have this child?
I would. It would be awesome. I love working with the kids on set. If and when Nicole does have a child, I think it will turn her into a different woman. When she’s around Sydney or around any of those kids, she’s a different person. Of course, as soon as they go, she starts screwing up her life, but that’s just her.
If Nicole does end up losing this baby, would playing it be more difficult for you now that you have a child in real life?
Oh yes. It definitely would be. When Nicole lost the baby the first time, I only lived off my best friend’s [experience]. She had two miscarriages, and I was really in the room with her, feeling her pain. And I am definitely a person who feels other people’s pain to a fault. But now that I have my own baby... There is just this mother hen, this lioness in me, who will literally knock anything out of the way to keep my child from getting hurt. Now that I know what that feels like, I would really be able to relate it to my character.
What was your and Shawn Christian’s reaction, when you read that Nicole and Daniel were going to embark on an affair, while Nicole was with child? Did either of you laugh about it?
I did. I was like, “We’re going to have what?” But Shawn is such a great actor, and he works really hard. We thought, How can we make this justifiable? I know there were a lot of fans who were like, “Ewwww! That’s gross.” But you make love to your husband, when you’re pregnant. Don’t you?
But that’s different, isn’t it?
Is it? You don’t know how people are going to react in the world. There are men that love pregnant women in real life. So it might be disgusting to a woman, but not necessarily to a man. Some men might think it’s beautiful.
You have chemistry with every actor they’ve ever put you with -- from John Aniston (Victor) to James Scott (EJ). What’s your secret?
You have to fall in love with the [other actor’s] qualities. Not for real, but... I find a quality in each of them. With John, he’s so endearing, because of his dry sense of humor. You have to love that. You also play each relationship differently. Like Galen Gering (Rafe) and I tried to find the lightness in our relationship, the friendship. We tried to bring laughter to it. With Brady, it’s that he’s so freakin’ trustworthy and he puts up with Nicole’s [crap]. With Daniel, it’s a sense of truth. And with EJ it’s all sexual.
The doctor told Erin and Ryan that Jonathan had a massive brain tumor. Zach was against Kendall and Greenlee's plan. Tad brought Di to Julia. Zach urged Babe to search for Di's letter. Babe and Julia prowled the tunnels of Chandler Mansion each unaware of the other's presence. Erica's first episode is wildly popular. Zach told Kendall she would be unable to give Ryan's baby to Greenlee. Greenlee underwent the first procedure in the process. Ryan and Erin waited during Jonathan's surgery. Ryan told Erin about Greenlee. Ryan ran into an old enemy who threatened to expose Ryan's secret. Zach confided in Myrtle who thought there was more to the story. Erica wrapped up her first episode. Kendall and Greenlee became more friendly towards each other. Reggie was cold to Danielle. Tad confronted Di with the letter she wrote. Julia spied on Tad and Di. Del promised to help Di. JR was confused when he caught Babe snooping in the mansion. Mimi confronted Aidan. Amanda made a horrifying discovery. Reggie reached out to Danielle.
Dusty told Hal about Jen's crystal meth addiction. Jen quit Street Jeans to team up with Barbara. We learn that Iris is Gwen's mother. Mike and Katie learn about Henry's deception so they threw him out. Keith and Luke go missing in Mexico while Lucinda tells Lily about Keith's job.
Brooke started to see Dante, so that both Nick and Bridget would see that she had moved on with her life. Ridge learned from Taylor, that Thomas and Gaby had consummated their marriage, leaving Agent Dunn unable to do anything about Gaby's green card. An attorney that Gaby brought in told everyone that being 18 years of age, claiming to be in love, married, and having consummated their marriage, made it legal in the eyes of the law. Taylor and Ridge continued to disagree about the way that Taylor handled things. Taylor found herself with a new friend in Hector. Dante called Brooke for another date, but told her that he was aware of what she was trying to do for her daughter. Bridget set up a dinner date as a celebration for Dante and Brooke and Nick and herself. Hector told Taylor that she needed to do something other than waste her life sitting around and waiting for Ridge. Ridge told his son and Gaby that he was going to have their marriage annulled. Sally offered Thomas and Gaby a way out of their situation. Jackie and Eric grew closer. Dante did what Brooke asked of him, knowing that Nick was being hurt further. Nick finally relented and went on to reconnect with Bridget and make love to her.
