Since there is a thread about the worst actors I thought it would be nice to counterbalance it with a thread about the best. (A little positivity is never wrong )

My choices for the soaps I watch on a somewhat regular basis are:

ATWT: Ellen Dolan. Maybe a surprising choice to many, but I think Ellen is great. She suffers from bad writing on a regular basis, like all her castmates, but she always makes it work.

Honorable mentions: Maura West, Colleen Zenk Pinter & Jon Hensley.

B&B: Susan Flannery. No surprise here. Stephanie Forrester is far from being my favorite character, but there's no denying that Susan is by far the best actor on this show. (With the exceptions of Lesli Kay and Heather Tom the competition isn't all that intimidating though.)

Honorable mentions: Lesli Kay & Heather Tom.

Y&R: Jess Walton. Again maybe not the obvious choice, but like Ellen Dolan I think Jess is a bit underrated. She always delivers, no matter how crappy the writing is.

Honorable mentions: Michelle Stafford, Peter Bergman.

AMC: Debbi Morgan, David Canary, HM: Michael E. Knight

ATWT: Colleen Zenk Pinter, Jon Hensley, HM: Maura West

B&B: Susan Flannery, John McCook, HM: Heather Tom and Rick Hearst

GH: Jane Elliot, John Ingle, HM: Nancy Lee Grahn

OLTL: Robin Strasser, Robert S. Woods, HM: Kassie DePaiva

Y&R: Jess Walton, Peter Bergman, HM: Eric Braeden

Edited October 14, 200916 yr by AdelaideCate007

Oh, this is a nicer topic, not as fun but nice.

GH

Tony Geary, Bradford Anderson, Jane Elliot, Constance Towers, Ron Hale, John Ingle

I know that is six but they all special in their own ways it would be a shame to not mention someone just because they only appear 20 episodes a year when if they appeared regularly they might show themselves as the outrighe best.(Ron Hale)

I saw in the other thread people mention Bradford Anderson as one of the worst and I just don't see how this can be. He is always in character, both physically and verbally and from awkward laughing to stuttering to stampeding out of scenes when dismissed, I find BA puts more work into his job than anyone else. He knows he is the punchline of every joke in every scene and he just knows how to work his character skills. What he does isn't easy.

I think JE, JI, CT and RH need no defense. Tony Geary still has the comedy shtick and I just find GH is a better show when Luke is on than when he is absent and left to the clutches of Claudia, Sonny and assorted mobbies.

AMC

David Canary. He is getting older but just his ability to play Adam, Stuart and Adam playing Stuart and you were able to look at his eyes and see it is Adam playing Stuart elevates him to the top til he retires.

DOOL

I don't know if I would call him the best actor (or even if I could pick one) but the one who stands out for me is John Aniston. He just rocks his role andthere is no way JA can be so cranky and mean in real life.

OLTL

Tuc Watkins is clearly the best at comedy. but so is the guy who plays Nigel and it might very well be him for all we know. Erika Slezak and Hillary B Smith used to get material with more depth but from what I see both are sort of just there these days, not really doing the kinds of stories they once did. Not sure anymore.

Edited October 14, 200916 yr by quartermainefan

On Y&R, there's no question:

OLTL: Trevor St. John, Bree Williamson, Bob Woods, Jerry verDorn, Robin Strasser, Erika Slezak, Florencia Lozano

Y&R

Beth Maitland- I agree Alphaguy. They should find a way to keep her

Jeanne Cooper and Jess Walton -solo and together.

Peter Bergman

ATWT

Maura West

Kathleen Widdoes- like the many vets on this show,Ms Widoes is not given the opportunity to show what she can do.

Ellen Dolan

Colleen Zink Pinter

with all these threads about over acting and bad acting, why not some good acting?

Who is the best of the best?

My picks-

Days- Suzanne Rogers & Peter Reckell

Days: Suzanne Rogers, the male cast is hard to choose. Most of the actors can turn in some great performances at times and at others be completely hammy or just plain boring. In all I'd probably choose, John Aniston and Peter Reckell.

ATWT: Maura West is such a vibrant force, always giving it her all no matter how bad the writing is. I'd say ATWT probably has the best cast in daytime actually. There are so many great tour-de-force performers on this show, it's kind of an embarrassment of riches.

OLTL: Robin Strasser - my favourite actress of all time, in ANY medium. I could watch her do anything, with a smile on my face. Unfortunately the male cast ain't all that, very average or slightly above average at best.

Edited October 14, 200916 yr by Amello

ATWT---Maura West, Michael Park. HM--CZP, Mick Hazen, Kathleen Widdoes, Liz Hubbard, Don Hastings and Kathy Hays.

B&B---Susan Flannery. HM--Lesli Kay.

Y&R

Contract: Jeanne Cooper & Jess Walton

HM: Peter Bergman

HM (recurring): Tracey E. Bregman & Beth Maitland

Edited October 14, 200916 yr by dmarex

DAYS: John Aniston, Renee Jones

GH: Nancy Lee Grahn

B&B: Katherine Kelly Lang, Hunter Tylo

AMC - Debbi Morgan.

DAYS - Suzanne Rogers

Y&R

Michelle Stafford

(Honorable mentions: Christian LeBlanc, Jess Walton, Greg Rikaart, Emily O'Brien)

B&B

Alley Mills

(Honorable mentions: Susan Flannery, Kyle Lowder, Heather Tom, Winsor Harmon, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood)

Y&R

Jess Walton

Jeanne Cooper

Eric Braeden

Mel Scott

Eileen Davidson

AMC

David Canary

Darnell Williams

Debbi Morgan

Michael E. Knight

Bobbie Eakes

OLTL

Robin Strasser

Erika Slezak

Bob Woods

Kassie DePaiva

HBS

Everyone's taken most of mine, but I wanted to add Kathryn Hays and Don Hastings. Don had one of the hardest roles in daytime, trying to avoid making a good, decent man into a sanctimonious hypocrite (if you think this is easy, then look at how unsuccessful poor Ray McDonnell was at this on AMC). He is understated, but when he actually GETS material, like his recent memory loss and vicious upbraiding of Allison, he knocks it out of the park.

There are some clips online of Bob and Kim in marriage counseling and you will really be amazed at how real their work is, how you feel like you are spying on a couple in a crisis.

Kathryn, she's subtle, layered, tough yet vulnerable. One of a kind.

I also have to mention Jill Larson on AMC. Her work in the Adrian storyline is some of the best I have EVER seen anywhere. Especially the scenes where she revealed her secret. Visceral.

Edited October 16, 200916 yr by CarlD2