What type of soap characters are you most attracted to?

[detroitpiston]

I've always had a thing for bad girls. Especially blonde and tall bad girls. Hence the banner and avatar LOL.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Any character, as long as they're written for properly.

I've loved villain/vilainesses, heroes/heroines, gray characters, and just about every other type of character out there. I think it all goes back to the writing and even the acting.

If any type of character is forced down our throats, written out of character, and is just way too inconsistent, it will be hard to the audience to accept.

The talent of an actor or actresses can even make or break a character, IMO.

[MTSRocks]

I've always been more attracted to the female characters rather than the males. Personally, as bad as the writing for their characters can be, I always find them the most fascinating to watch. Male characters rarely intrigue me, and are so bland. The last time I fully enjoyed a male character was in 2006 Y&R's Jack Abbott, but the show as a whole was dreadful. I don't have specific preferences for characters, sometimes I like well played over-the-top divas or subdued (yet intriguing). Overall, I love a character that is complex, has nuances, and always keeps you guessing. That's why Roger Thorpe on "Guiding Light" was such a great character, played by an equally terrific actor. The relationship between Roger and Holly Norris was far more layered, and intriguing than that of Luke and Laura IMO.

[DeeeDee]

Amen.

[JackPeyton]

the bad girls. the ones who say what they think and do what it takes to get what they want.

the real guys - like nick and daniel on yr; dillion n lucky on gh.

[Toups]

Character types that will most likely get me to watch:

Larger than life villains like Stefano Dimera, James Stenbeck, Helena Cassadine

Sexy villainess like Clare Devine (Hollyoaks)

Schemers like 90's Sami Brady, Vivian Alamain, Kristen Blake, Matt Clarke

Psychos like Sheila Carter, Annie Dutton

Evil Twins like Derrick Evans

Hmmm....I see a trend. LOL

DP, Annalynne McCord was born to play a sexy bad girl.

[Dan]

I was just thinking that. I'd take any character that was well written. The kind that when you watch, you can tell that the writer has taken the time to get inside the character's head and planned it out instead of relying on general archetypes.

I hate to reuse someone's example, but take Roger Thorpe. He was a wonderful character because he often defined labelling. Sure he was a villian, but he genuinely cared for Holly, despite their complicated and violent history and was truly remorseful about what had gone down between them. We also felt his pain when he dealt with a father who always made him feel inadequate. We felt his love for Blake and Hart and we knew that he would do anything for his children.

A character should be like an onion. The further you get to the heart of a character, the more layers you encounter. Because very few of us are complete saints or sinners.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

^ I agree, Roger Thorpe will probably go down in soap opera history as the most complex and interesting character.

As far as I'm concerned, Michael Zaslow is the greatest actor to ever grace daytime television.

[Queen]

I love a heroine. But not a weepy one or a beggar. I love one who is strong and complex and good natured but not afraid to fight dirty to get what she wants.

[S&BFanForLife]

Male: I like them to have a mix of crazy/sexy/great acting.....Rick Hearst (Ric, GH)

Female: A combination of sexy/bitchy/heart of gold/great acting....Kirsten Storms (Maxie, GH)

[Juliajms]

Schemers for sure. I love Scotty Baldwin (back when he actually had a story). He and Lucy were great.

[CassieFan]

I love the "good girls" as Georgie Jones, Cassie Newman ecc.

Hate the "good girls" as Shrewlu Spencer.

Love the sassy-brassy girls like Cassie Brady.

[quartermainefan]

Ruthless billionaires.

Palmer Cortlandt

Asa Buchanan

Edward Quartermaine

Adam Chandler

Victor Kiriakis

It sucks soaps have sort of gotten away from the archetype.

[MoTheGreat]

I agree!

Also for me if I feel they miscast a role from the very start. It because very distracting for me after a while I'll just stop watching the soap all together. So I don't have to watch the miscast.

[Graciecat]

I'm pretty consistent in my taste.

For men, I always favor smart guys over hunks. My favorite male characters of all time are Lucky Spencer (original version), Adam Chandler, Ric Lansing, and Stefan Cassadine. They differ in many ways, but all were or are very smart, and have a dark side. That isn't to say that they are all bad guys- I think Lucky 1.0 is one of the most moral characters ever written- but they are all very capable of brooding, and seem to struggle with themselves more than most other characters.

For women, I love high-energy characters, or smart women. The latter is pretty rare on daytime, but I would put two of my favorites, Alexis Davis and Liza Colby, into this category. While both have made some atrociously stupid mistakes, I felt that both actresses really brought an intelligence to their portrayal of the characters that matters more to me than that the character make good choices.

High-energy characters basically refers to Lucy Coe and Maxie Jones. Maxie has always struck me as Lucy's successor, and I love them both dearly.

I would also say that acting is much more important to me than writing. Ric Lansing has been one of the worst written characters in daytime history from his arrival. And Liza, Alexis, Adam, and Stefan have all been written pretty horribly at one time or another. But all of the actors did their jobs with such conviction that I was willing to forgive the characters anything.