Brady and Chloe celebrated the wedding of their dreams with family and friends, while Sami and Lucas looked forward to their soon to be wedding providing Kate and Tony did not reveal to Roman, Lucas, Will and the rest of Salem Sami's dirty deeds as "Stan the man." John made headway with Marlena by putting Dr. Alex North in his place; much to Alex's displeasure with losing ground on his mystery laden plot to wreck what appears to be more Salem lives. Marlena helped Belle admit her feelings for Shawn and Belle and later admitted to Shawn that she still loved him. Abby questioned Jack about pushing Jennifer and Frankie together; meanwhile, Max got some conscience and tried to do the right thing by Chelsea. Bo and Billie struggled with their parenting skills toward new found daughter, Chelsea. Bonnie pushed Mimi at Shawn while Mimi called Belle a common whore and home wrecker by keeping both Philip and Shawn on a string and for not allowing Shawn to move on with his life with her ex best friend.
Liz agrees with Jax that shared custody is the best option but Lucky continues to have concerns. Nik and Courtney's determination to not hide their relationship has consequences when they bump into Michael and Emily outside of Kelly's. Michael is not happy with his aunt and lets her know it. Ric, still recovering from his gunshot wound, decides to set up a meeting with Manny Ruiz with terrible results. Jason reacts out of instinct and kills Manny's goons while Ric shoots Manny at point blank range. Sonny remains unaware of how far Ric has gone in the name of trying to protect his brother. After Sonny and Jason are brought in for questioning in the shooting, Ric goes to the police station to represent them. After Sonny and Jason are released, Ric collapses. His wound has apparently reopened. Reese's behavior towards Ric has Alexis questioning the nature of their relationship. Reese is livid when Alexis shares her concerns with Sonny. Carly's mental health continues to deteriorate. She is convinced that Sonny has asked her to marry him and is secretly planning their wedding.
Reva and Josh, though separate, agreed together to be Godparents to Hope, and later Josh played a little game with Reva that stirred a little jealousy for her Bud. Dinah figured out Edmund's sick plan and that he stole Michelle's baby making Cassie believe it was theirs. Edmund continued to manipulate everyone and everything around him in order to win back Cassie. Michelle's maternal instincts as well as a vision from Maureen had her convinced that her baby didn't die, and Marina's cop instincts were also working overtime when she had a sense that someone else was at the accident scene when Michelle went into labor. Lizzie was out to get Beth and Alan for messing with her life with Coop. India returned to Spaulding for the vote on CEO and gave Alan fair warning. Harley, in attempt to help Gus get elected as the new CEO at Spaulding, ended up winning the vote herself and what a payback to Alan.
Layla and Antonio moved in together and impressed the social worker. Rex helped Adriana decrypt a file that Dorian had copied from Spencer's computer. John and Natalie continued to grow closer. Kelly told Kevin that Spencer had spoken of a technique that would allow her to have a child - but she left out the risks she'd encounter. Todd pretended to reach out the Margaret after she started terrorizing Starr - but the ruse soon turned lethal.
Theresa searched Gwen and Rebecca's bedrooms for evidence that they sent the story of Ethan's paternity to the tabloids and found some disks hidden in one of Rebecca's dressers. Gwen grabbed them out of Pilar's hands and dumped them into the basement incinerator after bragging to Theresa that they had sent the story to set her up. Theresa told Ethan, Gwen said she was protecting her mother's privacy because the disks contained images of Rebecca's sexploits, Ivy backed her up to discredit Theresa even though she hadn't witnessed the incident. Eve's trial began and a no holds barred prosecutor with a "Legal TV" court show bombarded the jury with innuendo, and character assassination. Julian begged Eve to leave the country with him to avoid going to jail and she finally assented. After they overheard the prosecutor give Eve a ridiculous pea bargain of 45 years in jail and then pull the deal off the table, Rebecca and Liz reveled in getting what they both wanted, though Liz began to have suspicions about Rebecca's innocence in the matter. Alistair recruited a glum Fancy (because Noah dumped her) to date Edmund Sinclair, the grandson of a competitor, so he could get insider information in order to merge with and then take over Sinclair Industries. Fancy found much to her dismay, that though Edmund was of the wealthy country club set, he was an old chum of Noah Bennett, worshipping the ground Noah walks on, so she ditched him and went home only to find that Alistair meant for her to marry Edmund soon to secure the merger. Sheridan kept finding reasons to distrust Chris and his Witness Protection story, but he kept finding ways to allay her fears that he was really working for her father. Fox called Kay to his Crane Industries office to ask her to be his executive assistant. She finally agreed, but Ivy overheard the exchange and wanting to poison the relationship between Fox and Kay, told Chad's assistant, Valerie, to watch out for Kay since she'd stab her in the back in order to move up the corporate ladder.
