Soap actors who never had a defining role

[prefab]

Hi! Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

This thread just reminded me of a trivia quiz I wrote recently for the trivia site Sporcle.com. I thought some of you might get a kick out of it, since it includes many of the actors who've been mentioned in this thread (and a few who haven't been mentioned yet).

Here's a link: http://www.sporcle.com/games/prefab/soapstar_roles

[Faulkner]

Took that quiz and totally blanked on Larkin Malloy. Damn.

[cityfan01]

Laura Wright's defining role was definitely Cassie. As much as I loved her on LOV/CITY, Cassie made her really grow.

I would say Amelia Heinle's defining role was Steffi. She really excelled with that character (bulimia, stalkers, assisting Gwyn Alden in suicide), and really hasn't been able to capture an audience like she did then.

[Paul Raven]

How about Mark Pinter?

He did a lot of shows and I guess you might argue that Grant on AW would probably be his best known one.

Going back,Augusta Dabney had a heap of soap roles on just about every show,yet through choice or circumstance never really had a lead role that lasted the distance.She's best known as Isabelle on Loving but that role was also played by others.

Back in the late 70's/early 80's Robert Burton went from show to show in quick succession.He was Lee on For Richer,For Poorer,Mel on The Doctors.a recast for Peter on OLTL(where he was replaced by Denny Albee)Beau Baker on Texas,the first Brian McColl on ATWT(replaced by Frank Telfer)and never took off in any of those roles.

Also Dianne Thompson Neil(aka Alexandra Neil)-Poppy on RH,Ruby on Texas(perhaps her signature role)Emily on AW,Rose on GL,Dawn on ATWT and Paige on OLTL.Not really remembered as any of these characters.

[IMissAremid]

Another name to throw out there:

Tamara Braun.

[y&r_fan]

Felicia and Kristen were their defining roles.

On B&B she is Brooke Logan's sister, one of the most featured characters and a huge part of why B&B got its first Drama Series Emmy. Sounds pretty defining to me.

[Cheap21]

go tell that to the people in the Y&R thread. To this day, people still view her as Victoria and want her back on the show as Victoria. I see people jokingly refer to Bill and Katie as Brad and Victoria. Katie is hardly a defining role for her. I think its without a doubt Victoria Newman

[TC]

I agree but I also wonder how much our perspective would change if Victoria was now played by a stronger actress.

[soapfan770]

Hmm maybe I had thought of him but wasn't all too sure. Anyone remember when he was on B&B as the boy toy of Sally and Macy who killed his ex-model lover and framed Thorne for it? No? Didn't think so...

[SFK]

I think for now at least, her defining role is Carly, she and SB will just have to share. Just like Nancy Pinkerton and Robin Strasser undoubtedly share Dorian.

[DRW50]

I remember that, mostly because the whole thing was so dumb. Out of nowhere he was a psycho. And he killed Ivana, who was fun. I remember the conclusion of the story, where Sally was wearing this hideous oversized jacket of many colors, like she was on her way to play canasta. And Anthony shot her, and we had to see that thing in slo mo and in flashbacks. Poor Darlene Conley.

[SFK]

I don't know if you've ever seen old clips of AW when Victoria Wyndham's Rachel was still in her crazy nasty bitch phase, but I would compare that to Carolyn Jones' Myrna and say that Marj Dusay was more like Robin Strasser's cafe society Dorian. Both elegant divas, both troublemakers, but CJ (like VW's Rachel) had crazy in her eyes, that "I'll cut a bitch" look. MD and RS are brilliant with dialogue, great at giving tongue-lashings, but they just don't carry that underlying threat of physical violence.

A lot of fans have compared CJ's Myrna to a drag queen actually there was something almost silent movie about her OTT Mommie Dearest mannerisms. I know some folks might scoff at the idea of MD being out-camped, but CJ was without question the campier Myrna. It's common knowledge that a lot of Alexis Colby clones popped up in daytime during this era, but something that I've always found interesting about CJ's portrayal of Myrna is that she didn't affect that typical bouncing legato speech pattern, that sort of "English without really sounding English" thing. She was haughty, but she spoke with hard r's and delivered lines more like a bull in a china shop than some Oscar Wilde character. Marj of course brought her *fabulous* manner of talking with her, and she definitely softened the role, which could be seen as good or bad depending on your personal taste. She brought in her own brand of humor and played the role more like "Mrs. Samuel Pierson Clegg, II" who would scheme on the d.l., where Carolyn seemed more like her own person, ballsy enough to do it out in the open. I liked both ladies, and I'll post what episodes I have in the new year.

Oh, and I'll add that I don't know *what* Marla Adams was working on when she temped. Her Myrna was a mess, just one big quivering nerve, perhaps she saw some of what Carolyn did and interpreted the role as such. She just seemed awkward, but then again, I've only seen a bit of her run.

[Harmony233]

[DRW50]

Thanks, SFK. I have not really seen a lot of Capitol so your description is a big help. I loved Carolyn on the Addamm's Family and I've always been sorry she couldn't have had a longer run on daytime. From the photos I've seen she almost looks like the equivalent of a hip older woman trying to make a disco album -- she's from another era, but she's still saying "to hell with it" and is fascinating to behold. Capitol seemed so diva-heavy, I wonder if that's why their younger ingenues were never as popular.

I wish I had seen more of VW during the crazy Rachel days because as much as Lemay has said he entrusted her to help reform Rachel, I thought, even later on, VW's Rachel was at her most fascinating as a stone cold bitch. She could freeze people out like none other. Those scenes where Liz accidentally told Matthew about his conception, and Rachel froze Liz right out of the family, I loved them.

[sheilaforever]

Susan Flannery herself mentioned this in her WeLoveSoaps-interview. I was pretty stunned.