Recasts are hard, but an unavoidable part of soap operas.  It's never easy for an actor to step into a role that the preceding actor made a big impact in and was closely identified with.  It can take a while for audiences to accept a new face in a role(hence the "nu" prefix).  In some cases, audiences never stop missing the departed actor.  More often than not, they just have to live with it.  Sometimes, the recast eventually ends up being accepted and loved in their own right.  But sometimes, audiences get their wish and, whether it's a short while later or a long while later, the role is "un-recasted" and the departed actor returns.  That's what this topic is about.  

 

I've compiled a list of all the notable instances of this that I can think of - full disclosure, I only ever watched the ABC shows(AMC and OLTL for years and years, and GH more casually), so that's where my list comes from.  Also, I'm only looking at instances where the recast was on contract and the returning actor was on contract.  So, the following aren't considered: temporary replacements, one-off return appearances, absences due to illness, etc.  A couple of examples like this that I didn't include:

 

Kirsten Storms missed a year on GH due to illness, but I think she was always coming back when she was able. 

 

Anthony Addabbo replaced Michael Nader as Dimitri for a few months in 2001, but I don't think he was ever under contract, and the character was written out when they decided not to bring Nader back(Nader did come back for AMC's PP incarnation). 

 

Alexa Havins came back as Babe's ghost for two episodes after Amanda Baker's Babe had died, but that was only two episodes.

 

So that said, here's my list(in lieu of a better order, I've listed them in alphabetical order of character last name).  I look forward to your comments on these and your own examples!

 

Nikolas Cassadine, GH

Tyler Christopher(1996-1999, 2003-2011, 2013-2016)

Stephen Martines(1999-2003)

 

 

Christopher originated the role in 1996, and then left when his contract was up to try primetime.  After a few years of that, during which Stephen Martines was playing the character, Christopher returned in 2003 and played the character for 13 years(with a two year break) before departing again over a contract dispute.  

 

Christopher proceeded to have a stint on DOOL while the Nikolas role was vacated for three years.

 

In 2019, the role was recast with Marcus Coloma.

 

Worth it?  TBH, I really never saw Martines in the role, so I can't comment on that.  But Christopher came back and played the character for another 13 years during which Nik became a major, front-burner player for most of it, so I'd say yeah, it was worth it.  I haven't seen this new guy, Marcus Coloma, but I don't envy him.  

 

Kristina Davis Corinthos, GH

Lexi Ainsworth(2009-2011, 2015-Present)

Lindsey Morgan(2012-2013)

 

 

Ainsworth took over the role of a SORASED teenage Kristina in 2009, and made a big mark in her first two-and-a-half-year stint, earning an Emmy nomination in 2011 and the praise of the fanbase.  She was let go in late 2011 - some suggest because TPTB wanted Kristina to appear older than Ainsworth.  The character was written off by sending her to college.

 

Six months later, Kristina returned home, played by Lindsey Morgan, having dropped out, upset that her parents had pulled strings to get her into Yale.

 

Morgan was in the role for less than a year, and I think was not very popular in the role.  It was, I believe, a combination of Ainsworth having been very popular in the role, and of the storylines during Morgan's tenure not being well-received - the reality show stuff, etc.  There was also a sentiment that she was being written almost like a different character than Ainsworth's Kristina.  Not the actress's fault.

 

Morgan was let go after ten months in the Spring of 2013, and Kristina went off to Wesleyan University.

 

Two-and-a-half-years later, in the fall of 2015, Ainsworth returned to the role as Kristina came home when Sonny was having surgery, and has been in the role ever since.

 

Worth it?  Yeah, probably.  Ainsworth is very popular in the role and won an Emmy for her work in 2017.

 

 

Kelly Cramer, OLTL

Gina Tognoni(1995-2002, 2010-11)

Tracy Melchoir(2003)

Heather Tom(2003-06)

 

 

Kelly was introduced in the mid-90s, the brash young daughter of Dorian Lord's sister, Melinda.  With Gina Tognoni in the role, she became a major character, becoming embroiled in an intense on-off-on-again romance with Viki's son Joey.  Late in Tognoni's tenure, Kelly has an affair with Joey's brother Kevin while engaged to Joey.  Kelly marries Joey, but when it comes out about Kevin, Joey leaves town.  Soon after, Kevin goes to Texas to be near his son Duke, and Kelly follows. 

