Actors who's 2nd run was better than their 1st

[Cheap21]

I was thinking and most times when an actor returns to a soap, their second run is nowhere near as good as their first. Sometimes this is bc there has been a writer change and the new one doesnt quite get their character, other characters have moved on, the actor is off, etc... Can anyone think of examples where this wasnt the case, when in fact their return was better than the time they were previously on the soap?

OLTL:

Andrea Evans as Tina (1985-1990) - Everyone knows that Andrea's 2nd run was her definitive years as Tina. She took her character and put her stamp on it, doing better with her than she had during her original stint.

Thats it. Cant think of any others right now...lol

[Mr. Vixen]

Arianne Zucker, DAYs.

[You're Soaking in it]

Before I even opened the thread, Cheap, I thought "Andrea Evans as Tina!"

ETA: It also just occurred to me, Marcy Walker's return to AMC as Liza in 1995. Under Broderick at that time, Liza was written with even more depth and complexity than she had in her first run... and Walker just played the hell out of it!

[Cheap21]

Oh thats a good one! I hated her the first time around but she has been absolutely amazing this time around. Its rare that I can go from vehemently hating someone so much to them being my favorite on a soap, but she's won me over. Love her current stint, better than her original.

LOL...you know it. She's the first one that came to mind for me

[Carolyn1980]

It's funny, but while there are plenty of actors whose second runs were on par with their first runs (like Robin Strasser/OLTL, Michael Knight/AMC, James DePaiva/OLTL, etc), Andrea Evans is really the only instance I can think of in daytime history where a supporting character returned to the show and basically became *the* star of the show for the next 5 years.

Pretty amazing.

[You're Soaking in it]

I really think it had to do with the transformation from Tina Clayton, to Tina Lord... with a little help from the fact she became a woman, as opposed to a troubled teenager. But having been revealed to be Viki's sister (great choice of former head writer Peggy O'Shea) opened up loads of story and conflict for the character.

[Carolyn1980]

True. I also remember that the times I liked Tina best during those years were when the whole town was against her, but she wasn't as bad as they thought. BOTH times, new writers squandered that. In 1985, Viki was really the bitch, lol, and Tina, while selfish and immature, loved Viki and wanted her approval, but was manipulated by Mitch. (Somehow Andrea Evans never played Tina as his victim, however, going against the writing...I'll never forget Nancy Frangione stepping in for AE in July 1985 for a week and making Tina seem so weak and pathetic, reading the very same lines). Clint HATED Tina, irrationally so, and he eventually came around when he realized Tina didn't kill Harry O'Neill and heard a tearful Tina tell a comatose Viki how much she loved her. Then....Peggy O'Shea left, and suddenly Tina says to Niki Smith (who she's just found out was impersonating Viki since waking from her coma), "Oh, it's okay, I like you better anyway."

Same thing happened again in 1987 when Tina was wrongly tried for Maria's murder, setting up a whole triangle with Cord and Max, yet after being acquitted, the new writers had Tina suddenly being inexplicably bitchy toward the then-new character, Sarah Gordon, ostensibly because she was jealous of her friendship with Cord.

I think daytime audiences love their male anti-heroes, but they love female anti-heroines even more, and it was those times Tina was at the height of her popularity. I remember Robin Christopher's Skye on GH was also at her height of popularity on that show when she was shoved aside by Jax and became a root-for anti-heroine. But once again, clueless writers (Guza/Pratt) had her sober up offscreen only to become a one-dimensional bitch in the Ned/Dobson/Alexis story.

I just don't think most soap writers "get" it.

[DRW50]

Are we talking about a return as the same character?

If not, then Jordan Clarke would have to be on this list.

Others:

Maureen Garrett. From the little I've seen of Maureen's first GL run, Holly seems like a victim, and not very well-defined outside of being dominated by men. Her second run was full of fire, sardonic wit, a resigned quality that served her well, strong presence, and stunning, totally natural beauty.

Peter Simon. Other than the romance with Maureen I'm not sure if he did anything at all in his first run as Ed. His second had the incredible work he gave surrounding the affair with Lillian, Maureen's death and the aftermath.

Maeve Kinkead. She was a great bitch and then had the fiery romance with Billy, but had lost most of her fire and most of her identity by her last few years before leaving around 1987. She had some very strong material after her 1989 return, the best probably being the custody battle with Bridget.

[Cheap21]

I was mainly referring to same character but it can simply be the actor even if its a different role (granted the actor actualyleft the show) , especially considering the examples seem so few and far between

[SFK]

I think it would be really interesting (and maybe even a bit of an *ouch!*) if folks watching back in the day thought Linda Dano's first run as Gretel Cummings was actually better than her second more glamorous and publicized run as Rae.

[LoyaltoAMC]

If that's the case, then Beverlee McKinsey owns this thread. AW's Iris was so popular that some people forget she first played Emma Ordwayon the show.

[Ira]

Definitely Arianne Zucker. She was a bit player and an irritating one at that, save for the teaming up with Victor versus Sami/Kate hijinks. When she back to the show however, she was AMAZING. She's easily become the best character on the show.

[aMLCproduction]

Ari Z. is a very good example. She was bleh to me on the first go round but she has really sucked me in this time around. I prefer her to Sami

[DeeeDee]

B&B's Macy Alexander.

[y&r_fan]

I still can't believe she was killed off again in less than a year. What a waste.