Overhyped Daytime Soap Actors and Actresses

[DeeeDee]

David Tom never got the praise that Jonathan Jackson did despite being a better actor.

[frequentsoapfan]

Well everyone I post is very overhyped not only by the soap press but by some of the boards and hailed for their ability to play so many styles even though they showed no range on their respective soaps.

[OLTL_fan]

Renee Goldsberry

[remos]

I sometimes wonder if it's because they have no range or if it's because they can't sustain it.

Arguably, most of those listed (which interestingly enough can be upwards of 95% of soap actors) are "overhyped". But when I look at the interviews of the actors I admire, their comments about their co-stars makes me wonder if the talent is truly there, but the nature of soap demands burns them out. It's got to be rather deadening inside playing the same character for years or decades with no end in sight, when you originally envisioned yourself playing a series of different characters. Or to soap-hop and discover that your "new" character is just a variation on the theme of your type-casting.

Soap fans might be loyal, but it's a double-edged sword that cuts deeply. We love who we love, but no way in hell are we going to accept them changing to anything else. It's our way or it's no way.

[Cheap21]

I think thats a large part of it actually. Alot of these actors mentioned arent necesarily awful. They are quite good at one thing (be it crying scenes, anger, comedy, overly dramatic stuff, etc....) The problem is they lack range to be good at it all and their flaws are exposed when they attempt (and often fail) to do other material successfully. At least thats the way I see it

[remos]

Understandably. But I'm thinking of the example of Tony Geary - perhaps given more range over his career than anyone else that I have watched with any regularity.

Jane Elliot (whom I respect immensely for both her personal and professional ethic) says he is "phenomenal". And she has had some decent experience before and after GH on both sides of the camera.

TG himself says due to LnL he has lost so many jobs because all casting director saw was that pairing, and he's said he had to spend a lot of time working through the hit to his career that GH has been. Sure it's been constant money, and if that's what one values then it's been a great run. But for someone who wants to create multiple personas, he's been forced into limits beyond his control because of his soap tenure.

Then we watch the man once he returns from vacations, more alive and able to do his thing, and bringing that energy to the others he works with.

Writing aside - which can tank the most talented performer - I do wonder if the Tony Geary Treatment shouldn't be normative for every single actor, and if we wouldn't see better performances if everyone was given a few months break regularly.

[frequentsoapfan]

And lacking range is what makes them not good actors. Because a good actor can play more than one easy note(because most of them are playing easy notes). Yeah they are the ones who get all the praise while the people who can play more than one note are often backburned and arent given the chance to show their range while the one trick ponies take up the airtime. There's nothing that differentiates alot of them from several who list actor as their occupation except that they are getting praised. And alot of these people are quite lazy and take their roles for granted when others would love to have their jobs, if only for the experience.

[Cyberologist]

Jane I'm not sure if she's overhyped but the entire show pretty much centers around Hope & her sex life & have since KM came on board. She gets an incredible amount of air time. Personally I don't think she's lead actress material but who am I to say.

I am enjoying Renee Elise Goldsberry stints as Geneva Pine on the Good Wife.

[JaneAusten]

REG has done a great job on TGW I like her character a lot. It does help to have writers who give a damn about character development even with the small role she has.

I like Kim Matula same as I like JW. Does either deserve the airtime and focus they get absolutely not.( I do wish JW would cool it with the botox) . I guess they are overhyped by B&B but certainly not by the soap press or online fans

[P.J.]

I respectfully disagree. I watched her back in the '80's, and I watched her last year. I don't see a difference, and certainly not enough to justify the way people went out of their minds during her contract dispute. When I think of the best daytime actresses, MST doesn't make my list.

Overhyped and bad aren't necessarily the same thing in my book.

And I forgot the other sacred cow on Y&R, Jeanne Cooper.

I'm not sure any B&B actors truly fit into this category---they have always been disrespected and shrugged off. Other than Flannery, that is. I guess I wasn't really equating "overhyped" with "storyhogs".

[R Sinclair]

Kim Zimmer: Ugh! I'll keep it short and sweet with her. I've watched the "Slut of Springfield" clip quite a few times -- never understood what she did with it that made it so great.

Anthony Geary: He was a charismatic performer in the 1980s (I would argue that was better living through chemistry...), but I wouldn't say he had "acting chops." He was skilled, but nothing formidable. He's more of a character actor than anything. And to his credit, he's even said he was brought on as Bobbie's sidekick, not a leading man. However, I think he had screen presence which is what I think overshadowed the "acting" and over the years the line became blurred. I still have yet to see anything during my 13 years of regular viewing that made me say "Wow. He really owned that scene!" If anything, I say "Ok, that seems about right if not a little over the top." Not that there's anything wrong with that!! I think Geary does what he's supposed to do as a professional actor, which is play the truth of the intention of the scene as it's written. Again, that's what he's supposed to do. I don't see any amazing work he's put in to create something extraordinary.

Maurice Benard: I remember Rick Hearst being quoted as saying "Maurice's bodyguard" listens to 50 Cent and I was like hold the phone. Maurice Benard has a BODYGUARD?! Having said that, as if being a soap actor with a bodyguard wasn't enough to say "overhyped," I think Benard is limited and is also resting on the Sonny Corinthos image (am I saying he thinks he IS Sonny? The jury's still out on that one).I think the press and other soap actors are intimidated by the image which they think is the actor. This whole idea of "You'd better be prepared and have done your homework when you work with Maurice" is astonishing to me, since he comes across as one of the least prepared actors on General Hospital. I feel his performances come off quite schizophrenic with very little nuance. It's like "OH! Okay! He's playing intense now when he was just playing flirtatious two seconds ago after playing angry 8 seconds before that... and this is supposed to be a lighthearted scene?" And all of the "Hey! Look at me!" crap. It's like, how about you let the other actor do what they're trying to do in the scene and you use your WEALTH OF TALENT AND EXTRAORDINARY SKILLS to play off that, rather than dominate the scene and force the actor to go in the direction YOU want to go?

And, of course,the bane of my soap viewing existence, Laura Wright: "SHE'S THE BEST CARLY EVER!" That's because she's not playing Carly Benson. She's playing Carly Jacks. I'll leave it at that.

[Shawn]

Allison Sweeney is the most overrated actress in Days history.

[frequentsoapfan]

I agree overhyped doesn't necessarily mean bad in every case. Alot of time it means so and so is just giving an average performance that is hyped up as if it was an Oscar winning one.

[JellicleCat]

Didn't Eileen Fulton need bodyguards to get to and from the ATWT studio for a while? I think I read that somewhere.

[remos]

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<p>No - Deidre Hall has that category sewn up. </p>

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