Actors who played iconic couples—and tried to replicate the magic on a different soap

[Faulkner]

What examples can you think of (and there have been a few)? I’m thinking about Stephen Nichols and Mary Beth Evans playing the twisted Stefan and Katherine on GH after having playing Patch and Kayla on DAYS. Thankfully, those were very different characters. A bit more Valmont/Merteuil than some lovey-dovey couple. 
 

Has this ever really worked in your opinion?

[Dion]

Stefan and Katherine was my immediate thought when seeing the thread title lol...I thought (shooting aside of course) they had a promising start but it all eventually came unstuck.

 

I guess Matt (Jason Cook) and Maxie (Kirsten Storms) were another attempt, but Maxie ended up cheating on Spinelli with both Johnny (emotionally) and Franco (physically) before dating Matt and I believe the bulk of their storyline - including their quickie marriage - was when Jen Lilley was playing Maxie.

 

Otherwise, GH never seemed to know what to do with Matt (who incredibly was actually on the show for four years!).

Edited April 16, 2020 by Dion

[AbcNbc247]

It may have worked in some cases but the ones that I’ve seen did not work at all. I think maybe because it usually turns out just to be stunt casting; producers and writers always seemed to be more concerned with hiring the actors and trying to get their fans watching than actually telling an interesting story.

 

George Reinholt and Jacqueline Courtney

Steve/Alice, AW

Tony/Pat, OLTL

 

Denise Alexander and Chris Robinson

Rick/Lesley, GH

Jason/Mary, AW

 

Eric Martsolf and Lindsay Hartley

Ethan/Theresa, Passions

Brady/Arianna, DOOL

 

John Reilly and Sharon Wyatt

Sean/Tiffany, GH

Alistair/Rachel, Passions

 

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by AbcNbc247

[Taoboi]

That was who I immediately thought of. And how I knew of both actors since I was a GH fan before I was a DAYS fan. Regardless of how MBE feels, I always thought she gave good icy bitca and  yet you saw why she was one on GH. 

[BetterForgotten]

And I still hold that Stefan is Nichols best soap role...

[Faulkner]

I totally agree. He was sexy as Stefan. I never dug Katherine, though. 
 

Did GL ever go there with Paul Anthony Stewart and Laura Wright (Danny/Cassie, previously Casey and Ally on Loving)? I recall they flirted with the idea.

[Taoboi]

I agree. For me...being so young...he just brought...this intelligent sexy senusality to me with that role and I never encountered anything like that before at that point. I lived for him vs Luke or just the tension between him and GF.

[DynamiteKiddo]

They sorta kinda put Cameron & Alexis together on GH, right?  During Ned/Skye... gosh it's been so long, that was a bad period--Emily's cancer and Mob Four.

[titan1978]

I also thought Stefan was a better character, and I loved Patch and Kayla.

 

I never once thought of MBE as Kayla on GH.  I know the character was all over the place, but she did some iconic things to do.  Fighting with Lucy, marrying Ned and Lois popping out of that cake.

 

I thought at the time and still do that she should have stayed dead after her first fall, even though that really compromised Luke and Alexis.  Hated her relationship with Alexis.

 

Of all the instances I can think of, I never thought any of them recreated or bested their original couple magic.

What a waste of Lane Davies that was.

[Paul Raven]

Don't think it really fits the topic but...

David O'Brien/Jada Rowland

Kip/Amy Secret Storm

Steve/Carolee The Doctors

[Gray Bunny]

 

They paired Danny & Cassie up for a little bit in the fall of 2002 when Danny was pretending to be dead to trap Carmen, and Cassie was taking care of him as he recovered from a gunshot wound. Apparently, the rabid Danny/Michelle fans didn't like what they were seeing and handed Laura Wright some sort of voodoo doll at that fall's GL event. So the story goes. 

[All My Shadows]

Love of Life's Gene and Toni Bua played Bill and Tess then ended up on Somerset playing Steve and Denny until that show's cancellation.

[titan1978]

Who knew hardcore soap fans were just showing us what everything was going to be like once social media became a thing.

 

Yet another trailblazing aspect of soaps!

[full hearts]

 

Yes! 

Edited April 17, 2020 by full hearts

[Wendy]

Don't forget Lane Davies/Nancy Lee Grahn, first as Mason Capwell and Julia Wainwright on Santa Barbara and them as Dr. Cameron Lewis and Alexis Davis on GH.

 

I will be unpopular and say I think they still had a spark. But Guza wrote Cameron as so awful - especially to his own son (Chad Brannon's Zander), not to mention the whole debacle with Baby Kristina with Alexis faking DID and Ned trying to steal the kid and play happy family even as he knew he wasn't the father AND the whole matter of trying to prevent Sonny from finding out, etc., and they were doomed. It was all written so horribly.

 

And as much as I get it was a ploy to keep Cameron in Alexis' orbit, no way would the courts give HIM, a complete stranger, custody of Kristina.

 

I think, with Alexis and Zander's closeness, it should have been revealed that HE, not Sam, was Alexis' child. It would have let the drama with Nik/Emily have more layers, Cam could have been his ADOPTIVE father, and things could have gone from there.

 

But Guza/Pratt were hacks. Big surprise.