Actors who have either appeared on Daytime TV and those who havent but still talk smack about it

Morgan Freeman-He spoke to Nelson Branco & basically said after 100 years its time to say goodbye. Plus last night he was the subject of Oprah's Master-Class On OWN and completely crapped on his time on The Electric Company and never mentioned his stints On Texas, Ryan's Hope & Another World. MF came across as a total TV Snob

Lauren Holly also talked to Nelson Branco in 2009 when he was still at TV Guide Canada and when he asked how she felt about soaps ending (She was on AMC as Julie from 86-89) basically said soaps dont tell good story and were all crap

IMHO Daytime Soap Operas Are Not Training Grounds. If that were the case that would mean at some point we stop learning & Growing. IMHO, Daytime Soap Operas are repertory companies. Plain & simple.

But they really can be. MANY important people (Tenn Williams, granted during his "stoned age" is one) have said that the best acting on TV is in soaps. I agree with him but part of that is bcause it's also, or was, the most theatrical style of actingon tv. And it's FANTASTIC training ground--if you can do a soap well (and many young actors who are hired as models or whatever can't) you can basically pull off any acting job. It's like doing rep theatre except with a different script everyday, and probably being stuck with a character who, even if you love playing, day by day has either brilliant scripts, or wretched scripts that make no sense, no time to rehearse (even in the glory 70s 30 minute era), etc.

I doubt any of these people (well, most of them anyway) if asked about specific acting performances, would say they were anything less than great.

You left off that IMHO Soaps are repertory companies. Actors never stop learning or growing. Never had an issue with a soap star complaning about their time on a soap its when soap stars trash the whole medium

and some big actors will tell you they HATED rep work (which barely happens anymore now anyway). To use Freeman as an example-I'm naive here, but how big was his role on AW? I've NEVER heard of the character, just who played him--maybe he found it a completely frustrating experience?

Right. If someone doesn't look back on their daytime experience as a great slumber party, then I'm not exactly furious, but there's a way to say it and a way which ends up seeming like they are describing an STD.

I do agree with this--and some actors probably feel they're being brave or something by speaking out (even if the opposite would be true)--but they're rarely asked about their personal experience, they're usually asked "So... [snide look] how ws it to actually be ON A SOAP"

No big surprise, but the other week I was re-watching Tales of the City and its sequels with a friend, and in the bonuses which I hadn't seen before, Barbara Garrick says playing Deedee on the show is her favorite role, but her second favorite, and the one that taught her range (*cough* not that I'd know it from how she was written the past few times on OLTL) was her soap work, even above her theatre work.

Freeman played Roy Bingham and it was a pretty standard good guy role. He romanced and married Henrietta.I don't recall anything particularly interesting about the character or story so I can understand Freeman not being particularly enamoured of the role.

I'd actually never heard of this, and though I dislike NPH due to personal gossip I've heard, he seems to have always acted professionally. All I could find online was this http://www.gossipcop...et-your-mother/ which doesn't diss Braeden for being a soap actor...

No, NPH didn't diss a soap actor per se...but do you think he would have taken a public swipe at Wayne Brady or John Lithgow (or even Chris Elliot) for canceling an appearance? NPH probably had no clue who Braeden was or anything (like his recent hip surgery) other than "some soap guy doesn't think three lines in a flashback on HIMYM is significant."

We'll have to disagree on this one:

"Harris quickly followed up with a second tweet: “We’ve recast with Ray Wise, a fantastic actor who makes any part ‘substantial’. Super excited to welcome him to the family!”

A few hours later, however, Harris regretted his terse salvo and tweeted, “Now I feel bad for the D-bag comment. Don’t know the guy personally. I’m just fiercely protective of our show.”

lets be honest. besides meg ryan and morgan freeman(who's careers have also come and gone), none of these actors mentioned are even 'BIG' anymore and have really ever done anything to consider themselves soap snobs. if i were SMG i would be less ashamed to admit my time at AMC over BUFFY! alyson hannigan has had a more sucessful movie and primetime career and this is coming from a Gellar fan. Julianne Moore left daytime, won an oscar and was more than happy to come back to daytime one last time and i think that speaks volumes(hell even SMG did)!! so if any actor wants to trash daytime, let em cause sooner or later were all gonna be asking "who"???

