| THE BABES OF BAY CITY |
| AW's Greatest Gal Pals Dish ... Everybody |
|
JENSEN BUCHANAN currently plays Vicky/Marley on AW, used to play Sarah Gordon Buchanan on ONE LIFE TO LIVE and is expecting a baby with hubby Gray O'Brien. JUDI EVANS plays Paulina on AW, used to play Beth Raines on GUIDING LIGHT and Adrienne Kiriakis on DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Evans is engaged to Michael Luciano. COLLEEN DION plays Brett on AW, used to play Evie on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, Cecelia on LOVING and Felicia Forrester on BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL. Dion is married to Steven Jensen. They took a break from their holiday shopping to chat. Let the games begin. Soap Opera Digest: Which man in your soap past was your favorite? Jensen Buchanan: Bob Woods [Bo] on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Colleen Dion: I'd have to say Todd McKee [ex-Jake, B&B]. Judi Evans: Wally Kurth [ex-Justin, DAYS; Ned, GENERAL HOSPITAL], definitely. Colleen: I love Wally Kurth! I requested him to be my love interest on B&B. I did! But he was already on GH. Jensen: You know what I like about him? He has qualities that are appealing to women but not threatening to men. Judi: He's gentle, but manly. And he sings! He can be a friend to a woman without being a man. Jensen: So it's a Wally Kurth kind of fest, here. Digest: Everyone would like to work with Wally Kurth? Jensen: Absolutely. We're all available. Digest: Who do you lust after on AW? (All three in unison): Julian McMahon! Judi: He's a really good guy, very talented. And look at him. What a god, huh? I saw him in Speedos. Colleen: Yes, he's gorgeous and everything and his personality is so adorable. Doesn't he just take you in? Digest: Isn't he engaged to Dannii Minogue? Jensen: Yeah. She's gorgeous and tiny and they're very happy together. Judi: Good for them. Digest: Who else can we talk about? How about Tom Eplin [Jake]? Judi: Tom can be your best friend for life, but he also can be moody. Let's talk about Jake here, okay? Jensen: Otherwise, you'd have to print "No comment. No comment. No comment." Judi: He can be the most loving man one minute and the most difficult the next. And you're just along for the ride--you're on a roller coaster and you didn't buy the ticket. The good thing about him is that when he is on, he really makes you work. Honey, he puts you through things in a scene...you better be able to push just as hard. If he feels he has the upper hand... Jensen (interrupting): ...he'll take advantage of it. But his pushing you makes for a really great scene. Judi: So you've got to fight him. But that brings out an interesting part of your own acting. Jensen: That's a lot of what I think Jake and Paulina are about. Judi: Yeah, it is. He's helped me a great deal. Colleen: When I first started on the show, I was really nervous because I had never had so much dialogue in my life. The difference between a half hour show and an hour show is unbelievable. On B&B, we rehearsed all the time. I'd be in John McCook's [Eric] dressing room and we'd all be running our lines all the time. [Judi and Jensen are laughing.] I noticed that on AW, people don't like to run lines as much. So I was flipping out, wondering, "How am I going to remember all my dialogue?" and Tom came into the rehearsal hall and rehearsed with me. I thought that was really nice. Digest: Talk about your first soap roles. Colleen: I played Evie Stone on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW and I was really bad. Really, really bad. I was involved with Jeffrey Meek [ex-Quinn], but I was too bad. Jensen: You were bad? So was I when I started. Judi: I won an Emmy after eight months. [She laughs. Evans won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1984 for her portrayal of Beth on GL.] Jensen: I walked into my first scene on OLTL and my arm went forward at the same time my leg went forward and I went, "Hello, Clint. I'm Gordon." And [Clint Ritchie, who plays Clint] stopped cold, like, "Uck, what is this?" Digest: Who gave you the best acting advice back then? Jensen: Probably Jessica Tuck [ex-Megan]. She just said, "Get smart." I think we really taught each other a lot. She helped me with things I was lacking, like self-confidence. And I think maybe there was a certain softness in her life that she was lacking, that maybe I taught her a little bit about. Digest: Do you talk to her now? Jensen: No. I asked her to be in my wedding and she didn't come. I think somehow or