Ashley accused Michael of keeping information about "Terrible Tom" from her, which could have brought harm to her and her daughter. Brenda (Sheila) convinced "Terrible Tom" to join forces with her, in getting even with people who have hurt them. Brittany brought Joshua home from the hospital, much to Jill's consternation, but Jill later found herself bonding with the baby. Michael apologized to John for betraying his trust, and hopes that John and the future will put them on solid ground again. "Terrible Tom" extorted more money from Gloria, a payment he felt he was owed for saving her marriage, plus a trip for 2 via first class to Las Vegas and cash to spend. Lauren returned home from her trip to find a special surprise waiting, her son Scott. Jennifer Mitchell (Sheila) saved Gloria from another sticky situation with Ashley. Brenda joined Scott in Genoa City. Lauren planned a dinner party in Scott's honor. JT suggested to Mac that she work with him for Paul, since her deal to buy the coffeehouse had apparently fallen through. JT tried to calm Nikki down after she experienced what he thought was a panic attack. Scott cancelled his dinner date with Brenda (Sheila) to attend a dinner party his Mother had planned. Yolanda received a lecture, a lesson and some good advice from Neil, about her future. Sharon reversed her decision, and decided to sell the coffeehouse to Kevin and Mac. Sheila managed to get herself hired by Gina while disguised as Jennifer Mitchell. Mac told Kevin that he was now part owner of the coffeehouse. Victoria told Brad that she was unhappy about his holding stock in an opposition company, which Brad said was none of her concern, and that he would not be persuaded to sell it. JT told Mac about his new job offer. Sharon told Victor and Nikki that she agreed to sell the coffeehouse to Mac and Kevin. Sheila reported to work the night of the dinner party for Scott. Gina, several times during Scott's party, had to tell her to take care of other tables. Gloria, coughing, looks up to see Jennifer, the woman she met at "Terrible Tom's" hotel. Sheila made a grab for Gloria.
Monday ("The Moment")
EJ interrupts Sami and Rafe's important conversation; Melanie talks to Abigail about Chad's marriage proposal.
Tuesday ("Going Forward")
Nick is pleasantly surprised when Caroline offers him a job at the pub; Nicole gives Jennifer a stern warning.
Wednesday ("The Love Triangle")
Rafe tries to get Sami to cancel her date with EJ; Sonny opens up to Adrienne about his feelings for Will.
Thursday ("The Kiss")
Sami is stunned when Rafe kisses her; Chad asks EJ to be his best man.
Friday ("EJ Looks to Get Even")
EJ is angry after Sami cancels their date; Nicole tries to drive a wedge between Daniel and Jennifer.
9/10
Jason and Elizabeth inch closer to learning the truth about Sam's baby;
Jason is determined to learn to truth before its too late.
Sonny and Jax figure out Jerry's next move.
While everyone starts getting optimistic, Jerry still has another trick up his sleeve.
Shawn reveals a piece of paper stolen from Jerry.
Sonny and Jax are livid when Todd’s actions may have put everyone in more danger.
9/11
Patrick stuns everyone in town.
Jerry pulls a gun on Jax and discloses his true intentions.
John McBain must make a life or death choice; has the fate of Port Charles in his hands.
Facing death, Johnny feels the urge to make a confession to Carly.
Monica gives Tracy some disturbing news.
Shots are fired! Will lives be lost?
9/12
After Sam shares her "What If" fantasies with Molly, her sister wants to know which man Sam would rather be with.
Elizabeth tells Steve about her feelings for Jason.
Olivia has another hallucination that proves to be an accurate premonition.
Explosions!
9/13
Carly's life spirals as she is tipped off to the secrets the men in her life have been keeping.
Michael and Starr return to Port Charles.
9/14
Starr catches Trey and Joe Jr.
Jason's latest act forces Sam to make a choice about her future.
Spinelli finally gets a hold of the answer Jason has been looking for.
(Ulterior Motive)
9/10, Bill plans a family dinner with a secret agenda; Liam is stunned by Hope's words.
(Cloning Bill)
9/11, Bill takes extreme measures in order to make Liam more like him; Rick manipulates his loved ones in order ensure the success of his plan.
(Ridge and Brooke's Wedding)
9/12, Hope finds it tough to be happy at Brooke and Ridge's wedding while Steffy and Liam are there.
(Missing Person)
9/13, One guest doesn't show up at Ridge and Brooke's wedding; Brooke and Ridge take a seventh shot at marriage.
(Rick's Plan)
9/14, Rick's attempt to win Caroline's affections ruffles Hope's feathers; Brooke and Ridge make a shocking announcement.
Can Nikki find Victor?
Will Sharon be able to convince a psychiatrist she is fit to run Newmans?
Chloe discovers Chelsea's secret
Phyllis is unnerved by Summer's accustions
Paul discovers a tape Ricky made before he died