 

When they return to town in 2003, they are both played by new actors.  Tracy Melchoir briefly played Kelly but was replaced after only a few months with Heather Tom, alongside Dan Gauthier's Kevin.

 

The first nearly year-and-a-half of Tom's tenure as Kelly was dedicated to the infamous Landview/Pine Vally three-way baby switch of 2004.  She did great work in that storyline, but once that story was over by the Spring of 2005, the character stagnated.  Because of this, Tom chose not to renew her contract and go instead to BB where she is to this day.  By the time she left in late 2006, Kelly had given birth to a baby by Kevin's SORASED son Duke - in a storyline that was not popular - and the three of them moved to London together.

 

Tognoni returned to the role in 2010 after having spent the interm on GL, and stayed nearly to show's end, leaving a few months early in August 2011, with a reunited Kelly and Joey going back to London so Kelly could be with her son Zane.

 

Worth it?  This one cuts both ways - Tom portrayed her during what was probably the character's most famous storyline - the baby switch.  Still, Tognoni is associated with a golden era for OLTL and is probably the only Kelly most want to see.  And she got her happy ending with Joey(thought that would've been even better if it had been Nathan Fillion's Joey).  So yeah, worth it.

 

 

Janet Green Dillon, AMC

Kate Collins(91-92, 05-11[on and off])

Robin Mattson(94-00)

 

 

This is kind of a strange one - maybe the only one on this list where the recast is actually preferred by a substantial number of people - honestly, probably most.  Kate Collins played Natalie Marlowe for 7 years - 1985-1992 - but only in the last year of that run did she play the dual role of Natalie's mentally ill sister Janet "From Another Planet" Green.  Janet eventually went to prison in 1992, at which point Collins left the show - both roles.  Natalie was on the canvas for a little while longer, played by Melody Anderson, before being killed off in 1993.

 

Robin Mattson assumed the role of Janet in 1994, having been released from prison after undergoing experimental plastic surgery to give herself a new face.  Mattson played the role for six years, while Collins returned for several brief appearances as Natalie's ghost.

 

Mattson departed the role in 2000, and the role was dormant for five years until Collins returned as Janet in 2005.  I read in a YT comment - and it's a YT comment so take it for what it's worth - that they were originally going to bring Mattson back, but that when her 2004 GH comeback(as Heather Webber) didn't do much ratings-wise, they opted for Collins instead.  Collins performed several stints as Janet, usually measured in months, between 2005 and the show's cancellation in 2011.

 

The thing is, while Collins' Natalie was an iconic role, she only played Janet for a year before leaving.  In contrast, Mattson played the character for six years.  While Collins' first stint as Janet was just a crazy sister type, Mattson played a more nuanced, complex version of the character, a woman struggling to heal herself and earn the trust and acceptance of those around her.  I've been watching some clips from her tenure, and it's really a beautiful story of redemption that was told with Mattson's Janet.  That Janet left the canvas a woman who was still dealing with her issues, but committed to being a good mother to Amanda and a good wife to Trevor.  Mattson's Janet is still beloved by a lot of people.  Here are some clips to illustrate the character development in these years:

 

 

(This is Amanda calling Janet "mommy" for the first time - full episode because there's no separate clip)

 

 

(Another full episode, this is Janet and Natalie's ghost)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Collins came back in 05, it was like all that character development was erased, and she went right back to where she was in 1992, but worse, because the Janet of 05-11 was cartoon-ish and simply not believable as the same character Mattson was playing.  It didn't have to be that way - a casual viewing of clips of Collins as Natalie shows that she's perfectly capable of playing someone who isn't cartoon crazy.  To top it all off, they had this Janet kill Trevor off-screen, something many Dillon family fans never forgave.  It was totally unnecessary.

 

So, Collins coming back was met with fanfare, but ultimately a lot of people prefer Mattson in the role.

 

Worth it?  No.  In terms of total screen time, Mattson played the role for just about twice as long as Collins, and many people preferred her more humanized, more nuanced version of the character to what was perceived as a more cartoonish interpretation by Collins, particularly in her 2005-11 returns.  Janet's 05-11 appearances added nothing to the character and, in fact, took away from said character.

 

 

Max Holden, OLTL

James Depaiva(1987-1990, 1991-2003)

Nicholas Walker(1990-1991)

 

 

This one makes me laugh.  Of all the people on this list, this one had the shortest amount of time between when the first actor left and came back.  A year and a half.  DePaiva originated the role in 1987 and, after three years, and having already established a fan-favorite romance with Fiona Hutchison's Gabreille, left in February 1990, presumed dead in a car wreck that burned him beyond recognition.

