This comes as a surprise!

[NorrthCafe]

There are times when I catch soap stars in non-soap roles and the characters they play are so different from their soap roles that I wonder what would have happened if the writers tapped into that hidden ability. Would it have worked? In some cases probably not. I'm seeing Renee Elise Goldsberry (OLTL ex-Evangeline Williamson) in her role in RENT for the first time. Would the writers have been more interested in writing for Van if they'd started with a character more like this one:

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Personally, I loved the character the way she was. She was a breath of fresh air in a genre that treated women as if they couldn't stand life without having a man to share it with... Van stood on her on and was never afraid to walk away.

Other examples?

[Melroser]

As much as i would prefer her to return to OL as Evangeline, it would be interesting if she were cast as Malcolm's fiance on Y&R and be in a triangle with Kristoff St. John. Of course, with Malcolm written out shortly after Renee and Kristoff become a couple.

The part would probably be short-term anyway (it is Y&R and she is a minority character). She is one of the few out there that i think could hold her own with Kristoff and make a good match.

[DeeeDee]

OLTL can keep Renee.

[Vee]

Don't make me play hot potato with you on REG, Dee. Cause I can go til the break of dawn.

Great voice but I can't think of a bigger miscast for Mimi than REG. That was far more "Daphne Maxwell Reid" than "Daphne Rubin-Vega" - it was like watching Viki play Niki, but badly, if that makes any sense. Tika Sumpter could pull that off, not her. That was like a theme park music number.

I always found REG very stiff, which didn't help with the fact that her character was IMO often a blazing hypocrite; I felt the reason Eva had no problem walking away from her men was generally because she was fleeing the scene before anyone could call her out on her behavior, like R.J. and poor Cristian, and the show chose to paint these inconsistencies as simply "an independent woman who can do no wrong," much like they now paint Rex as the infallible hero despite his foul behavior. It always baffled me that REG clearly saw through her character's ish in interviews - she was vocal about not liking how Evangeline treated Cris, and good for her - but seemed unable to imbue the character with any such layers in her performance. She played it the way it was on the page, 2-D. I didn't see it on OLTL and I don't see it here. I had such hopes for her when they first cast Evangeline, and she was a disappointment.

In any event: Topic.

[DeeeDee]

It's on Vee! Do not want!

[R Sinclair]

ROTFLMAO!! And I love REG!

[alexisfan07]

She did a great job in RENT. I have the last Broadway performance DVD (what the clip was taken from) and she's a very good tough, funny but endearing Mimi - something Rosario didn't fully capture in the movie, IMO.

[R Sinclair]

I can't stand Rosario Dawson most times. This movie was one of them.

Anyway, I love REG's performance... but even so, Vee's description isn't entirely off base. It did seem kinda Theme Park-ish.

Oh... and putting cameras ON STAGE on a Broadway show, no matter what, is heinous!

[chyti]

Yeah she was great in the play and her Mimi was spot on having seen the original also, I don't understand the liken to themeparkish being that the scene was acting and sung the same why in all performances even before she took the role.

[R Sinclair]

I don't know where Vee's coming from, but I think the staging is incredibly theme park staging.

[Vee]

I thought she was very stiff and overly Disney-esque with the enthusiasm and delivery. Rubin-Vega's was much more raunchy and animalistic; this was kind of like your sister doing Mimi for a PG audience. Like I said, theme park. Perfect articulation, classical singing voice. It was meh for me. She's a great singer but I've never thought of her as much of an actress.

[marceline]

I'm not even going to get into the whole REG/Mimi thing. I've seen RENT seven times (including one high school production) so I've had enough RENT debates to last me for the rest of my life.

But to answer the original question of seeing a different side of a star, I would have to say Nathan Fillion's appearance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer really surprised me. He was just so EVIL! Up until then I'd only seen him as the lovable, funny everyman type. His turn as "Caleb" freaked me out.