Being a soap star is a great thing if you make it work. People like Bernard, Geary, Braden, Hall, Zimmer are superstars in the soap world, get paid well, and still get to live a somewhat normal, private life. People like Lucci and Sweeney are able to turn themselves into a celebrity and brand. As for trying to break out of soapstar into movie/tv star, well that seems to be harder. Soaps are full of returns after failed attempts and promising soap stars forgotten all together after taking a stab at moving on. I do belive actors from back in the day when they say they didnt get a role because of their soap past, for some reason it was looked down upon but that seems to be over. Molly Burnett for example has days listed on her resume and booked roles on True Blood and that disney show while on days and since leaving the show has booked gig after gig after gig.

I think it's less of a stigma because soaps are much less known to the public today.

I feel like a lot of the younger people who leave soaps and don't get big roles probably just never would have in the first place. They either have no talent or don't have the look. Bree Williamson, someone I see as very untalented, still gets a lot of primetime work, probably for the right look.

Composite heashot photos went from being the norm for character actors, to being cheesy, outdated, and discouraged, to being sort of in again. Frankly, CDs don't have time to be imaginative anymore. The days of being discovered in a peasant dress and made over into a star are long gone. CDs, particularly in L.A., want to see you looking like the role they're trying to cast, which brought back a trend over the last ten years or so for actors to take role specific headshots. If you look at the pics on Linda Dano's IMDb (like the one with the cigarette) or those photos of the young girl who was let go from GH that we were talking about the other week, you'll see what I mean. For years, you were encourage no to "dress the part" in an audition but that's changing more and more. Trends come and go.

That's interesting. I appreciate getting to learn more about the process.

I think Jennifer wore the getups more for the magazine interview than she might have in an actual audition, just to put a face to what she meant. Either way, it was a very insightful look. It's one of the reasons I hated what became of Soap Opera Weekly in those last ten years (the interview was from a 1996 Weekly).

The smart actors who want to work will work, end of story. Look at someone like Debbi Morgan, she has YEARS and YEARS of high profile soap work, but she has maintained an agent (the most important thing next to talent) and she can go from primetime to daytime to film and back again. Since most of these actors don't have agents and don't pursue anything primetime during their time on the soaps, it's harder when the show ends. People like Maurice Benard or Kassie DePaiva think their soaps will last forever, but they won't. This is why the smart actor needs to stay active and auditioning for other things and having an agent to prepare them if they want to continue their acting careers.

Actually, a lot of them DO have agents. Particularly the younger actors. Without an agent, it's damn near impossible to audition for a soap to begin with, unless you pay to meet a CD at one of those audition workshops or get seen in a school showcase and are lucky enough to get called in. A lot of the NY soap actors were signed with Abrams for example. The thing is, say Abrams submits you for Guiding Light and you book it, well, Abrams gets their 10% every time you get a check (and the longer you're with the show, the more they continue to negotiate your contract and get you more money). That's good money compared to another actor with the agency who may only do two plays or a commercial over the course of several months. So the agency is getting paid, yet they are limited in terms of what other projects they can submit the client for depending on his/her contract and availability with the soap. Here's where "heavily recurring" is nice.

Actually, a lot of them DO have agents. Particularly the younger actors.

Yes. The younger actors all have agents/reps, where you'll find the older actors represent themselves and got rid of their agents a decade ago. When GL, ATWT, AMC, & OLTL all ended, a lot of the veterans commented about getting agents and getting back out there.

More than having an agent, they need a good agent with actively employed actors in movies and primetime. A lot of them have agents with mostly out of work actors and fellow soap actors.

Yeah, SAG used to have a website where you could type in a member's name and see who they were represented by. This info is still available to IMDB Pro members. But I remember Strasser and Wyndham for example were both with Don Buchwald at the time, Lucci and Young were with Innovative, and like I said, several were with Abrams.

More than having an agent, they need a good agent with actively employed actors in movies and primetime. A lot of them have agents with mostly out of work actors and fellow soap actors.

True, an agent who can't even get you seen, yeah, that's no good.

I remember Don Hastings saying when ATWT was over he'd have to go back to having an agent, as he hadn't in years (I will say any primetime show would be lucky to have Don, but then, I'm biased, as I'm a fan...).

I wonder who the most successful people are who don't have agents. Daytime or primetime.

I read that Beverlee got the Bronco Billy role because Clint Eastwood's then partner Sondra Locke was an AW/Beverlee fan and suggested her for the role.

I read that Beverlee got the Bronco Billy role because Clint Eastwood's then partner Sondra Locke was an AW/Beverlee fan and suggested her for the role.

You know, that does sound familiar. If I could pick and choose actors to play my relatives, my mind goes straight to soap names.

MT is the most renowned casting director in soaps? Since when? Other casting directors have had higher sucesss rates than him. He doesn't have the brgging rights some of them do for finding actors who went on to steady primetime and movie work.

I heard that Jonathan Jackson was once considered the favorite for the role of Anakin Skywalker, but got turned down because George Lucas didn't want to hire a soap opera star.

I know that when Genie Francis took the role of Diana Colville on DAYS it was considered a step backwards as far as the industry was concerned. Coming out of the L&L heyday, with Genie so young, sexy and famous, she was thought to have a big future. But she also hadn't had a regular paycheck coming in for quite awhile. Genie seems to recollect her time on DAYS negatively, but she did come very close to coming back in 1990 (at that point, neither Deidre Hall nor Marlena were anywhere in sight).

MT is the most renowned casting director in soaps? Since when? Other casting directors have had higher sucesss rates than him. He doesn't have the brgging rights some of them do for finding actors who went on to steady primetime and movie work.

I'm presuming you're referring to me regarding MT? My exact words were "Mark Teschner is possibly the most well renowned casting director in the soap business today"

But another reason it is tough is because if you are on a soap for years and years then you become identified with your character. Soaps still get millions of viewers a day and even those who don't watch anymore might've watched a certain actor a few years back playing the character they are playing now. Here recently we were watching that thing on I.D. Discovery with Susan Lucci and what was the first thing out of both my mom's and grandmother's mouths? Hey there's Erica Kane! LOL some people become identified with a certain character and that is all people think of them as.

Edited January 3, 201312 yr by doolfan

I'm presuming you're referring to me regarding MT? My exact words were "Mark Teschner is possibly the most well renowned casting director in the soap business today"

+1 +1 +1

I agree Mark is one of the best. Maybe he didn't have all these stars go to primetime but GH has an amazingly talented cast because of him. He is responsible for most of the great actors we see on GH. Seriously GH has a lot of talent.

Edited January 3, 201312 yr by doolfan

But another reason it is tough is because if you are on a soap for years and years then you become identified with your character. Soaps still get millions of viewers a day and even those who don't watch anymore might've watched a certain actor a few years back playing the character they are playing now. Here recently we were watching that thing on I.D. Discovery with Susan Lucci and what was the first thing out of both my mom's and grandmother's mouths? Hey there's Erica Kane! LOL some people become identified with a certain character and that is all people think of them as.

I still believe any movie Jennifer Aniston appears/stars in that she's not only playing Rachel Green, but Jennifer Aniston. She's a one note actress who I can't see playing anyone other than herself or a version of her NBC persona.