 

Nicholas Walker took over the following month, and they did the whole thing - plastic surgery, assuming a new identity, becoming close with everyone Max was close to, and after months, finally, dramatically revealing himself as Max by the end of 1990:

 

 

 

And then in the fall of 1991, DePaiva returned, everyone suddenly forgot that he ever looked any different, and that was that.  Unlike similar storylines in the future, no attempt was made to explain it.  If this was happening today, you can bet they'd do a story where Walker was an imposter all along.  DePaiva played the role for eleven more years before leaving again in 2003, becoming a OLTL legend, while Nicholas Walker's Max became a footnote, a curiosity.

 

Worth it?  Obviously.  Depaiva's Max is classic.

 

 

Dorian Lord, OLTL

Robin Strasser(1979-1987, 1993-2000, 2003-2011)

Elaine Princi(1989-1993)

 

 

Dorian is a cornerstone character in OLTL, created in 1973.  There were two Dorians before Robin Strasser - Nancy Pinkerton and Clair Malis.  There are only a scarce few clips of either on YT, so most of their work lives on only as memories in those old enough to have watched the show back then - which I am not.  I have seen some of those who are say that Pinkerton in particular was great in the role, though she interpreted the character very differently than Strasser would - colder, scarier.

 

Strasser took over the role in 1979 and made it completely her own for the next eight years.  In 1987, in light of disagreements with the producers at the time and perhaps a desire to test the primetime waters, she left.

 

Elaine Princi took over the role two years later, and was around for four years until 1993.  I haven't seen much of her Dorian, but most of the commentary I've seen about it has been positive.  Basically, that she was really very good, she just wasn't Robin Strasser.  In fact, there are some that say they preferred her Dorian to Strasser's.

 

In 1993, with Princi's contract up for renewal, and a new regime running the show, Strasser made it known she was available.  Princi was let go at the end of her contract in order to make way for Strasser, who returned and dove headfirst into some of the most intense storylines of her career(her being on deathrow, her affair with Joey, Vicki's DID) and played the role on and off until the series cancellation.

 

 

Worth it?  Yes.  I am not old enough to have seen the first two Dorian's, and I know Princi's Dorian only through YT, but while Princi was very good, Strasser is a living legend of the genre, and her and Erika Slezak are one of the most celebrated 'rival' pairings ever.  Anytime you saw those two going at it together, it was like watching heavyweights in a boxing ring.  I don't know if the character of Dorian would have the same place in soap history were it not for Strasser, even if she did get a little OTT in later years.

 

 

Tina Lord, OLTL

Andrea Evans(1978-1981, 1985-1990, 2008, 2011)

Karen Witter(1990-1994)

Krista Tesreau(1994-1996)

 

 

Tina was a cornerstone character in the old days of OLTL.  Not only the half-sister of show centerpiece Viki, but also one half of a supercouple with Cord Roberts.  I was too young to be watching back in the 80s, but Andrea Evans is legendary in the role.

 

Evans quit in 1990, later revealing that she'd done so to escape a stalker.  Tina briefly moved to California before returning later in 1990 with a new actor.

 

There were two Tina recasts in the 90s - Karen Witter and Krista Tesreau.  Neither was as accepted as Evans, but I think Witter at least had some fans, whereas Tesreau...I see mostly negative sentiment about her.

 

Tesreau departed in 1996, with a brief special appearance in 1997, and then the character was dormant for over a decade.

 

In 2008, Evans returned for the first of two times, each measured in months.  Evans coming back was a big deal and was promoted a lot.  Unfortunately, her first return stint was...not good imo.  She was around for five months, introduced via that stupid Mendorra storyline, and then the only thing she did of consequence was to not tell Vicki that Tess had Natalie trapped in the basement at Lanfair.

 

She came back again in 2011, near the end of the show, as part of another storyline on this list, and it was better - a good way for her to go out, in fact.  She inherited the fortune that was rightly Todd's, and gave it back to him, thus earning Cord's trust, and then the two of them got their happy ending.

 

Worth it?  To be perfectly honest, I've never been the biggest fan of the character, who often seemed to be unable to get past the mental age of 13.  That said, Evans' returns ended up giving the character some closure, and that's always good.  I'm sure Tina/Cord shippers were happy to see Evans' Tina and Cord get their happy ending.

