Someone posted a tweet of it being Camila Banus's 10th (!) anniversary on Days of Our Lives and that got me thinking about daytime stars that have just sort of...stayed around. Made an impact sure but haven't exactly set the daytime landscape on fire yet are still there. I remember her from her short stint on One Life to Live, she made zero impression on me so I was pretty surprised when she joined DOOL. And now here she is 10 years later at that same show, the entirety of her 20s. 

 

Maybe she's not the best example since Gabi seems to have fans but another actor I can think of who just sort of hung around was Aiden Turner as Aidan on All My Children. It was a completely thankless role that he never took off in, multiple failed romances yet he stayed on the show for 7 long years.

Amelia Heinle.

Jason Thompson.

Steve Burton.

Jacqueline McInness Wood. 

Alicia Minshew.

 

Edited March 19, 20205 yr by mikelyons

Jason Thompson and  whoever is playing Adam now on Y&R only he hasn't been around long enough to fit the category.  He killed the show for me.  I don't know why people mention Jordi - he's not a bad actor and certainly good to look at.  You could go down 1/3 of the Y&R cast and name people.  Don Diamont on B&B...it's a good thing he's good to look at.  Horrible actor.  Bryton is about as interesting as a dishtowel. This is going to be blasphemy but Eric Braeden (the "OK" guy, "OK"?  I love you Nikkkehhhhh....need to protect my familehhhh, OK?  OK?)  God awful.  For years ended every line in "OK?"   Honestly Peter Bergman isn't very good either.  There's a reason people stay acting on soaps - they can't get work elsewhere. 

Edited March 19, 20205 yr by Fevuh

11 minutes ago, Fevuh said:

 I don't know why people mention Jordi - he's not a bad actor and certainly good to look at. 

 

Honestly Peter Bergman isn't very good either.  There's a reason people stay acting on soaps - they can't get work elsewhere. 

 

+1 on Jordi  

 

Well, with so many of those you mentioned, it's not a bad gig for someone who wants to work steady. 6 figure salary, only work a few days a week, and no more overtime (not in this era of daytime!)... Sign me up! I can see why people stay. I'm sure people like Sharon Case, Josh Morrow, etc. planned/hoped earlier in their careers to jump to primetime/film after their first contract ran out, but here we are 25 years later, money's still good by comparison to other work. Why not ride it out?  Who'd o' thunk Laura Wright jumping ship from GL to GH would guarantee her 11+ more years of work (and still going) than GL. 

10 minutes ago, Gray Bunny said:

Who'd o' thunk Laura Wright jumping ship from GL to GH would guarantee her 11+ more years of work (and still going) than GL. 

Especially as the third Carly!  And nothing about her portrayal has ever had the grit of SB or the romantic chemistry with Sonny or Jason of TB.

She is at least a capable soap actress.  People like Amanda Heinle have been playing their roles so long it’s kind of shocking.

21 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

She is at least a capable soap actress. 

 

Definitely. I've always liked her, and she's another who's made a lifelong career of steady, dependable soap work (Loving/GL/GH) 

Kelly Monaco, anyone?  How her boring self stays employed is beyond me.

Maurice Bernard and Roger Howarth own this thread

3 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Maurice Bernard and Roger Howarth own this thread

I never got the appeal with Mo.

 

Howarth played a villian and after that producers and writers thought he was actually good and kept hiring him. 

2 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Howarth played a villian and after that producers and writers thought he was actually good and kept hiring him. 

But that's the point, he's not good lol. He has that one style that makes every character he's played pretty much the same one. I see no difference between Todd Manning, his Paul Ryan and his Franco.

 

I used to think Mo was good, but these last few years it's been like watching a dying man.

1 minute ago, AbcNbc247 said:

But that's the point, he's not good lol. He has that one style that makes every character he's played pretty much the same one. I see no difference between Todd Manning, his Paul Ryan and his Franco.

 

 

Thats why I used the word...thought......lol

 

He was awful as Paul.

I was thinking more characters who have lasted so long on their respective shows. I should've entitled this "Characters you're surprised have lasted so long on daytime". Maurice Benard hasn't bothered to hone his craft in a good 15 years BUT Sonny is an undeniably popular character.

 

I'm thinking of characters who were never very popular but somehow lasted through years and different regimes just sort of...existing. You know those people who are very "Why are you here again? What purpose do you serve?". Franco's a good one! If he hadn't been played by James Franco that one time he would have been a long forgotten villain but no here we are stuck with him when Roger Howarth's portrayal has never taken off and most of the audience either hates him or tolerates him to vary degrees.

21 minutes ago, Darn said:

I was thinking more characters who have lasted so long on their respective shows. I should've entitled this "Characters you're surprised have lasted so long on daytime".

 

Michael Baldwin is a character that I'm surprised is still around on the GC canvas. He was brought out as a predator, stalking and peeping on the town heroine. When he got sent to prison, it was obvious he was meant to stay and not return to GC. I know what the official story is (or at least what everyone claims is the official story) of how Michael Baldwin returned, having been redeemed but that one has always been something of a headscratcher to me. I guess I usually find it a bit puzzling when villains stick around.

Just now, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Michael Baldwin is a character that I'm surprised is still around on the GC canvas. He was brought out as a predator, stalking and peeping on the town heroine. When he got sent to prison, it was obvious he was meant to stay and not return to GC. I know what the official story is (or at least what everyone claims is the official story) of how Michael Baldwin returned, having been redeemed but that one has always been something of a headscratcher to me. I guess I usually find it a bit puzzling when villains stick around.

 

And became friends with the woman he attacked!

 

Michael at the very least didn't get the entire show handed to him on a silver platter like Todd Manning...let me not get STARTED.

3 minutes ago, Darn said:

 

And became friends with the woman he attacked!

 

Michael at the very least didn't get the entire show handed to him on a silver platter like Todd Manning...let me not get STARTED.

 

😅 FWIW, Y&R, from my earliest memories, didn't seem to be the type of show that obsessively focused on one character until around the mid '00s. Now if we want to discuss whether they focused almost exclusively on one family or group of characters, that would be a different topic for discussion.

 

For *characters*, well let's see about good ol' Days of Our Lives: 

 

-Daniel Jonas

-Rafe Hernandez

-Gabi Hernandez

-Mimi Lockhart

-Nicole Walker... I mean early on, who'd of thunk that weak actress playing a barista at the Java Cafe would still be here 22 years later? It wasn't until she became Lucas' drunk, unhappy wife-for-hire that she finally started showing potential.