Iconic Soap Stars Who Flopped In Other Roles

[Paul Raven]

Debbi Morgan Angie AMC hit - Ellen PC/Harmony Y&R flop

Darnell Williams Jesse AMC hit - Sarge Y&R flop

[titan1978]

PC really wasted Debbi Morgan.  She should have been a true lead character.

[Taoboi]

Debbi Morgan as Yolanda on Y&R

Darnell Williams as Sarge on Y&R

 

And I never saw Stefan as a flop on GH. A waste, but not a flop. Of course I like gothic.

[soapfan770]

 

Hartley had TONS of chemistry with James Scott/EJ but the show kept throwing her at Brady even though it wasn’t clearly working out at all. Plus the character is was so poorly conceived...a nefarious drug dealer yet who was being forced to do it against her will and had a super saccharine personality? By the time she finally became interesting was when they killed her off. 
 

I’d say predictions at the time that Days would hire James Hyde and Kim Johnston Ulrich as John & Marlena along with Liza Huber as Carrie didn’t come to pass

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LOL I think the first major failure was Kin Shriner as Harrison Bartlett, a strange story of a buildup to nothing at all. Shriner later came back as a Jeffrey recast for most of 2011 but didn’t do much at all before Shackleford came back. 
 

Shriner’s ATWT role was decent but he was not long for the role once his character was the obstacle for Holden & Lily a the time. 

[NothinButAttitude]

Did we mention Sarah Brown on ATWT, B&B, and DOOL?

 

Madison would've been a success had they actually played up on her being a business tycoon and her rivalry with Kate. 

 

Her character on ATWT was doomed from the start being named Julia and being wedged in between Jack/Carly. Dare I say it but I always wished that they would've just made her Cassie on GL seeing as Laura Wright was on her way out. 

 

And B&B totally fumbled SB's talent as Aggie. I hate that they had her as some frumpy surrogate for Bridgette that pined over Nick when she oozed of sex appeal that could've rivaled Brooke, Katie, and Donna. 

 

 

[Paul Raven]

Speaking of Kin we must mention Jeb on Texas.

[NothinButAttitude]

Oh let me add Wally Kurth on ATWT as Sam. I always found that role to be a dud. Honestly, I always felt they could've recast Wally as either Seth or Caleb Snyder. 

 

Stuart Damon as Janet's dumb a** uncle on ATWT too. He could've easily been cast as Don. 

 

Lynn Herring and Billy Warlock on ATWT too. Again, these are actors that could've been cast in roles that were vacant for years seeing as this show had a LONG history. Billy Warlock could've easily been Caleb (too) or Scott Eldridge. 

 

I think ATWT is gonna own this thread as they stayed stunt-casting folks in stupid roles in that last decade. 

[soapfan770]

 

I did

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I mean Sarah Brown’s casting was totally confusing I remember as everyone thought she was either going to be the new Molly recast or THE Julia we knew about. Talk about utter dismal writing. 

 

@NothinButAttitude Great ATWT choices btw, I think Robin Mattson and Judy Evans Luciano have already been added in as well. The last few years of ATWT became such a hot mess with the villain of the month format the show with no long term storylines. 

[applcin]

On OLTL, he played Rob Coronal, one of Cassie's husbands. Both Rob & Cassie had been played by other actors the first time they were actually a couple, and Mark's predecessor was an unknown, plus the character had been offscreen for some time. I think he did alright, neither a flop nor a success, just sort of there. The main thing I remember is that there was a triangle with a then-unknown Roma Downey.

To echo Titan, Genie was popular on DOOL because of her pairing with Drake H. (Roman at the time). This was the late 80s when that soap really had a knack for putting together characters/actors with chemistry. She had a couple of stories, a mystery involving Steve & Kayla. Her main story was that she was tricked by her greedy mother into almost marrying Victor which, of course, Roman was intent on preventing. But they killed off her father and sent off her mother (both had been created just for her storyline anyway) so her character really didn't have any ties to anyone.


 

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Robin Mattson is another one that should've been on GL and reprised her role as Hope. Hope should've been brought back to provide us with that Bauer matriarch and to soften Alan. 

[Planet Soap]

Someone mentioned Rick Hearst. I liked his version of Y&R's Carter/Matt over Russel Lawrence. No doubt though Eddie Cibrian owned the role. I would also consider his roles as Ric & Whip to have been decent in their early years.

 

Agreed on Maura West as Y&R's Diane. She should have been given a role of her own. I dont really hear much of Jack & Carly anymore when people discuss major soap couples.

 

Definitely Sarah Joy Brown playing anything outside of GH's Carly or Claudia. I wouldn't consider Claudia a total flop as she carried over some of her Carly mischievousness and played a formidable and likeable villainess. The ramifications of Claudia's tenure are still present on stoylines today. As for her time on CBS, why would ATWT name her Julia after Jack's ex-wife "Julia" was literally on the show one or two years earlier? 

 

Finally Tamera Braun as Kim on GH. She was way too soft and boring. It would have been nice to see her at odds with with Corinthos'.... or something close to her Carly roots. 

Edited October 19, 2020 by ironlion

[All My Shadows]

 

And, in true 2000s ATWT fashion, they were really only hired on short-term basis. I don't think they ever planned to develop any of those characters beyond the one-note roles they played for a few months. Daniel Hugh Kelley, Robin Mattson, Laurence Lau, Brian Gaskill, Kin Shriner, Sarah Brown, Judi Evans, the list is endless.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

And as I suggested earlier, majority of those actors could've been slapped in roles that weren't occupied over decades. 

 

Brian Gaskill could've easily been Teddy Hughes. 

 

All of this talk just p*sses me off b/c it highlights how this show still had tons of life but it was snuffed due to idiots trying to tell short-term storytelling in a genre that was built on long-term payoffs.

[titan1978]

I also thought Madison was a good idea, and the right actress, but they didn’t do anything with it.  If they had built up the rivalry, and really let the story build, I could have easily seen Madison and Kate sniping at each other for years.

 

Stefan on GH wasn’t a flop.  But I will always wonder what would have happened if Guza had not left for Sunset Beach.  There was so much momentum and the show was still more grounded like Riche wanted, but it had more fun and intrigue compared to Labine.

 

The hospital takeover, Bobbie married to Stefan, Laura’s turmoil, Luke’s rage...There was so much good stuff happening related to Stefan.

Edited October 19, 2020 by titan1978

[kalbir]

That was me. Rick Hearst was about 10 years too old to be Matt Clark. I thought he would be better suited as a new executive at Jabot or Newman.