 

 

Todd Manning, OLTL

Roger Howarth(1992-1995, 1996-1998, 2000-2003, 2011-2012)

Trevor St. John[i.e. Victor Lord Jr.](2003-2011)

 

 

Upon looking through some of the old threads here, it appears that not everyone is a fan of Howarth.  I'll say this - I don't really care for him as Franco(mainly because I can't buy him and James Franco as the same person at all, and also because I can't see RH as anything but Todd), and I never watched ATWT so I can't speak to his performances there, but what I can say is that I think RH's Todd is one of the greatest characters in soap history.  There are times when the merging of an actor and a character creates something greater than the sum of its parts.  This was one of those times.

 

The thing about the Todd character was that he had no business existing beyond his initial storyline.  He wasn't supposed to.  But RH elevated the character to a point where they couldn't let him go.  I found him captivating back then.  He gave the character such depth, and he was so iconoclastic with the hair and the scar and everything.

 

We can debate endlessly about whether any attempt should've been made to 'redeem' such a character, and indeed even RH had reservations about it, it was the reason he left the first time in 1995, but ultimately I don't have a problem with it.  I can believe in second chances - for people who show appropriate remorse as Todd grew to - while acknowledging the horrendousness of what he did.

 

So I was a huge fan of RH's Todd, though I will say that the whole selling Jack into the black market thing was tough to swallow if he was supposed to be trying to be a better person.  I didn't really love the character's 2000-2003 stint.

 

Anyway, when RH finally departed for good to do ATWT in 2003, the decision was made to recast the character, the logic being that the character had become too central to too many other characters to be written out.  In hindsight, they probably should've just written the character out - he'd been on canvas for most of the past decade, so it would've been a good time to take a break before people burned out on the character(it may already have been happening).  

 

I think Trevor St. John is a fantastic actor.  In fact, when Todd is being executed for a crime he didn't commit, and he's behind the glass, addressing Viki and Blair and Evangeline for the last time, that to me was one of the greatest single-episode performances in daytime history.  I'm still amazed he didn't win an Emmy for it.

 

But one episode does not a character make.  The reality, and I feel many would agree, is that TSJ was given a lot of really poor material over the years.  Being taken hostage by Margaret, being made a fool of by that truly awful Spencer Truman character, being dragged around unconscious(I think that was equivalent to a contract coma), and then none so bad as trying to have a relationship with amnesiac Marty, and attempting to kidnap Starr's baby and raise her with Marty.  That last one was the point of no return for a lot of Todd fans that had been trying to buy TSJ as Todd.  And then after all of that, the character was taken from him.  There were reports that TSJ wasn't thrilled about his character being retconned, and I can't say I blame him.  

 

A lot of people were very happy when it was announced that RH was coming back.  I was happy.  I had reservations about the silliness of the story - I freely admit that it was a ridiculous storyline - but none of that mattered once I saw him on screen.  The ends justified the means.  To see RH's Todd interacting with Viki, Blair, and Kristen Alderson's Starr(they always had such a beautiful connection) again, and even Jessica(even though it was Bree Williamson instead of Erin Torpey at this point) after all those years, when I thought it would never happen, was amazing.  

 

There are scenes from that storyline that stay with me: 

 

 

 

 

 

RH Todd talking to Starr one-on-one from a jail cell, telling her that when Vicki put her in his arms all those years ago, it was the first time in his life that the sun came out, finishing with "thank you my little Starr".

 

Him telling Starr that it's been proven that he is in fact Todd, something about the way he says, "I...shorty it's me, I'm me" and the way that the way he says that convinces her.

 

And the writers also did a smart, sort of meta thing, calling themselves out on past mistakes, by having it revealed to RH Todd that TSJ Todd/Victor had kidnapped amnesiac Marty and tried to have a relationship with her.  RH's reactions to that are priceless: "Nobody questioned that?!?"; "This guy has a relationship with Marty Saybrooke and none of you figured out that he wasn't me?  It didn't occur to you that that might not be something that I would do?"

 

Anyway, Todd is one of the most controversial and polarizing characters ever in soaps, and I get that while a lot of people love the character, a lot of people can't stand the character.  But I was a fan, and the restoration of the character to RH was, for me, one of the most exciting things that happened in the last ten years of OLTL or AMC, and is by far the example on this list that excited me the most.  I pretend the GH stuff after OLTL never happened, though.