somewhere we'll run into each other and talk. I would have definitely gone to her wedding. Judi: You're on a show and you make all these great friends, and then you leave and it's just hard to keep in touch. Your best friend is your dressing room mate. Jensen: That's what Jessica and I were, dressing room mates. Judi: And you leave the show and some people go, "What's with her?" Digest: Do you miss the friendships? Jensen: It's more like you moved on to something else. Judi: I was really close to Tina Sloan [Lillian] when I was on GL. She lived through a lot of s--- with me and really stood by me. And then I moved out to L.A. [to do DAYS] and I never called her. I see her at functions and I say, "I'll call you!" but I never do. Digest: Why don't you? Judi: 'Cause I'm busy and I forget. I'll be honest. Since Michael walked into my life... Jensen: I remember talking to my mom about friends coming in and out of your life and my mom said, "I'm not a soap opera actress, but I've had friends that have been a big part of my life during a certain period and then not a part of my life anymore." It's true. You move on and it's never the same. Colleen: I think things happen for a reason. Digest: Who is the most surprising person you've dated? Colleen: Alec Baldwin. Judi: What? Are you kidding? Jensen: She's making it up. Colleen: And his brother, too. Billy. Jensen: Now I know she is making it up. Judi: How was Alec? Colleen: He was great. Don't print that. [Laughs] Print he was nice. It was when he was doing that movie with Kevin Bacon, She's Having A Baby. Alec dated a lot of soap opera actresses. He went out with Holly Gagnier [ex-Cassie, OLTL], Noelle Beck [ex- Trisha, LOVING] and Susan Walters [ex-Lorna, LOVING]. He came to visit the [LOVING] set and I met him. Jensen: While he was dating one of them? Colleen: I don't remember. Digest: Do you still talk to him? Colleen: He actually was doing Garry Shandling's show and my friend does the lighting and said, "My best friend is Colleen Dion," and he said, "Tell her I say hello." Alec used to say he would give me money to have his baby. Judi: NO WAY! Colleen: He really wanted me to have a baby. Digest: How much money? Colleen: I don't know. For all I know, it could have been a joke. Digest: Who do you want to be paired with on the show? Colleen: Maybe Matt Crane [Matthew]? Jensen: Matt is one of the sexiest guys on our show. I wish they would start looking at this guy like a man. He looks like a boy in our opening credits... Judi: ...playing the drums like he was 12 years old. Colleen: He is so sexy. He gets that look in his eye and you know exactly what he is thinking. Judi: Like he wants to sleep with you. Colleen: Exactly! Jensen: He never looks at me like that. Judi: Don't feel bad. Jensen: When I first joined the show, it seemed clear to me that Marley should be with Matt--an older woman/younger man thing. I planted a seed in everyone's mind and finally I went into [Executive Producer] Michael Laibson's office and I threw myself on the floor. I was like, "Okay, am I too old? Is that it?" At Ada's [the late Constance Ford] funeral, I was so moved by Matt's scenes. He was close with Connie. Digest: Let's do some word association. Paul Michael Valley [Ryan]? Jensen: He's a sweetheart and a fellow cheesehead. Judi: He wouldn't harm a flea even if it bit him on the butt. Digest: Mark Pinter [Grant]? Judi: Love him. Jensen: Mark Pinter is the best. He totally got himself into the Switzerland storyline, even though it was at the expense of his character. Digest: Tell me the most unbelievable thing that's ever happened to you working in daytime. Jensen: [To Judi, laughing.] You want to take that? Judi: Um ...alright. Call him an unnamed actor on another show, okay? I was running lines with this unnamed actor on another show in his dressing room, and he goes into the bathroom while we're still running lines. He comes out with [his pants down] and he says, "So, baby, what do you think?" His pants are at his thighs! I could not believe it! [Evans responded to this actor with a very humorous but unprintable remark.] He did not speak to me ever again. He cut my lines when I worked with him, and he totally denied me any kind of respect. Even though he was married he used to tell all the extras: "I'm a big star. Come to my dressing room and I'll get you on the show ." These girls were so stupid. And I used to tell them, "You better get him checked first." He's nowhere now. Jensen: Is that unbelievable? Colleen: Check, please. # |
SOAP OPERA DIGEST