A lot of the actors mentioned and what they said dont seem much like disrespect, we say FAR worse all the time. I see nothing wrong with actors being honest and saying it was just a job, or they didnt enjoy it. Now there are cases, like Meg Ryan, where they are clearly embarrassed and would like her soap past not to be mentioned. Actors tend to dismiss prior jobs unless they win a big award or it does amazingly well anyways.

Ryan Phillippe was on some talk show once, leno?, and was clearly put off by the interviewers comments about his playing a gay teen on a soap more so than actually being on a soap opera.

and as for NPH/EB, EB is an ass, we all know this. He dropped out at the last minute because the role wasnt big enough.. i think.

Yeah the Phillippe moment was on Leno and was one of the last straws on a number of people calling Leno out on his constant use of using gay as a punchline. He mentioned that Ryan played a gay teen once on a soap opera--Ryan answered that he did--then Jay went into a thing about how on soaps people are asked to stare into the camera for ages as it fades to commercial and made the idiotic comment aboput how would one do a "Gay stare" to show they were gay, and asked Ryan to show him one, Ryan looked like he was going to walk off and refused, after a few more attempts Jay gave up. I don't think it had anything to do with soaps...

I think Ryan had made other comments in the past (not about gay, just about soaps). I can't remember for sure now.

Yeah the Phillippe moment was on Leno and was one of the last straws on a number of people calling Leno out on his constant use of using gay as a punchline. He mentioned that Ryan played a gay teen once on a soap opera--Ryan answered that he did--then Jay went into a thing about how on soaps people are asked to stare into the camera for ages as it fades to commercial and made the idiotic comment aboput how would one do a "Gay stare" to show they were gay, and asked Ryan to show him one, Ryan looked like he was going to walk off and refused, after a few more attempts Jay gave up. I don't think it had anything to do with soaps...

Yeah, it was really something to see. I tried findint it on youtube but couldnt.

I think Ryan had made other comments in the past (not about gay, just about soaps). I can't remember for sure now.

I would not be surprised if he had, because he was very egotistical for awhile there, but all i recall him saying is the he was young, it was a lot of work, and it kicksgtarted his career and that he wouldnt want to do it again because of the work load.

Yeah, it was really something to see. I tried findint it on youtube but couldnt.

http://gawker.com/371495/jay-leno-tickled-by-ryan-phillippes-former-role-as-gay-teen

The Interview Magazine, well, interview with him basically says the same about soaps though he also says they work harder than any other actors. But it's true that he was known for being pretty cocky and saying some stupid things so...

(God I almost forgot how much I hate Leno...)

Yeah, I never watch Leno but I actually caught the show that night too and I could hardly believe how awkward and tense things were getting on Ryan's side of the desk with Leno utterly oblivious to it. Ryan handled it well but I really thougt I was about to witness a "classic" TV moment that was going to be the talk of the morning shows. I can't remember if it was this same interview or when he was on Kimmel, who I do enjoy, but some sort of gay-related humor came up again when he was telling a story about his son and he kind of smoothed over the joke saying something to the effect that he's the kind of dad who wouldn't be bothered by that.

It's not just limited to Daytime. During an interview with Marj Helgenberger on her final CSI episode, she reveal that William Peterson was counting down the episodes left on his contract after the second or third season (when it was the #1 show on TV). Funnier is that he is still co-Executive Producer of the show even though he's gone. Crazy, but his passion is theater. The bottom line is that this is work. Let's not forget actors like Julienne Moore, who always credits ATWT for discovering her and giving her the opportunity to act. It meant so much to her that she even came back after the cancellation was announced as her thank you. There are plenty of actors who appreciate the soaps. But like others have mentioned, if we can criticize them, then was should it be different for them. One thing I haven't heard is an actor criticizing the fans of the soaps. THAT would get my gander!