 

Worth it?  100%.  See above.

 

 

Jason Morgan, GH

Steve Burton(1991-2012, 2017-Present)

Billy Miller[i.e. Andrew Cain](2014-2017)

 

 

Burton obviously made the Jason Quartermane/Jason Morgan character famous over his initial two decade run(he did take a few years off).  He had flirted with leaving multiple times, and he finally did in 2012 because of contract stuff, and instead took a role on YR.

 

Two years later, the role was recast with Billy Miller.  It probably never should've been recast, but it was.  They did the whole plastic surgery thing and eventually he was accepted as Jason, by the characters around him if not the audience.

 

Then Burton's YR contract expired in 2017, and GH snatched him up again.

 

The storyline they used to bring him back was a carbon copy of the storyline used for the Todd Manning storyline on OLTL.  It's like they copy-and-pasted the story and changed the names.  

 

Anyway, it accomplished task of restoring Burton as Jason while giving Miller an interesting new identity to bite into.  Though I guess it wasn't interesting enough for Billy Miller, seeing as he ended up quitting the show last year.

 

Worth it?  Yes.  Jason is a central character of the whole show - fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view - and it was probably folly to think you could successfully recast the role after one guy spent 20+ years playing him and making him one of the cornerstones the show is built around.

 

 

Edward Quartermaine, GH

John Ingle(1993-2004, 2006-2012)

Jed Allan(2004-2006)

 

 

Just one example of many in the 00s of soaps trying to get rid of the old people to make way for younger characters.  Ingle wasn't the original Edward, but he'd become quite recognizable and loved in the role over the decade+ he played it.  He was let go in 2004, at the age of 75-76, with Edward initially planned to be killed off.  TPTB apparently changed their minds about killing him off, but Ingle had signed with DOOL.  Jed Allan was recast in the role and played him, I guess, in a recurring role for two years before Ingle returned.

 

Worth it?  Yes.  He never should've been let go.

 

 

Marty Saybrooke, OLTL

Susan Haskell(1992-1997, 2004/2005(special appearances), 2008-11)

Christina Chambers(2006-07)

 

 

Marty was introduced in the 90s and, while she was only on the show for five years in her original run, she became a beloved character in that relatively short period of time, for her fighting to be believed about the Spring Fling, and her relationship with Patrick Thornhart, for her evolution from party girl to doctor.  She left Landview with Patrick in 1997.

 

After Haskell made a couple of brief return appearances in 2004 and 2005, the role was recast with Christina Chambers in late 2006.  Chambers' Marty was on the canvas for just over a year, during which we met her son, Cole, and found out that Patrick had died.  They honestly didn't do much with the character except get her mixed up with the Spencer Truman nonsense.  Chambers' brief tenure ended at the end of 2007 with Marty and Cole being abducted and taken to Ireland by a former associate of Patrick's, wherein Cole is saved but Marty 'dies' in a van explosion.

 

Six months later, Haskell returned as an alive, amnesiac Marty being held prisoner by TSJ's Todd/Victor in that much-hated storyline, and remained with the show until six months before it went off the air.  People were initially happy that Haskell was returning to the role, but this second long-term stint of hers became much maligned, from Todd/Victor Jr. manipulating the amnesiac Marty into a relationship, to Marty later kidnapping someone else's baby after her own died(which was out of character at this point in her life).  I've seen people say that her character was 'destroyed' in these years.  Her final exit came when she boarded a plane with an apparently-still-alive-but-not-seen Patrick(a storyline that was never fleshed out the way it should've been).

 

There's probably a decent number of people that wish the character had never come back after 1997.

 

Worth it?  Probably not.  The character probably shouldn't have been recast in the first place.  Some might argue that nothing worthwhile happened for the character in either Chambers' stint or Haskell's return.

 

 

Greenlee Smythe, AMC

Rebecca Budig(1999-2005, 2008-11)

Sabine Singh(2007-08)

 

 

This was by far the most controversial on this list, due to the way it was handled.  Budig originated the role of Greenlee in 1999 and played her for six years before Greenlee left town in late 2005, feeling betrayed by both Ryan(who had faked his death) and Kendall(who had used her own eggs rather than Greenlee's for her IVF pregnancy) .  In that time, she had become a fan favorite.  Her reason for leaving was, I believe, primarily about the fact that she lived in LA, the show was still produced in NY at that point, and she didn't want to commute anymore.

 

A year and a half later, in the Spring of 2007, the character was recast with Sabine Singh in the role.  Singh was only in the role for eight months, during which she was involved in several memorable storylines, including the almost-kidnapping of Spike after which it was found out that he was deaf, and the ordeal of her being trapped in an underground bomb shelter with Zach Slater.

 

Apparently, the network started talking to Budig "before Thanksgiving" in 2007 about her coming back.  Singh was in the first year of a four year contract.  In early December, Budig's return was announced, and Singh was told she was out and given a week to "leave quietly".

 

Now, look, an actor getting fired to facilitate the return of another actor is unfortunate, but it happens - it's happened in multiple other instances on this list - and is not unique to this situation.  But it didn't end there.

 

ABC proceeded to run a spectacularly insensitive ad campaign promoting Budig's return, in which the phrase that will live in infamy was used: "The Real Greenlee Returns".  Not only this, but there was a countdown of days until Budig's first airdate back.  And these ads were airing while episodes with Singh were still airing.  ABC was rightly, and roundly, roasted for this. 

 

 

Recasts are a part of the business, and it's one thing for viewers to say 'that actor's interpretation of the character isn't real to me', but it's another for the network to imply that one actor's interpretation of a role was 'less real' than another's.  And it was especially tactless to do that to an actress who had just been suddenly and unexpectedly let go for no fault of her own.

 

Anyway, Budig started airing again in January 2008 and played the role until the show ended in 2011.

 

Worth it?  I guess.  I don't really remember if Greenlee had any super memorable storylines from 2008-2011.  I also didn't mind Singh's Greenlee.  I'm sure it was worth it if you were a big Greenlee fan.  But the network handled it horribly.

 

 

Lucky Spencer, GH

Jonathan Jackson(1993-1999, 2009-2011, 2015)

Jacob Young(2000-2003)

Greg Vaughan(2003-2009)

 

 

JJ was a child actor on GH, only 10-11 when he started.  He impressed in his initial tenure, particularly in his teen romance with Elizabeth, and in his reaction to finding out what Luke had done to Laura, and he won three Emmys for his work.  Has there ever been another teenager that won that many Emmys?  He left the show when he was 17, with Lucky presumed dead.

 

Jacob Young - pre-AMC - played an alive-after-all Lucky for a few years, followed by Greg Vaughan for a longer period of time.  I guess Young wasn't really accepted in the role, and Vaughan was polarizing, with some liking him and some insisting that his Lucky was fundamentally a different person than JJ's.  I tend to agree with the latter sentiment - I'd take Young over Vaughn for Lucky. 

 

JJ, a decade after leaving, returned with great fanfare in 2009, and turned in some absolutely fantastic performances over the next two years(I remember in particular Lucky trashing his house and having a breakdown after finding out that Liz was cheating on him with Nikolas) and won another two back-to-back Emmys.

 

 

 

 

 

JJ left again in 2011, I guess because he got a primetime gig with Nashville.  He returned briefly for Anthony Geary's farewell in 2015, but Lucky hasn't been seen since.  There's been some speculation that he could return again in the near future, but it's not clear if that means JJ or someone else.

  

Worth it?  100%.  In the same way that RH is Todd Manning, JJ is Lucky, and I feel like no one else should play him.

Edited August 11, 20206 yr by namkcuR

Phyllis on Y&R. Stanford left twice. Not sure how the first recast was received but I really enjoyed GT in the role and was disappointed when stuttering Stafford returned.

 

Lily on Y&R. I don’t mind CK myself, but I remember reading people really loved Davetta Sherwood’s Lily and felt she was more like what Dru’s daughter should’ve been.

 

On Days Jason Cook was the most the notable Shawn Douglas Brady but left and was replaced by Brandon Beemer. The character was written off at some point and Jason Cook came back only to leave again and have Brandon Beemer came back again. I actually enjoy both guys in the role, though Beemer truly looks like he’s KA’s Hope’s son, whereas I found Jason Cook to look more similar to Peter Reckell’s Bo.

I remember 2004 being a pretty bad year of unspectacular recasts on the soaps:

 

-Christina Chambers as Molly, Ian Boyd as Casey on ATWT

-Kit Paquin as Marina on GL

-Emily Harrison as Bridget on B&B

-Richard Voights as Mickey and Charity Rahmer as Belle on Days.

-The first 2(or 3?) Daniels on Y&R

 

There’s probably a couple more I think I have forgotten at the moment, but all of these were quickly recast with more competent actors or written out. 

I also forgot that Lisa Rinna came back as Billie on DAYS several times after Krista Allen and Julie Pinson both played the role.

 

Oh also Eileen Davidson after two recasts came back to Y&R.

 

3 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

I remember 2004 being a pretty bad year of unspectacular recasts on the soaps:

 

-Christina Chambers as Molly, Ian Boyd as Casey on ATWT

-Kit Paquin as Marina on GL

-Emily Harrison as Bridget on B&B

-Richard Voights as Mickey and Charity Rahmer as Belle on Days.

-The first 2(or 3?) Daniels on Y&R

 

There’s probably a couple more I think I have forgotten at the moment, but all of these were quickly recast with more competent actors or written out. 

The post is about the notable actors returning to the role. Did the notable actors come back in these instances?

Edited July 14, 20206 yr by Antoyne

the only one i really know is them firing GT this year for Michelle stafford which surprised me lol

Eileen Davidson - Ashley Y&R.

Davidson established Ashley and under Bill Bell's writing created a unique character. 

Brenda Doumani's Ashley was frontburner and popular -  many seem to have preferred her softer interpretation of Ashley.

Shari Shattuck was avdisaster so Eileen's return was welcome. She's been Ashley ever since.

I also forgot about David Tom as Billy Abbott. He returned after several recasts and then they canned him after only a few months.

6 minutes ago, Antoyne said:

 

 

The post is about the notable actors returning to the role. Did the notable actors come back in these instances?
 

 

Gotcha. I suppose the only one who did eventually return on that list was Lesli Kay thank god. Chambers was terrible. 
 

Speaking of ATWT I was so glad Benjamin Hendrickson returned as Hal after year or so after enduring  miscast Randolph Mantooth in the role. Likewise I was happy to see Ashley Bashioum return in 2004 as Mac on Y&R after Kruger’s turn it was a shame she didn’t last longer.

The Margoes on World Turns were largely recasted well except for one.  Don’t remember her name but she was awful.  Mindy on GL will always be Krista Tesreau to me but a lot of people came to like the one after.  Ann Hamilton was awful.  The actress who had played Leanna Love on Y&R was also no Mindy.  I was glad at the end they brought back Tesreau to close it out 

4 minutes ago, Antoyne said:

I also forgot about David Tom as Billy Abbott. He returned after several recasts and then they canned him after only a few months.

why did they can him exactly? I thought he was doing fine aside from no chem with AH

9 minutes ago, Dylan said:

why did they can him exactly? I thought he was doing fine aside from no chem with AH

I don’t even remember what the reasoning was but then they brought on a guy that looked like he was the same age as Jack and Ashley as a recast, it was ridiculous.

17 minutes ago, Dylan said:

why did they can him exactly? I thought he was doing fine aside from no chem with AH

I believe they claimed because he looked too young next to the actress playing Kelly, but I believe it’s because he didn’t mesh with AH on screen and they wanted an older looking Billy. This was on JFP, Imo. Of course she eventually brought Jason over from GH 2 years later....

Edited July 15, 20206 yr by Soap-princess

Noteworthy ATWT mention: Martha Byrne with Heather Rattray in between stints. 

18 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

 

Gotcha. I suppose the only one who did eventually return on that list was Lesli Kay thank god. Chambers was terrible. 
 

Speaking of ATWT I was so glad Benjamin Hendrickson returned as Hal after year or so after enduring  miscast Randolph Mantooth in the role. Likewise I was happy to see Ashley Bashioum return in 2004 as Mac on Y&R after Kruger’s turn it was a shame she didn’t last longer.

 

I’m not sure why they brought Ashley back only to get rid of her the next year. They claimed they needed her to be more available for a new story, but Mac was one of many women in JT’s orbit at the time and they bombed after a few months together. I think the writers overestimated the appeal of a Mac/JT coupling. 
 

Ditto re: Lesli Kay 

Edited July 15, 20206 yr by Soap-princess

Ugh, why was Gina Tognoni so... lackluster during that final stint as Kelly? She’s been stellar in pretty much every role she’s played on daytime, even during the lowest lows of Phyllis.